There’s a hidden fiction sub-genre that you may not know about: the quirky old man books. This sub-genre has books like A Man Called Ove, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and Out of Sorts. These stories revolve around men in their later years where some shocking event has made them realize that their small, orderly, predictable lives aren’t enough. Maybe their spouse dies or moves out, or they are forced to retire earlier than expected. Whatever the case may be, these men realize that you’re never too old to start afresh and have an adventure.
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper falls solidly in this category. Arthur Pepper’s wife died a year ago, and since then he’s become a recluse who’s chained to his daily routines. That is until he cleans out his wife’s closet and finds a gold charm bracelet. He’s never seen it before and has no idea what the eight charms mean. So he sets off to figure out where the charms came from. From elephants in India to tigers in England, Arthur realizes that looking back into the past is fine but living in the past isn’t.
This was overall just a cute story. You’ll enjoy Arthur and his changing midst throughout the book. Yes, there are a few plot lines that I wish were more resolved or went by too quickly, but that could just be me. For the most part, this book will just make you chuckle with all the crazy situations Arthur finds himself in and wonder what will happen next.
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