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.