A book about the "small acts that can turn friends into family"
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Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Vivien Jennings of Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kan.
Vivien Jennings has a heartfelt recommendation for the holidays: "The Story of Arthur Truluv," by Elizabeth Berg.
The book follows Truluv, a recent widower, as he goes about his daily routine. Every afternoon looks the same. Truluv packs his lunch, rides the bus to the cemetery and sits next to his wife's grave while he eats.
"One day he sees this sullen teenager who, it turns out, is coming to the cemetery to escape the other kids at school," Jennings explained. "They begin a surprising friendship."
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Their impromptu circle grows when Truluv's elderly neighbor joins the group. (Truluv's cat is never far from the crowd, either.)
The book, Jennings said, "reminds us of our humanity and of those small acts that can turn friends into family."
"I didn't want it to end. I tell you, anyone who reads this book is going to fall in love with Arthur Truluv, and with his new family as well."