Every day, like clockwork, Arthur Moses goes and has lunch at his deceased wife's grave. He tells her everything that is happening and makes it a point to acquaint himself with all of her new "neighbors". At the cemetary he meets a young lady by the name of Maddy. Maddy is a senior in high school and is constantly bullied by her classmates. She goes to the cemetary on her lunch period to escape. Lucille is Arthur's next door neighbor. As they are both lonely and living alone, he stops by her house and they sit in the porch rockers and talk and eat whatever is the latest cookie that Louise has baked.
You don't get to pick the family you are born into, but you can make your own family. This unlikely trio becomes the best sort of family..... they all chose each other. This is definitely a must-read!

I just spent a delightful afternoon with Arthur, Maddy, and Lucille. This was a tender sweet book about finding community and caring for each other. What does it mean to be "useful" in a society that puts emphasis on financial success and productivity? This story helps us remember what's actually important and the need we have to nurture relationships. I loved and cared for each of the characters. Beautifully developed story of love and family.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy to review.

I really liked this book. It's such a great story, a meeting of the minds between an old man and a young girl.

Arthur has lunch with his wife every day....in a cemetery, at her grave. He meets Maddy there, where she's running away from high school and the boy she's got a crush on. Her parent's couldn't care less about her. They embark on a wildly improbable friendship and she ends up in Arthur's care. They are both saved by their friendship in different ways.

Elizabeth Berg's writing is so rich and meaningful that I was drawn into this book and couldn't get it out of my mind. She has meaningful insights into aging, friendships and how we are all tied together.

This book is a winner and is one of her best. It's a quick but powerful read.

This is one of the best books I have read this summer! I lived the characters and the way the story ended! Well done, Elizabeth Berg!

The Elizabeth Beth I loved in her early works (Range of Motion remains one of my all time favorites) is back! I devoured this delightful, well crafted novel in a day. Do not be dissuaded by the description which doesn't do this genuine novel justice. I fell in love with the characters from the first pages and was transported to their small caring world where family is defined by love not blood.
So many novels today rely on action and plot twists. It was so enjoyable to revel in a well turned phrase and a lovingly developed set of characters.

I have been a fan of Elizabeth Berg for as long as I can remember, having read all of her novels over the years. This one, this one. I loved every page of it and the last 20 pages had me wiping my eyes numerous times. Her writing is a gift, her words beautifully chosen and her characters warm and relatable. I will remember this one for a very long time. Thank you for the opportunity to read it early.

Short, sweet and deceptively simple novel about aging, love and family. Arthur and Maddie are a little too good to be true; Lucille steals the show. I have a 93 year old mother and I found this book to be a very heartening, encouraging view that even when your time is limited and you have lost the great love of your life, you can still find meaning and purpose.

THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg is a beautiful piece of fiction that will last in your heart long after the last page. In this short novel, Berg develops three big characters and shows that despite their age difference, the size of a person's heart isn't dependent on their years on earth. The love and compassion in this novel, the definition and devotion to family, the complications of fitting in, and the way all of them are brought together is engaging and lovely. Though I was granted an advanced copy of this novel by NetGalley, I will definitely buy my own copy when it's published and add it to my library of personal favorites.

THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV Written by ELIZABETH BERG

You can always count on Elizabeth Berg to give you a peaceful, gentle setting where life seems nostalgic and simpler. She has created a loveable character in eighty-five year old Arthur Moses. His daily routine brings him to visiting his wife Nola in the cemetery who has recently passed away. Arthur brings his lunch and comes equipped with his fold up chair. He is eighty-five years old and has never had children, but has a positive outlook about them. He has Nola's cat at home to keep him company and a neighbor named Lucille who he checks in on who is eighty-three.

Arthur befriends a troubled teen-ager named Maddy who instead of going to school spends her time in the same cemetery as Arthur. Maddy's mother has also passed away when Maddy was just a baby and she lives with her father, who she has a strained relationship with. Arthur befriends Maddy by inviting her back to his home for lunch on a rainy day.

The three character's interact and prove that you can find companionship in the goodness of other's. Arthur continues to visit Nola and has a habit of imagining a whole lifetime for each deceased person's grave marker he encounters based on what is engraved on their tombstone. This is a lovely story about the friendship's we make despite our life's circumstances. Elizabeth Berg has a talent for bringing together relationships made with the opportunities and circumstances that we all possess as individuals. We can find family if we remain open minded and are accepting of each other.

Thank you to Net Galley, Elizabeth Berg and Random House for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have always been a fan of Elizabeth Berg and have read everything she has written. I must say that this one is at the top of my list for favorite reads. It is a wonderful story of three lonely people who find each other and realize that just when we think life is at its end, there are new hopes and possibilities. It is a story about love and taking the second chances life gives us. It is also a story about families. These are characters that the reader will care about from the first pages. It is a warm story about the importance of life and how we live it.. It was a pure joy to read, Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the chance to preread this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A melancholy and sweet story of hearts in transition. I loved meeting the characters: each one was special - and the acceptance and movement in their interactions was such a pleasure to read. I recommend it.

Another wonderful story by Berg, who takes the reader through a variety of emotions in this story of two unlikely friends.

What a lovely story. The characters were very real to me, and I couldn't wait to finish the book to find out what happens to them.

A recently widowed man, Arthur, visits his wife's grave every day because he dearly loved her and misses her so much. At the cemetery, he meets teenage Maddy who doesn't feel loved at home and who is an outcast at school. Arthur's neighbor, retired schoolteacher and never-married Lucille connects with her high school sweetheart, but their relationship is cut short and she is devastated.

How Arthur, Maddy, and Lucille come to live under one roof and become a family is mostly due to Arthur's generous, laid-back character. It's a sweet story and rather short. It reminded me in some ways of "A Man Called Ove"--although Arthur isn't a curmudgeon--and maybe a little bit of Fannie Flagg's recent novel "The Whole Town's Talking"; it's definitely a departure for Elizabeth Berg.

Sweet, touching book about the power of friendship and the meaning of family. The relationship between Arthur and Maddy progresses in a logical and believable manner, proving that you don't have to be related to become family. For fans of Berg's other novels and authors like Anita Shreve or Elizabeth Strout.

Some of my greatest reading pleasures have come from Elizabeth Berg, so I was very happy to receive an uncorrected proof on Kindle of her latest offering from NetGalley and Random House. Now that I've finished, I wish I had the actual book so I could give it a big bear hug. I've never hugged my tablet before, but I guess I could start now....
No, it's just not the same but will suffice for now.

There seems to be a trend, as the population ages, for books about old folks, and I found myself comparing Arthur to A Man Called Ove, and Lucille's situation to that in Our Souls at Night. But let me be clear -- this book is not a knock off. Ms. Berg's characters and story are not only original, but unique, loving, and expertly crafted from her heart and soul. I loved Ove, but Arthur is not the cantankerous geezer Ove was. Arthur is his own person, a man grieving and remembering his deceased wife by visiting her grave every day, but also a man who still loves living. He honors Nora and their memories, and has no one now but his neighbor, Lucille. At the cemetery, he meets a troubled teen named Maddy and their friendship transforms both of their lives.

This book has charm, warmth, and will bring back all the good memories of parents and grandparents now passed. Home cooking, rose gardens, and family -- the one you were born to or the one you make. It will tug at your heartstrings.

Absolutely beautiful story. Fans of Ove will thrill to these believable and utterly lovable characters. Loved it!

"The Story of Arthur Truluv " is an absolutely gem of a book. The three main characters in the book, Arthur, a widow, Maddy , a lonely, misfit teenage, and Lucille, an elderly single neighbor of Arthur end up interacting with each other in such a way so that a truly lovely story evolves. Although, there are sad elements in the book, the story is actually uplifting and a delight to read.

A beautiful story of love and loss and creating a family. Arthur is reminiscent of Ove but without the cantankerousness. He visits his beloved wife’s grave and while there he meets a girl, Maddy, who has no love in her life. Arthur’s neighbor Lucille is also alone and searching for love. When these 3 combine they find something none of them knew they were searching for.

I've read several Elizabeth Berg novels, and they are usually hit or miss. This one was a miss for me. Interesting premise though.