The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

June 13, 2016 Contemporary Fiction 12

Happy Monday, Bookworms!

I have been terrible about reviewing books lately. I don’t mean that what I’ve been posting is terrible (because I obviously think that what I’m saying is very important and interesting all the time) buuuut I’ve been reading a whole lot more than I have been posting. I’m going to try break out of the cycle this week, folks. Andi at Estella’s Revenge is hosting a week long Reviewathon and I am all in. First on the agenda is one of my BEA acquisitions, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick.

curiouscharmsArthur Pepper is a 69 year old widower who is merely going through the motions in life. He’s spent the year since his wife passed away engaged in the most mundane of activities, his most rewarding relationship being with his houseplant, Frederica. On the one-year anniversary of his wife Miriam’s death, however, things begin to change. Arthur finally brings himself to clear out some of Miriam’s things when he stumbles across a piece of jewelry he’s never seen before. Arthur is completely perplexed by the bracelet and its unusual collection charms. Arthur’s curiosity is piqued for the first time since Miriam’s death. The former homebody embarks on an adventure that leads him to encounter locations, people, and trousers he never would have expected.

I hate to play the comparison game, but I’m going to anyway. Raise your hand if you’ve seen Up! Yes, the Pixar movie. The one where the widower goes on a journey and finds purpose and joy in life in spite of his grief? The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a little like that. With fewer balloons and more ferns named Frederica, of course. But the general vibe? Totally there. I couldn’t help but love Arthur and all the misfits and oddballs he meets along the way. This is a feel good book of the first degree, and utterly charming. If you need a few warm fuzzies, this is your read, folks!

Talk to me, Bookworms! What’s your favorite feel-good read?

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12 Responses to “The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick”

  1. Megan M.

    This sounds really cute. The only book I can think of right now is “Hector and the Search for Happiness” although I think series like “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” by Alexander McCall Smith and the Aunt Dimity mysteries by Nancy Atherton are feel-goods, too.

    Reply

    • Words For Worms

      I have heard so many great things about the Ladies Detective Agency books and I still haven’t read them. I should rectify that post-haste. If memory serves, they’re set in Africa? I just finished a book set in Nigeria that I totally dug, I could definitely be down with a similar setting.

      Reply

      • Megan M.

        Yes! Botswana. There’s also an HBO series that was excellent but sadly only lasted one season.

        Reply

  3. Kristen M.

    I honestly cannot think of a single “feel good” read. I just don’t ever pick up books like this one for some reason. It sounds cute though!

    Reply

  4. SuziQoregon

    Oh this sounds fun. Sometimes a feel good read is just what I need. And now I want to watch UP again.

    I second the recommendation for The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series but I’m going to take it further and recommend the audiobook. The narrator Lisette Lecat is a delight and listening to it takes away the struggle with figuring out how to pronounce the places and names.

    Reply

  5. Jenny @ Reading the End

    Let’s see, my very most favorite feel-good read. Hilary McKay’s Saffy’s Angel always makes me feel good about life, and in adult fiction, Elinor Lipman’s The Family Man. But really I do not feel that I discover new comfort authors nearly often enough! I am always on the lookout for more!

    Reply

Talk to me, Bookworms!

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