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There are currently 47 member reviews
for The Story of Arthur Truluv
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Janell C. (Ross, CA)
Te Story of Arthur Truluv
This is a sweet little predictable book; very typical of Elizabeth Berg. For readers looking for a simple, feel good beach read, you won't be disappointed. For others, looking for good, meaty literary fiction this is not your book. Some of the characters are fairly well developed and others not at all. The plot is quite contrived and all the tension that might have been explored is quickly and easily brought to not-quite-believable fairy-tale closure.
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Bettie T. (Kiawah Island, SC)
Still Hungry
How can you not be charmed by an elderly widower who visits his wife's grave every day for a lunch date? The Story of Arthur Truluv is one such delightful book, which quickly pulled me in, but left me wanting more. Arthur and Maddy, the troubled teenager he "rescues", are easy to visualize (could a movie be in the offing?) I wish that I had a better sense of some of the details in their lives. Little details, like how long would Arthur have to wait for the bus home from the graveyard, and is there a covered shelter available. And big details, like how Maddy's relationship with her father and her classmates deteriorated so badly. I found the neighbor, Lucille, a bit irritating and more comic relief than a character I really wanted to get to know better. This could be a good book club selection, with discussions going into aging and bullying, for example. However I prefer my books a bit "meatier"; this was more like Lucille's orange blossom cookies; delicious but not nutritious enough for the making of a meal.
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Dona
Sweet but Disappointing
I was looking forward to reading a new novel by Elizabeth Berg, but I was sorry to find it disappointing. It's a sweet tale of the relationships of a lonely widower, a solitary teenage girl, a never married neighbor lady, and a lovable cat. A nice story, but it just seems too predictable and unrealistic although the themes of acceptance, self-actualization and love are worthwhile and well developed. Maybe my problem is that I can't help comparing it to "A Man Called Ove" which has similar themes and cemetery scenes, plus a real punch of humor and three-dimensional characters conveyed in more depth.
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MGB, NC
Sentimental but unrealistic
In this sweet but somewhat contrived novel Elizabeth Berg intertwines the lives of three unrelated, lonely people – an aged spinster, a dejected, bullied teenage girl, and an 80-year old recent widower. With themes of depression, marginalization, rejection, tolerance, and friendship, the author develops a righteous story of acceptance and love as the major components for what becomes a very unorthodox family. Although the characters of the spinster and widower are well developed and authentic, the circumstances and portrayal of the teenage girl seem quite forced and unrealistic. Nevertheless, the author has written a heartwarming story that promises to bring a handful of tears too.
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Jan Z. (Jefferson, SD)
Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
This book was just ok in my opinion, and pretty typical of most books by Berg. The potential for a really good story always seems to be there, but that's about as far as it goes. Story of Arthur Truluv had just a bit too much treacle to make it a good book. The characters were just a little too nice, it was predictable, and everything was nice and tidy at the end. And to make it worse, there were dead characters, and dying characters all over the place but I couldn't feel much compassion for any of them, or the survivors. The whole story was just too superficial.
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