The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper: A Novel
From the author of Rise and Shine Benedict Stone, now an original movie on Hallmark.
"An endearing celebration of life." -RealSimple.com
Perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove, this curiously charming debut follows a lovable widower and his life-changing adventure of love and self-discovery.
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 and healing in the most unexpected places.
Featuring an unforgettable cast of characters with big hearts and irresistible flaws, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a joyous reminder of life's infinite possibilities.
Don't miss Phaedra Patrick's uplifting new novel, The Little Italian Hotel!
Check out these other heartwarming stories from Phaedra Patrick:
"An endearing celebration of life." -RealSimple.com
Perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove, this curiously charming debut follows a lovable widower and his life-changing adventure of love and self-discovery.
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 and healing in the most unexpected places.
Featuring an unforgettable cast of characters with big hearts and irresistible flaws, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a joyous reminder of life's infinite possibilities.
Don't miss Phaedra Patrick's uplifting new novel, The Little Italian Hotel!
Check out these other heartwarming stories from Phaedra Patrick:
- Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone
- The Library of Lost and Found
- The Secrets of Love Story Bridge
- The Messy Lives of Book People
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Community Reviews
Simple read but it was still heart warming. It's really A 3 1/2 stars but I do love the fitting ending and it warmed my heart so that's why I bumped it up to 4 stars.
This novel reminded me a bit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, as both deal with older men taking sudden, unexpected journeys to places they never expected to be, meeting people they had never dreamed of meeting, and experiencing personal growth as a result.
But while this book does have many charms, it falls short of the writing excellence and believability of the Harold Fry novel. What I liked very much about this book is its focus on a long-term, loving marriage, imperfect children who were not seriously dysfunctional, and the steps of grief and recovery that the main character goes through. I also really liked the fact that the secrets that Arthur uncovers about his late wife's life before they met did nothing to dull his love and admiration for her. In fact, it expands his love for her.
However, I found it just too hard to believe that a man who was presented as such a simple man as Arthur was capable of demonstrating so much emotional growth and articulateness in such a short amount of time. This made a lot of his dialogue too hard to believe.
I would still gladly read other work by this same author, because finding clean and uplifting fiction is all too rare these days!
But while this book does have many charms, it falls short of the writing excellence and believability of the Harold Fry novel. What I liked very much about this book is its focus on a long-term, loving marriage, imperfect children who were not seriously dysfunctional, and the steps of grief and recovery that the main character goes through. I also really liked the fact that the secrets that Arthur uncovers about his late wife's life before they met did nothing to dull his love and admiration for her. In fact, it expands his love for her.
However, I found it just too hard to believe that a man who was presented as such a simple man as Arthur was capable of demonstrating so much emotional growth and articulateness in such a short amount of time. This made a lot of his dialogue too hard to believe.
I would still gladly read other work by this same author, because finding clean and uplifting fiction is all too rare these days!
What a lovely gem of a book!
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book and I found myself falling in love with it and with Arthur Pepper immediately. I watched come out of his chrysalis of routine and blandness and become a butterfly, seeing the world and doing things he’d never done. He learned to live again. I loved this book the way I loved Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance and The Little Paris Bookshop. It’s a beautiful story, with all the right elements to create a minor miracle in one’s life. I highly recommend it.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book and I found myself falling in love with it and with Arthur Pepper immediately. I watched come out of his chrysalis of routine and blandness and become a butterfly, seeing the world and doing things he’d never done. He learned to live again. I loved this book the way I loved Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance and The Little Paris Bookshop. It’s a beautiful story, with all the right elements to create a minor miracle in one’s life. I highly recommend it.
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