A Gentleman's Guide to Graceful Living

How much of Arthur resides in all of us we may not know, but if the main character of Michael Dahlie's new book, "A Gentleman's Guide to Graceful Living" is any indication, it might be more than we think. Or at least it was with me. Dahlie presents a tour de force in his portrayal of Arthur, the sixty-something recently-divorced loner who, unsteadily but unsparingly, goes about picking up the pieces of his midlife crisis. To be sure, there are those who help him along the way, but there are those whose roadblocks to empowerment are sometimes so strong that Arthur seems bewildered about how to respond or make a move. The author's narrative is riveting in its simplicity and his feel for Arthur never wavers. It doesn't take long for the reader to know that we're all in this life with Arthur, cheering him on, picking him up, urging him forward and hoping for the best. Through it all, Arthur maintains a special individual integrity accompanied by gin and tonics, scotches, wine, lobster, the Catskills, France and Manhattan and more than one woman. While it might be nice to have money or have had it, Arthur is always on the edge, and so is the reader. One wonders how Arthur would have fared if he had been truly alone...no family, fewer friends, widowed or perhaps even gay. That's a sequel for the author to consider. But in "A Gentleman's Guide to Graceful Living", Michael Dahlie has set a high standard of entertainment and desire with just enough of a trampoline cushion to keep Arthur afloat and all of us happy...and wanting more.

In A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO GRACEFUL LIVING, Michael Dahlie presents us with a rather unique central character by the name of Arthur Camden. Arthur sounds perfect on paper. He is from old money. He has had many things handed to him, and lives what looks like an enviable lifestyle. Inherited wealth which allows him to be a member of New York society, nice homes, expensive clothes, the ability to dine in the best restaurants and to travel wherever he pleases. On the surface, Arthur seems very, very lucky. However, Arthur's life is in crisis. His wife wants to divorce him for reasons he does not quite understand. He's ruined the family business and a vicious relative treats him with contempt in front of his son. His inherited membership in the very exclusive fly-fishing club called Maidenhead Grange is terminated because he broke an important rule of the club and ended up causing a fire. There are more than a couple of situations that turn out to be completely hilarious! Truth is, Arthur does not understand how any of these things happened. He always meant well and tried to do the correct thing and play by the rules. He searches his mind and memory to try to discern how all of the events came about, but again, he's not always sure how he could have done anything differently, but he wants to change. In spite of the fact that Arthur does blunder along through life, it's true that he's a nice guy and means well. The real indication of a good story is when the reader personally cares what happens to the characters. With each page, I was cheering for Arthur and hoping against hope that he would not do what I could sense might be coming along in the next paragraph. The author takes the reader into the unforgettable life of a man who does his best to always be a gentleman. I believe that I have met an Arthur or two before in my life, but thanks to Michael Dahlie, now I may understand them a little better! A very pleasurable read!

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. As I approached the end, I slowed my reading as much as possible in order to squeeze as much time as possible with the hapless, and totally likeable, Arthur Camden. I lost track of the number of times that I laughed out loud. A highly entertaining debut from a talented writer. Looking forward to reading more from Mr. Dahlie.

This book has the wonderful quality of being sad, funny, and intriguing at the same time. As I got further in, I dreading finishing it and then having no more pages to turn. I am looking forward to Dahlie's next book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It's a page turner as the story unfolds of the misadventures of the protagonist Arthur. He's sort of a blue-blooded 'everyman' who faces one personal disaster after the next in his pursuit of peaceful, retirement years. I cringed at some of his pitfalls (the same way I cringed at the actions of the David Brent character in the BBC version of "The Office"). You can't help but cheer this guy on as he embattles his own damaged psyche and various foes. I especially enjoyed Arthur's ill-fated trip to see a childhood friend in France (things go wrong to say the least - well pretty much everything goes wrong for Arthur).Thanks to the author for a very enjoyable read with good laughs along the way.