What readers think of The Story of Arthur Truluv, plus links to write your own review.

I used to read Elizabeth Berg a lot and really loved her but drifted away into mainly mysteries. This charming, wonderful book reminded me of what I have been missing. It is an incredibly sweet story of three lonely, disparate people who find each other and make a family. Readers would have to be so cold-hearted not to love this book and not see themselves in the characters. It is a love story to being weird, being old and being in love.

This is the first time I am reading a book by this author and I will be reading others. The characters quickly drew me in and I found myself finishing this book rather quickly. I felt like I could identify with each of the characters in different ways. I lost my mother when I was 19 years old and I am now 70 so I can identify with missing your mother throughout your life. Fortunately my father was more like Arthur Truluv than Maddy's father. I also found much to identify with Lucille also. I would highly recommend this book and look forward to reading other books by Elizabeth Berg.

From the moment I turned the last page of Talk Before Sleep in 1994, I was hooked on the work of Elizabeth Berg and have made it a point not to miss any of her novels. Reading The Story of Arthur Truluv has only reaffirmed my belief that Berg is one of our great storytellers. At once poignant and amusing, this is a story about love and friendship, loneliness and loss, but, above all, about finding the strength to carry on in the face of it all. Berg successfully integrates the issues of the eighty-somethings, Arthur and Lucille, with the issues of an eighteen year old, Maddy, and makes all of them endearing.

I will recommend this book to many of my reading friends, young and old, but especially to those who enjoyed Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove and Anne Tyler's Breathing Lessons.

In her acknowledgments, author Elizabeth Berg says "...you can only hope that readers see beyond the simple words on the page to the more complex meanings behind them." At first I did only see the simple words, but I soon was drawn into this story and the transition of Arthur Moses into Arthur Trulove and the journey that Maddy makes as she finds love and family with these wonderful characters. This would be a good choice for book clubs and for readers looking for a "feel good" experience.

Occasionally a book comes along that cries out to be shared with a friend. I won't talk about the plot as I want it to unfold for the reader as it did with me -- gently. I will say it's a story that will engage you, a story that is filled with truths and packed with wisdom -- and, a story that in time I will re-read for I have much to still learn from it.

When I read the first paragraph in The Story of Arthur Truluv I immediately knew I would enjoy the book. Elizabeth Berg did not disappoint in this beautiful story of family. We are not speaking of a traditional family, but a true loving family none the less made up of two elderly people and a troubled teen. The characters are so real and you become part of the daily activities of life in this family You care for each one of the members. The story reminds us how valuable older people are despite the fact our two elderly persons feel they are useless human beings. The teenage girl in our story learns this valuable lesson and how despite feeling unlovable is shown otherwise by her two new friends. A wonderful story that will stay with me for sometime. It reminds us we must make ourselves take the time for each other as part of the human race, whether family or not. The simple things in life are what really matter and give us joy and an inner peace with ourselves. Many passages to enjoy and digest.

Elizabeth Berg's novels always speak to the heart of the reader. TRULUV was especially eloquent to me as I'm watching my parents age and as my own true love and I are growing old together. Arthur provides a shining example of remaining young at heart and allowing that heart to be always open to new friendships and expanded families. (And keep the Kleenex handy!)

Nola, the wife of Arthur Moses, died seven months ago but Arthur still has lunch with her...at her grave site...every day. He talks to her and imagines the lives of others buried near her. Maddy Harris, a troubled teen, also spends her lunch hour at the cemetery. As time goes on Arthur, Maddy, and Arthur's neighbor, Lucille, become friends and help each other conquer loneliness and rejection. Reminiscent of the writing styles of Frederick Bachman and Fannie Flagg, this beautiful, heartwarming story of love, loss and recovery is a truly pleasurable reading experience.