Finding a character in a book you identify with or who somehow reaches into your heart can turn an ordinary story into a lifetime favorite. This is especially important for the older adults in our lives, who often find enjoyment sinking into a good novel.
Yet, sometimes older characters in books are mere caricatures, based on stereotypes and misconceptions about people who’ve lived many years. These books listed here instead all go beyond the surface and tell tales about older people with full lives, including some with complicated relationships and histories as unique and interesting as they are.
1. The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
Arthur Moses, a widower, spends his days taking care of his roses, chatting with his cat Gordon, and visiting his late wife’s grave every day to have lunch with her. That all changes one day when he meets Maddy, a teenage girl, in the cemetery. These two lonely people form an unlikely friendship that transforms just about everything in Arthur’s life—including meeting a potential new love.
2. Plainsong (Book one of a trilogy) by Kent Haruf
Welcome to Holt, Colorado, home to unique characters you will find in small-town America. The McPheron brothers are among the most captivating. Older bachelors, they’re living a quiet life on their farm until, one day, a pregnant teenager with no place to go arrives, changing their lives and bringing them experiences they never expected. All three of the books in this trilogy, along with Haruf’s others, are a joy to read.
3. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Harold Fry is retired and living with his cranky wife in the same small English village where they’ve lived their entire marriage. One day, a letter arrives for him from an old friend, Queenie Hennessey, who has written to say goodbye because she’s in hospice. Harold writes back, but once he arrives at the corner mailbox, he decides to walk the 600 miles to where Queenie lives to deliver it in person instead. On his journey, Harold encounters many quirky and interesting people, and he remembers the most important days of his life as he walks. Maureen, back at home, begins to miss Harold terribly—leading to an unexpected turn of events.
4. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
“Broken For You” is about Margaret, an older woman diagnosed with a brain tumor in Seattle. At this stage of life, she’s come to terms with the uncomfortable circumstances of her fortune and the artifacts she owns, many of them from Nazi Germany. After her diagnosis, Margaret finds a housemate, inviting a young woman named Wanda to live with her. In their ways, they are both “broken,” and together, they find a way to resolve their issues. Through art and the connection they form that evolves into a surrogate family, they help each other understand their lives—and each other.
5. Mrs. Miracle (series) by Debbie Macomber
Mrs. Miracle is a mysterious and magical woman who can make dreams come true, fix families and change people’s lives with her attention and love. The perfect stories to read on a cold winter day with a cup of cocoa and a blanket, the Mrs. Miracle series is a heartwarming and uplifting collection of books about the holiday season and can be found on the Hallmark channel as made-for-TV movies as well.
6. The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey
British librarian Missy Carmichael was once a busy woman with two children to raise and a professor husband she adored. With her husband gone and her children and grandchildren living far away, her life has become less interesting and missing joyfulness. One day, two young strangers and a dog upend Missy Carmichael’s admittedly melancholy days when they find their way into her life and her heart. The twist ending will surprise you!
7. Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
For fans of Strout’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Olive Kitteridge, “Oh William!” will not disappoint. Lucy Barton, a character featured in other books by Strout, is newly widowed when her ex-husband, William, becomes a big part of her life again. Lucy and William have two grown daughters and a complicated history with each other. Spending more time together now, when they are both in their 70s and reflecting on their lives, causes Lucy to think hard – and sometimes painfully – about choices she made.
8. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
Abby Whitshank and her husband Red are the matriarch and patriarch of a large and complicated family—devoted to each other but living lives of their own at the same time. Their biggest concern is their youngest son, Denny, who rebels from the family’s closeness and creates drama and problems that preoccupy Abby and Red. When Abby starts to have moments of forgetfulness and Red has a heart attack, Denny returns to care for his aging parents. Woven into this book is the complicated history of the family home where Abby and Red live, adding some spice to a family saga.
Additional books you’ll want to read
- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman
- The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
- The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
- Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
- The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
