Earth’s the Right Place for Love
by Elizabeth Berg
I have read several novels by Elizabeth Berg. She excels at writing character driven novels. The first book I read by her was The Story of Arthur Truluv. I was enchanted by the character of Arthur, a kind, nonjudgemental, gentle, elderly man. In Earth’s the Right Place for Love, Berg returns to the character of Arthur as a sixteen year old. We learn that Arthur was the kind of person you could trust even as a teenager. He was always different from his peers. Never interested in sports, Arthur loved nature, especially plants. Most of the book follows his love for Nola who was cute, popular, and enjoyed Arthur’s friendship. Arthur wanted more, but never pushed for more from Nola who was very interested in Arthur’s older brother Frank.
I almost stopped reading the book during the first part because of physical abuse that happened when Arthur’s father was drunk. Those passages are not graphic but recognizing the occurrences is unavoidable. They ended about one-third of the way into the book. I was glad I just pushed on through as the rest of the book was so good. There is sadness to the book, but is is also a hopeful book with the main character mostly optimistic and patient.
Besides Arthur and Nola, Frank is another likable main character. He is bold, good at sports, and appeals to women. A sounding board and mentor for Arthur, Frank’s goal is to become a writer. The brothers’ relationship and Frank’s story are important parts of this novel. Their mother models love based on commitment. At times her actions make her seem weak, but actually she is strong and determined to keep her family together.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: General Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. Although the protagonist, Arthur Moses, is the same Arthur as found in The Story of Arthur Truluv, this novel is about Arthur as a boy and young man. The stories are not dependent on each other.
2. The setting of the story is the small town of Mason where Berg has set three other novels.
3. Warning of potential trigger for some readers: references to physical abuse.
Publication: March 21, 2023—Random House
Memorable Lines:
If nothing else, Arthur had learned this: love came in without knocking and stayed without your permission. And when hard times came between you and the one you loved, you didn’t run away. You stayed. His mother had told him that. His mother had demonstrated that.
“Remember, Pop was an orphan. And he didn’t get adopted until he was ten.” “Yeah, so?” “So it makes a difference, Arthur. Pop’s got a hole we won’t ever fill.”
The natural world was better than anything. He couldn’t say in words what it gave him, but he could feel it the minute he stepped outside: a kind of expansiveness and peace.
This one sounds interesting
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It is. Patient love is a theme all the way through.
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Oh…I need to work on that.
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Thanks for the honest review Linda
Jenna
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You are welcome, Jenna. Have a great week!
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I have never read a novel by Elizabeth Berg, but have heard good things about them. This sounds like something I would enjoy. Thanks for the review, Linda!
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She has written quite a number of books. I have only read 4, but I liked all of them. There was nothing formulaic about them.
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The way you are with reading bad things in books is how I am with the news. We don’t even watch it anymore because it is nothing but shootings, killing and so on. I really respect that you will put a book down for that same reason Linda. Anyhow, it was a good review and I’m glad you read on past the bad stuff.
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I understand about the news, Diane. I haven’t cut it out altogether, but I have greatly reduced the amount of time I spend on current events. The reports are overwhelmingly negative and frequently made up of manipulative lies. It is hard to know if any of them are trustworthy. Our time is better spent on finding the positives in life!
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Wonderful review, Linda. I was a bit put off by the abuse, but it fit the story. I just posted my review of this book last week. I enjoyed seeing Arthur grow up and how he met Nola, the love of his life.
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Yes, I read your review. Unfortunately, the abuse was integral to the story, but it was hard to read.
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