Summary:
In this poignant and sparkling debut, a lovable widower embarks on a life-changing adventure
Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater vest, waters his fern, Frederica, and heads out to his garden.
But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam’s death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam’s possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he’s never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife’s secret life before they met–a journey that leads him to find hope, healing and self-discovery in the most unexpected places.
My take: 5 looks
I love a good title, and this is a GREAT title! It immediately evokes questions: How charming is Arthur? How can one’s charms be curious? Right away, I was invested, just because of the title.
However, just a few pages in, I realized that these charms are not personality traits at all, but small charms for a charm bracelet.
On a side note, I have a charm bracelet. It is gold, like the one in the story, and has a number of charms on it, representing moments in my life. I used to wear it quite often, and the little tinkling of the charms each time I moved my arm gave me great joy. However, as the years wore on, and I added more charms, it became more of a keepsake than a piece to wear. I would be devastated if I lost it.
Maybe I became so invested in the story because of this aspect I had in common with the main character. Or, more likely, I fell in love with the characters, the premise, and the journey on which Arthur was going to take me.
Arthur is still heavy in mourning a year after losing his wife of 40 years when he decides it is time to clear out her wardrobe. Once he discovers the bracelet, he realizes there may have been more to his wife’s life before marriage than he knew. And as he goes along his journey to discover the stories behind each charm, he comes to realize that he never knew this side of her because he never asked.
A life full of routine and schedule that was a comfort to him in the past now seems claustrophobic. He wonders if his wife was truly happy, in her house on the edge of the country, raising two children, and being the wife of a locksmith.
Because of these thoughts, Arthur is inspired to get out of his comfort zone, learn about his wife’s life before marriage, reconnect with his children, and open himself to new friendships and possibilities.
Reminiscent of “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman, the characters are quirky, original, outcasts, and completely lovable. It’s a group of disparate personalities who are beautifully cast together because of the actions of one man. Instead of Arthur’s story ending at his wife’s death, it is really just beginning a brand new chapter.
Highly recommended.
