Novelists are willing to explore the challenges and dilemmas of aging to create a wide array of interesting, mature protagonists and the issues they face at midlife and beyond. Our choices in contemporary fiction feature complex characters and encompass themes that are timeless and ageless, which can provide insight about the people we know or suggest what lies ahead for our future selves.
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper Posted in: Widows and WidowersBy Phaedra Patrick – Pub MIRA, 2016
A year after his wife, Miriam’s, passing, Arthur Pepper decides it’s time to remove her things from the closet. Married for 40 years, Arthur is bereft and barely functioning, relying on routine and solitude to pass the days—he even hides from a well-meaning neighbor. When he finds an expensive-looking charm bracelet tucked into a pair of Miriam’s boots, Arthur is confused. He’s certain he’s never seen it before, and Miriam was not the type to wear jewelry anyway. Or was she? Arthur calls what looks like a phone number on one of the charms, setting himself on a quest, using the bracelet as a guide, to unlock the mystery. While uncovering the secrets his wife kept, Arthur learns much about himself and comes back to the land of the living with family, friends and community. You’re going to root for sweet Arthur all the way when you read this feel-good story.
Lone Wolf Posted in: Families, MortalityBy Jodi Picoult – Atria, 2012
In her 19th novel, New York Times best-selling author Jodi Picoult once again looks at a family in the throes of a moral dilemma. Luke Warren lived in the wild for two years, studying wolves; the experience changed him, and that ultimately tore the Warrens apart. Now, a car accident leaves him dependent on life support. Should his family pull the plug? The question pits Luke’s teenage daughter, Cara, who feels she knows Luke’s wishes, against her older brother, Edward, who has been estranged from the family for six years. Always expect the unexpected with Picoult, who—in her trademark style of giving voice to all who are involved and showing every side of an issue—challenges us to think about end-of-life decisions and to consider who will speak for us when our time comes.
The Middlesteins: A Novel Posted in: FamiliesBy Jami Attenberg – Grand Central Publishing, 2012
When food is a substitute for love, what happens to the family? Richard Middlestein has just left Edie, his wife of 40 years, unwilling to abide any longer her lifelong addiction to food. Overweight since her Holocaust-surviving mother placated her with warm bread, Edie has every health condition associated with obesity. Despite dire admonitions from doctors, she shows no signs of compliance. The grown Middlestein children are distraught over their father’s abandonment. Contemptuous, often-inebriated daughter Robin sees for the first time how devastating her mother’s relationship with food has become. Henpecked son Lenny wants to keep the peace, while his rail-thin wife refuses Richard access to his spoiled grandchildren. Each deals with the fallout in ways that manage to be simultaneously funny and pitiful. The tale of the Middlesteins is fiction, but the message hits a hard note of truth in our weight-conscious culture.
