The Story of Arthur Truluv is an enchanting and delightful book that’s a joy to read. It is a story about an untraditional family and the love they share.
The first paragraph introduces us to Arthur:
In the six months since the November day that his wife, Nola, was buried, Arthur Moses has been having lunch with her every day. He rides the bus to the cemetery and when he gets there, he takes his sweet time walking over to her plot: she will be there no matter when he arrives. She will be there and be there and be there.
Arthur Moses is 85 years old and is a amiable person who readily opens his heart up to others. He has an unusual and rather unique view on aging:
Arthur thinks that, above all, aging means the abandonment of criticism and the taking on of compassionate acceptance.
One day during his daily visit to the cemetery he meets Maddy, a troubled teen who visits at lunchtime to escape the bullying she gets at school. Maddy lost her mother when she was 2 weeks old and feels that her father is indifferent towards her. She is trying to find herself a place in the world and fill the emptiness she feels in her heart.
When Maddy learns about Arthur’s deceased wife Nola and Arthur’s devotion to her, Maddy gives him the nickname of Truluv. Their growing friendship is of mutual benefit as they are both alone. It is his relationship with Maddy that helps Arthur to remember what companionship is and helps him to enjoy living again:
Arthur realizes that if he were alone, it would be a grim wait. With the girl, it is an adventure. That’s what being with another does. He remembers now with something like a full-body flush, he remembers what it means to share something with someone, the particular alchemy that can light things up.
This is a story about three lonely people and how they come to save each other. Arthur and Maddy illustrate the mutual respect that is so often lacking between the young and the old. The third person of this trio is Lucille, who is also elderly. She lives next door to Arthur and when she seems him on the street, invites him up to her porch, eager for the company. Lucille confesses to Arthur that she feels useless and Arthur’s reply epitomizes his attitude towards life:
See, that’s what I do. I am the audience. I am the witness. I am the great appreciator, that’s what I do and that’s all I want to do. I worked for a lot of years. I did a lot of things for a lot of years. Now, well, here I am in the rocking chair, and I don’t mind it, Lucille. I don’t feel useless. I feel lucky.
Somehow, this unlikely threesome become a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. As their relationships develop, they come to genuinely care for and love each other. They become a family of sorts, which Maddy describes as:
What is it that makes a family? Certainly no document does, no legal pronouncement or accident of birth. No, real families come from choices we make about who we want to be bound to, and the ties to such families live in our hearts.
All three of these characters are very well-developed and drive the story of this book. I found myself rooting for Maddy and loving Arthur — you just want to give each of them a big hug. The story is heartwarming, engaging, well-written, and whimsical at times.
It’s like I was living in a jar. With the lid on tight. And now I’m out and I never knew about all this air and all this light. You know? It’s like I’d never seen in color before, and now I do.”
Lately, she takes pictures of little things and blows them up big so that she can really see them. In poems, she does the opposite: big things get made small so that she can see them.
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