The Lonely Hearts Book Club

Starred review from February 27, 2023
Gilmore (I Hate You More) knocks it out of the park with this passionate love letter to books, showing literature’s power to offer solace, understanding, and human connection. When frail but formidable former literature professor Arthur fails to show up to the library as usual, librarian Sloane, who recognizes him as a kindred spirit despite his cantankerousness, correctly guesses that he’s sick and refusing help. Sloane pushes her way into Arthur’s home, and his neighbor Maisey, part-time nurse Mateo, and grandson Greg soon follow. The five protagonists tell their stories in consecutive narrations: Sloane is grieving her sister and engaged to a man she doesn’t love; telephone psychic Maisey struggles to connect with her teenage daughter; charming but listless Mateo can’t commit to a job or to his boyfriend; and Greg’s fulfilling his mother’s dying wish of reconciling with his estranged grandfather. Drawn together by Arthur’s illness, they form an unlikely book club, bonding over The Remains of the Day, The Joy Luck Club, and Anne of Green Gables. While there’s a hint of romance between Sloane and Greg, the real love story here is with stories themselves. Gilmore’s complex characters jump off the page, and readers should have their handkerchiefs ready for some cathartic tears. This is a treat.