Written by Elizabeth Berg, this novel follows the lives of three characters, Arthur, Maddy, and Lucille and how their lives come together just when they need each other most.
This is the most recent novel in my local book club, and I must admit that I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. This is a good book for discussion, as each character is unique, and the three make an excellent foil of comparison between one another and their own secondary characters.
Truluv reads like a commentary on life, and it would appear that is what it is. You have a teen who has had a difficult life at home where she never received the love she needed as her father was withdrawn after her mother’s death. An old man whose life consists of visiting his wife every day at the cemetery, taking care of his cat, and having aimless conversations with his neighbor. Finally, an old woman who views her life as a waste because she never got married or had children. And they come together in a wonderful way that contains an excellent marriage for anyone who feels they are alone and don’t think life will get any better.
This is a novel that floats along. It doesn’t try to contain itself to a certain month, nor does it hurry its characters along. It comes in only to tell the relevant bits it needs to, solidly pushing this into a shorter literary novel.
This is not a fantasy novel, Arthur only imagines the dead’s lives he doesn’t know them, and this isn’t a romance novel. But this is a great novel of growth and love and was overall a wonderful read.
