“You know, through my travels and meeting people who were part of Miriam’s life, I’m learning that it’s the things you say and do that people remember you for. She is no longer here but she lives on in peoples’ hearts and minds.” So says Arthur Pepper in Phaedra Patrick’s debut novel, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper. This is a book about living life to its fullest and not throwing in the towel when things don’t go the way you were hoping. It is about trusting and believing in yourself as well as never giving up.
Sixty-nine year old Arthur Pepper lives a simple, some would say vanilla, life. He gets out of bed at exactly 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same grey slacks and mustard sweater vest every day, waters his fern, Frederica, and heads out to his garden. But, on the one-year anniversary of Miriam’s death, something changes.
With determination, Arthur decides to sort through Miriam’s possessions and in doing so finds an attractive gold charm bracelet he’s never seen before. Where did it come from? Why would Miriam own such a thing? It was so unlike her to wear something so bold. What follows is a unexpected and memorable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in a 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 unforeseen places.
Along the way, Arthur meets some intriguing and unique characters each related in some way to one of the charms on Miriam’s bracelet; an elephant, a tiger, a book, a golden thimble, a flower, a ring, a paint palette and a heart.
I was attracted to this book from the get go. Such an inviting little story is hard for me to resist. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is original, charming and wise and is an amusing tale about grief and healing. I was moved by Arthur and his journey to rediscover someone he loved. Arthur Pepper will instantly capture your heart if you loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, a book that I also reviewed and enjoyed. I give The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper a 3.5/5.
