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

What a truly delightful read! It's like "A Man Called Ove" but without the crabbiness. Arthur Moses, 85, has lunch each day with his wife Nola – at the cemetery. Nola has been dead six months. Arthur is a truly sweet man and has a positive attitude toward pretty much everything.

Eighteen-year-old Maddy often visits the cemetery to get away from the other kids at school. It is here that Arthur and Maddy meet and develop an unusual friendship. Because of his devotion to Nola and his kindness Maddy gives Arthur the nickname "Truluv". Maddy's mother died in a car crash when Maddy was only two weeks old. She doesn't get along with her father and the kids at school pick on her. To ease her loneliness, Maddy escapes into her world of photography.

Also dealing with loneliness is Arthur's elderly neighbor Lucille. While quite nosy, their lives all change as the three of them form a compassionate bond creating their own version of a little family – oh, and mustn't forget Gordon, the cat – to deal with life's struggles and to find hope and a new purpose in life.

This book is a delightful escape from with these delightful people – and Gordon. Smile, laugh, cry – I love a book that taps into my emotions and makes me what the characters in the story feel. That is great writing.

At first I thought the friendship between an elderly lonely man and an equally lonely teenaged girl would be predictable, boring even. However, after reading several chapters I quickly realized that The Story of Arthur Truluv was anything but predictable. The life lessons contained within these pages unites generations. The prose is rather simple making the story all that more charming. Thoroughly enjoyable.

What a gem Elizabeth Berg has with this book. .I fell in love with the characters of Arthur, Maddy, and Lucille. In fact, I came to view them as my family. It is a wonderful story about patience and family, but most of all acceptance. It was a treat to read and it won't be my last book by this author.

I enjoyed this book very much. Not only is it a well-written and engrossing story with interesting characters, it also explores some important questions: "What gives our life meaning? How do we live a good life?" Most of the characters are lonely, "aching and frightened and lost". And then there's Arthur who describes himself as "the audience, the witness, the appreciator". As Mister Rogers says, "he's a helper." No, he hasn't done anything remarkable in the eyes of the world, but he has lived a full, meaningful and loving life. He is truly fulfilled and an inspiration to those who come within his orbit. I found him one of the most endearing characters in any of the novels I have read lately. This would be an excellent choice for book clubs, because there's so much to discuss about the questions it explores (see above).

What a sweet uplifting book and what a wonderful idea! I read the book twice worried that after the first quick read I was reading too much idealism into the book - not the case. Elizabeth Berg has a lovely way of depicting characters that we all feel we have or could know. Think of those alone - widows, widowers, singles, young people not in tune with parents - coming together to create a loving supportive community, This could be a model for many in our world today. Each person and generation, both in and outside this book, has something to offer another. The book is an easy read thru the talented skills of Berg and, like a good book or dessert, is finished too soon. The Story of Arthur Truluv IS a story of love - a most special kind of love and family.

In her Acknowledgements, author Elizabeth Berg writes about her hope that readers will "get" "The Story of Arthur Truluv." I believe that I got it and thank her for writing one of the most memorable books I've read in a long time. The story is sweet, poignant and endearing as Arthur honors the past yet learns to slowly embrace the present and move forward into the future. If families are not merely biological and are also the people we choose to be our family, Arthur has made brilliant choices. Read this book!

I loved The Story of Arthur Truluv. I found myself quickly embracing Arthur, Maddy and even Lucille. If you want to read a book that will show you people do truly care about each other, even though friendships need patience and sacrifices, this book is one to be read. I definitely will be reading this treasure of a book again when I need to be reminded .... people do care. Thank You, Elizabeth Berg!

Since it has been a long time since I have read an Elizabeth Berg novel, I jumped at the chance and I wasn't disappointed. As always, her character development was excellent and the story flowed to perhaps a predictable, yet satisfying conclusion.
The familiar formula of the novel wasn't tarnished due to the well drawn characters of beloved Arthur, resilient Maddy and Lucille the pink tank who made their way into your heart mirroring their own experience in the book. Elizabeth Berg is all about relationships. Thank you for the ones developed in the pages of Arthur Truluv.