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.
An Available Man Posted in: Love Stories, Widows and WidowersBy Hilma Wolitzer – Ballantine Books, 2012
Edward Schuyler is a 62-year-old widower whose family members secretly put him back in the dating pool with a personal ad. Edward is still grieving the loss of his beloved Bee, not ready to get into the social scene, content to putter with his 15-year-old dog and to check on his 90-year-old mother-in-law. When he does decide to try courtship again, blind dates, fix-ups and false starts leave Edward unfulfilled. Then, the woman who left him at the altar many lifetimes ago contacts him out of the blue and Edward wrestles with trusting her again. The story convincingly incorporates the nuances of dating after losing a life partner and the stumbling blocks to risking love a second time around. The Schuyler family’s dynamics are believable and the story is a pleasant glimpse into later-life dating from a man’s point of view, but this is a satisfying love story at any age.
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.
