The Lonely Hearts Book Club

The novel explores the Dynamics of Unlikely Friendships by bringing a diverse cast of characters into one common space. At the start of the novel, Sloane, Maisey, Mateo, Greg, and Arthur are relative strangers to one another. Sloane and Mateo are work acquaintances, but they don’t share a close friendship outside the context of the library. They both know Arthur as a regular customer but have also learned to regard him as “a curmudgeon” and even as “Satan’s grandfather” (7). Therefore, when Arthur starts coming into the library on Sloane’s shifts, Sloane is surprised to discover that she “actually like[s] him” and that Arthur “always seem[s] happy to see [her], even if nothing [will] prevail upon him to let it show” (10). The basis for Arthur and Sloane’s connection is therefore happenstance. However, over time, it is their perceived differences that ultimately bring them together. As the months pass and Sloane becomes increasingly invested in Arthur’s well-being, she draws the remaining cast of characters into their unexpected dynamic. Arthur becomes the lynchpin to the new friend group’s connection and thus the force that brings them together. In this way, Arthur is given the chance to redeem himself by helping others relate to one another, as opposed to using his influence to alienate people in the ways he has done in the past.

Sloane, Maisey, Mateo, Greg, and Arthur’s friendship is strengthened by their shared experiences of loss, longing, and loneliness. Before the five characters start spending time with one another, they live in near complete isolation. Sloane is engaged and her parents live nearby, but she hasn’t truly loved anyone since her sister died years prior. Maisey has a daughter but struggles to relate to her. She lives in a “black hole of solitude” almost as dark as Arthur’s (84). Arthur has also been on his own since his wife’s death and daughter’s estrangement. He’s refused to allow Greg into his life until the narrative present. Greg tries to amend his relationship with Arthur in light of his mother’s death, despite the difficulties, and Mateo finds himself becoming attached to the group when his relationship with Lincoln Jonas grows strained. Therefore, all of the characters have spent their adult lives convinced “that [they are] alone in [their] suffering” (325). Once they join together over a common interest in a shared space, they begin to understand how important their friendship is. Furthermore, their unexpected connections alleviate their loneliness and afford them the fortifying companionship they have craved. Despite the differences in age, gender, background, and personality that could otherwise separate them, their individuality helps bring a positive diversity to the group that allows them to grow and build a life around one another.