Weekly Reader: The Adventures of George and Mabel: Based On An Almost (Kind of? Sort of? Could be?) True Story by Stefanie Hutcheson; Sweet and Funny Slice of Life About A Loving Middle Aged Couple

 Weekly Reader: The Adventures of George and Mabel: Based On An Almost (Kind of? Sort of? Could be?) True Story by Stefanie Hutcheson; Sweet and Funny Slice of Life About A Loving Middle Aged Couple

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: It is apparent a book called The Adventures of George and Mabel: Based on an Almost (Kind of? Sort of? Could be?) True Story is not going to be a hard hitting drama about some particular social issue or a heavy psychological thriller about the dark side of human nature.

Instead, Stefanie Hutcheson's novel is what it is. A sweet humorous character study of a married couple. 

The book isn't long on plot and it doesn't have to be. Instead it is almost an anthology or a series of character sketches which explore the titular duo and their interests, families, friendships and most importantly their love for each other.

From the opening lines when the two of them go into the famous 

Pinky and The Brain "What are we going to do tonight/The same thing we do every night" dialogue, George and Mabel Harrison are instantly likeable. They are a quirky duo that take long road trips to visit extended family and  quote favorite song lyrics back and forth to each other when the situation calls for it. (When Mabel mentions a friend named Geraldine or Gerry, George sings the Four Seasons song, "Sherry Baby.") They are the type of couple that constantly have nicknames for each other like George's "Red" for Mabel and "Lula Mom" for Mabel's mother and share private jokes. These facets to their personality are explored in exquisite details.

A few chapters are  devoted to their background, such as Mabel's relationship with her religious minded sister and the couple's child free life, but close bond with their 9 nieces and nephews. Their colorful road trips to visit extended family are explored. We learn about their first meeting during the Summer of '78 when the two pre-teens kissed each other out of curiosity and separated, only to reunite and begin dating years later. This initial meeting and their relationship years later (as well as George's childhood crush on the "Little Red Haired Girl" from the Peanuts comics and cartoon specials and his ultimately fulfilled desire to be with his own version of her) suggest that the couple's lives are fated. 

A humorous chapter early on the book also provides a bit of fatalism. The duo takes a road trip and observe that a crate falls from an unmarked truck bed. Mabel's constant nagging suspicions about whether the truck contained drugs or humans being trafficked, actually proves useful when it turns out the truck actually did have kidnapped immigrant children, who were being sold to human traffickers. Unbeknownst to George and Mabel, the traffickers are arrested thanks to the Harrison's phone call. According to the introduction, this incident sprang from a real (though less dramatic)  situation in which Hutcheson observed a crate falling from a truck. 

This chapter is a slight stab at social commentary that doesn't quite fit the quirky humorous tone of the rest of the book. However, it fits the religious connotations that appear from Hutcheson's own Christian background that are elaborated upon in her introduction. It offers a little story of people doing good works and saving others, even if they are unaware of those actions. It also parallels how George and Mabel's lives are fated or directed by a beneficial and loving Higher Power.

Unlike many inspirational books, this one doesn't force a religious point. In fact, it is mostly understated. What governs are the goofy cute characters that surround the religious undertones.

In one of the worst years on record, The Adventures of George and Mabel cannot be reommended highly enough. They aren't deep or serious. George and Mabel are a genuinely sweet and loving couple in which it is nice to spend some time with.