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Sloane works at a library in a small town in Idaho. She’s engaged to a perfectly satisfactory chiropractor. Life is orderly and just fine for her. Meeting a curmudgeonly retired professor at the library, however, ends up making her life completely disorderly and, well, not just fine anymore.
Arthur insults the reading tastes of Sloane and her fellow librarians, tells her she’s a Pollyanna, and basically aims to make people miserable. But Sloane decides to spar good-naturedly with him every day and aims to build some kind of relationship.
When he doesn’t come to the library for a few days, she gets concerned. She looks up his address (in the library system, which her boss severely reminds her is against the rules) and hunts him down. At his house, which is stuffed to the rafters with books, Sloane finds a man who is barely able to take care of himself. Home against medical advice after a short stay in the hospital, Arthur needs round-the-clock care. But he’s already chased off several nurses.
Despite her boss’s and her fiance’s warnings against getting involved, Sloane gets involved. And takes over Arthur’s care, whether he wants her to or not (outwardly, he seems to not want her, but she knows inwardly he does enjoy having her around).
Slowly, other people get involved too: another librarian who’s gone from career to career, a neighbor whose teen daughter barely talks to her, Arthur’s long-lost grandson. Sloane starts reading books with Arthur and each of these other lonely souls gets pulled in. And they find themselves less lonely, more able to open up to be themselves.
The Lonely Hearts Book Club is charming and heartwarming but not overly so. It hits just the right notes as it builds connection, friendship, love amongst these characters. I couldn’t help but smile and be pulled into the book. Sure, I had an idea how things would go, but it was a delight to watch it all unfold.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 3 uses of strong language, around 15 instances of moderate profanity, 20 uses of mild language, and about 15 instances of the name of Deity in vain.
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