Given that the story is British, the most apt adjective for it is probably "lovely." It really is. Phaedra Patrick's The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is just a delightful little story of the recently-widowed septuagenarian Arthur Pepper, who discovers a charm bracelet as he is cleaning out his late wife's belongings on the first anniversary of her death. Following its discovery, Arthur embarks on a quest to uncover the stories behind the charms.
His wife, Miriam, it seems led a varied and exciting life before she met him and settled down in the shadow of York Minster. In fact, the more of her life he discovers, the more he is certain that she couldn't really have been as happy with their quiet life together as she had seemed. Arthur begins to ask himself if, even after 40+ years, you can ever really know another person.
As I said, this is a lovely story, a quick read, but with deeper issues to be pondered just below the surface. For Phaedra Patrick has really created a story about the malleability of memory, both what we choose to forget, as well as how what we remember can change shape with the passage of time. Patrick does this in a subtle enough way, never bludgeoning her reader with the heavy stuff, such that one can just as happily read about Arthur Pepper's adventures when seeking a light read as when in a brooding mood.
Most impressively, Patrick has created a bevy of unique characters about whom I cared and for whose successes I cheered. I finished this book wanting more, thinking about where a sequel might lead.
Five stars.
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