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The Mole Agent Delve Deeper Reading List Adult Fiction

Adult Fiction

Berg, Elizabeth. The Story of Arthur Truluv. New York, NY: Random House, 2017.
For the past six months, Arthur Moses's days have looked the same: He tends to his rose garden and to Gordon, his cat, then rides the bus to the cemetery to visit his beloved late wife for lunch. The last thing Arthur would imagine is for one unlikely encounter to utterly transform his life. Eighteen-year-old Maddy Harris is an introspective girl who visits the cemetery to escape the other kids at school. One afternoon she joins Arthur; a gesture that begins a surprising friendship between two lonely souls.

Cannon, Joanna. Three Things about Elsie.New York, NY: Scribner Book Company, 2018.
Eighty-four-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, she thinks about her friend Elsie and wonders if a terrible secret from their past is about to come to light. If the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly like a man who died sixty years ago?

Groen, Hendrik. The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen.New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing, 2017. Technically speaking, Hendrik Groen is....elderly. But at age 83 1/4, this feisty, indomitable curmudgeon has no plans to go out quietly. Bored of weak tea and potted geraniums, exasperated by the indignities of aging, Hendrik has decided to rebel--on his own terms. He begins writing an expose: secretly recording the antics of day-to-day life in his retirement home, where he refuses to take himself, or his fellow "inmates," too seriously.

Haruf, Kent. Our Souls at Night.New York, NY: Knopf Publishing Group, 2015
In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf's inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis's wife. His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with.

Hicks, Joyce. Escape from Assisted Living.Createspace Independent Publishing, 2014.
Sharon D'Angelo thought it was a solid plan to move her mother Betty Miles into a senior care facility, but after three weeks at Shady Grove, the octogenarian is already planning her escape. She agonizes about this misbehavior; a good mother wouldn't disappear on her daughter. Then she learns that her late husband did a little misbehaving himself; there's a safe deposit box stashed away in Chicago containing who knows what. Betty has to find out the truth no matter the consequences.

Jonasson, Jonas. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.New York, NY: Hyperion, 2012.
After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).

McCorkle, Jill. Life after Life.Chapel Hill, NC: Shannon Ravenel Books, 2013.
Life After Life is filled with a sense of wonder at our capacity for self-discovery at any age. And the residents, staff, and neighbors of the Pine Haven retirement center (from twelve-year-old Abby to eighty-five-year-old Sadie) share some of life's most profound discoveries and are some of the most true-to-life characters that you are ever likely to meet in fiction. Delivered with her trademark wit, Jill McCorkle's constantly surprising novel illuminates the possibilities of second chances, hope, and rediscovering life right up to the very end. She has conjured an entire community that reminds us that grace and magic can appear when we least expect it.

Roca, Paco. Wrinkles. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, 2016.
Retired bank manager Emilio, suffering from Alzheimer's, is taken to an assisted living home by his son. He befriends his roommate Miguel, an overconfident ladies' man. Together, they employ clever tricks to keep the doctors from noticing Emilio's ongoing deterioration -- and keep him from being transferred to the dreaded confinement of the top floor of the facility. ("Better to die than to end up there." Their determination to stay active as individuals and maintain their dignity culminates in an adventurous escape.

Sources

About the author:

Sarah Burris

Sarah Burris