The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

Synopsis: In this poignant and sparkling debut, a lovable widower embarks on a life-changing adventure

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, healing and self-discovery 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 curiously charming debut and a joyous celebration of life’s infinite possibilities.

Review: I’ve had this novel for a long time. I remember that I received it by surprise and left it on my TBR pile until now. But now I’m finally getting started!

Arthur’s wife, Miriam, has been dead for almost a year and while putting away her things, he discovers a bracelet. A bracelet he didn’t know anyhting about. So our Arthur decides to find out what each charm means. That’s how he discovers that his wife had a past he knew nothing about. In this adventure, Arthur will discover unsuspected things about Miriam by traveling to different places and discovering people who knew her.

It was a beautiful novel, very poetic and touching. I didn’t know it at all, nor the author, but I must say I had a good time with Arthur.

A pleasant novel!