Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out: The uplifting, feel-good read of 2023

Product Information

The title already says it: Arthur and Teddy are coming out. Arthur is Teddy's grandad, and after 50 years of marriage with his wife, Teddy's grandma, he's finally ready to tell the world he's gay. Well, to tell his family, but soon everyone will know.

The ending was extremely rushed, and Teddy’s romance was so cheesy and predictable that I actually found it off-putting rather than romantic. Arthur ist vermutlich der liebste Großvater, den man nur haben kann und sein großes Herz und sein unerschütterlicher Glaube an das Gute in den Menschen haben mich wirklich sehr berührt. Sich mit 79 für ein Coming Out zu entscheiden ist eine schwere Entscheidung und ihm werden zunächst einige Steine in den Weg gelegt, aber er steht unerschütterlich für sich selbst ein und bleibt dabei immer freundlich und verständnisvoll (selbst an Stellen, bei denen ich beim Lesen am liebsten selber losgebrüllt hätte). Die Unterstützung, die er dabei von seiner (noch) Frau Madeleine erfährt und die Liebe, die die beiden einander entgegenbringen, hat mich teilweise zu Tränen gerührt. Wir alle brauchen eine Madeleine in unserem Leben - eine Person, die immer zu uns hält und immer an uns glaubt, egal was kommt. This story is perfect for you if you love queer romances and are in need of a great book that you'll finish in no time because of the writing style and story itself.

Sometimes, I simply don’t know where to start when writing a review. “Arthur and Teddy are Coming Out” is a book that makes you feel a lot of things. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the book, it’s just that the story is sad, but also endearing and, at the same time, it makes you wonder why some people can’t accept others the way they are. The feel-good read of 2023. Perfect for fans of Mike Gayle, Beth O’Leary and Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper. What really makes the book shine though, is the bond between Teddy and Arthur. They really helped each other grow as characters and into their own identities as the book went along. You often see the male family members as antagonists in this genre, but that is absolutely not the case here. I'd love to have read something like this when I was younger and finding myself. This is a fantastic debut and deserves a lot of success. Arthur and Teddy have always been close, and now they must navigate first loves, heartbreak, and finding their place in their community. Generally, the handful of women in this are flat clichés. Elizabeth is the 'career obsessed bitch'. Teddy's other best friend Lexi is a quirky straight girl without a personality beyond going out for drinks with her two ✨gay best friends✨ and complaining about being single..

Even Madeline, the grandma and Arthur's wife, is a trope. She's a saint. She is constantly kind, does the household, takes care of Arthur (which is sweet but also???), and is so involved in the community that it feels like the entire town is her. She's on every committee and has founded a million clubs or whatever. And because all that obviously leaves so much free time, she also cooks and bakes and generally 'keeps them fed'. Which, anyone who's ever had to keep a household running knows that that's a full-time job even with the kids long out of the house, so when does this almost 80-year-old woman sleep???When 79-year-old Arthur Edwards gathers his family together to share that he's gay, and after a lifetime in the closet, he's finally ready to come out. Double coming out story with a grandfather and grandson. Grandfather Arthur's wife knew all along he was gay, she also wanted to get married to escape pressure to marry someone horrible, so they made the marriage work and she's completely supportive of his desire to come out at 79. Along with his coming-out journey (which inexplicably takes place mostly in the national media) there's also his grandson Teddy who ends up in a love triangle with his best friend and boyfriend. It’s a very easy read, even though there are some difficult topics. I’ll mention the trigger warnings below if you want to know. I did notice that at times the story went really fast, and certain things are skipped, which I thought could have been a bit better. And other times, I had the feeling some parts could have been wrapped up a bit sooner. The book is completely unique in a genre that can often feel repetitive. It features a very clever split narrative. It jumps between Arthur, a 79 year old grandfather who has just come out to his family, and his grandson Teddy, who is also gay and struggling to find his place in the World. In this genre, you would most often see the two love interests sharing the narrative. Having grandfather and grandson sharing the spotlight instead, this book has torn up the rulebook completely. It was a brave decision to stray away from something so familiar, and in my opinion, it works really well. This book exudes happiness, wholesomeness and inclusion. It tells the story of a grandfather and grandson both grappling with the coming out process and the prejudices that still exist in our society. But there is so much more here....excellently well thought out family and friendship dynamics and a bit of a subversion of expectations when it comes to happy endings. For me, the hero of this story is Madeline, who was the epitome of grace and forgiveness. Maybe more focus could have been put on her, but ultimately this wasn't her story.

This is a book firmly in the 'feel-good modern novel about someone finding themselves with a side of romance' genre, with the intergenerational element that many of these books have thrown in as well. Each chapter alternates between Arthur and Teddy's perspectives, which works well, and you get the expected range of side characters who mostly all turn out to be good people as this is meant to be a happy book (the somewhat of a villain character was very obvious from the start, as you might expect). The bond between Arthur and Teddy is something that stands out in the book, making their stories well-connected rather than two different elements. After hearing Arthur’s account of being a closet gay in the sixties, being subjected to conversion therapy at his father’s request, Teddy is grateful that attitudes have changed, but still wary of coming out, given his mother’s reaction. Then, having worked with Ben for some time, he realises he’s attracted, but Shakeel makes it plain he doesn’t trust the ambitious trainee’s motives. CW: Suicide, threat of murder, homophobia, gaslighting, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, death of a parent, physical abuse, cancer, addiction, grief, abandonment of a child, abandonment of an elder. To me, “Arthur and Teddy are Coming Out” is marketed as this lighthearted, heartwarming little book about a grandpa and a grandson both coming out to their family members as being gay. I honestly don’t think this book was either heartwarming nor lighthearted in the way that the author aimed for. Arthur and Teddy have always been close, and now they must navigate first loves, heartbreak, and finding their place in their community. But can they – and their family – learn to accept who they truly are?Arthur and Teddy have always been close, and now they must navigate first loves, heartbreak, and finding their place in their community. But can they – and their family – learn to accept who they truly are? My opinion Thank you so much @harper_reach for this ARC of Arthur and Teddy are Coming Out in exchange for an honest review. But don’t worry! At the end, our little nepo baby oh so magnanimously turns down the job at the newspaper so that Ben can have it! How civic-minded of him! Life is full of sacrifices, Teddy. We’ll make good and bad choices, but we shouldn’t let regrets define us. I’m not perfect, but I hope when I’m not here that the people I love will remember me for the good things and know I did my best for them. Arthur