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Summary: A book that has warmth optomisim and a positive ending.
Review: In tipical Anne Tyler fashion, her group of Baltimoore misfits rise above the successful society in which they live.
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Summary: More quirkiness per paragraph-guaranteed.
Review: "Barnaby Gaitlin is a loser and he knows it!In his every move he shows it!" In the world of true losers this is a childish taunt that would likely be thrown his way. America would never embrace this underachiever in the manner in which they have that funny yellow fellow whose mother has blue hair.Speaking of mother's, Barnaby's makes me want to cry out,"No more wire hangers!" Barnaby's meeting with Sophia is the stuff that Seinfield was made of. Repeat after me,"Relationships that begin with public stalking,are not likely to end in marriage." Barnaby is adept the at mismanagment of his life. Having a soft spot for Anne Tyler's strange characters, on page 87 , I begin to root for him when he decides to save money to pay his mother for a crime committed in his youth. My absolute favorite couple in this volume is an honor that goes to the original owners of the Corvette.My favorite line is:"If Mom had had her way,she wouldn't have mere! ! ly married a Gaitlin;she would have arranged to have a Gaitlin blood trsnfusion."
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Summary: Anticipation turns to disappointment
Review: Anne Tyler's latest book, "A Patchwork Planet" was a disappointment to me. Eagerly I wait each time for her books to come to print, and this one, sadly enough, was a disappointment. Unlike "Ladder of Years" or her older books like "Clock Winder" or "Morgan's Passing" I did not find Barnaby Gaitlin as Tyler's quintessentially quirky characters, which is a huge reason why I love Anne Tyler as a novelist. The book was an easy read but I just was not drawn into the novel like her other books. Unlike her other characters, like Delia in "Ladder of Years" or Elizabeth (Gillespie) in "Clock Winder", Barnaby's character did not appeal to me. Also, Tyler's typical humor was missing in her newest book. I wouldn't tell other people don't bother with this book, but I was sadly disappointed at her latest effort.
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Summary: A Beautiful, Civilizing, " Humanifying" Novel
Review: Anne Tyler is a novelist of, I think, remarkable consistency who goes from strength to strength. A PATCHWORK PLANET continues her series of explorations into the psyche of "ordinary" people, entrapped by family expectations and traditions. When I saw that the book was a first person narrative, I was slightly nervous that I would miss Tyler's own voice. But she has done a masterful job. Her narrator, Barnaby, like Tyler, notices all the little quirks and ideosyncracies that make up humanity. Tyler has a genius for making dislikable people human. She has an ability to transmit the "still sad music of humanity," as Wordsworth said, which humanizes the reader as we identify with characters who may not be our age, our gender, our class, but whose foibles, illuminated by Tyler, can come close to our own. I think Tyler has what John Keats called "negative capability", which is high praise. It means that she does not need to write about herself, she can create a diversity, a planet, of characters and can limn them with just a sentence or two. Her offhand writing style belies the careful craftsmanship and the penetrating intelligence that lies behind all of her writing. Tyler may not be a poet, but her gift for characterization rivals Shakespeare's, I believe. Don't be misled by the readability of her works; profundity need not be difficult.
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Summary: Quietly touching
Review: All of Anne Tyler's books have a quiet, gentle feel about them and this is perhaps quieter than most. Still, she has brought to life a complex, fully complete character -- which many authors seem to ignore. While the story is not a fast-moving one (little action happens) Tyler has a way of capturing a spectrum of emotions in a simple turn of phrase. One again, Tyler has proven brilliant insight into the subtle nuances of human nature.
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Summary: No one unites the generations like Tyler!
Review: Just when I think that Anne Tyler can't keep doing the exact same thing over and over again in her novels and stay creative and exciting, I am pleasantly surpised. Barnaby is as endearing a character as my other favorite Tyler creations, the dog trainer in Accidental Tourist and the restaurant owner in Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. My favorite scene in the book is the "pot luck" Thanksgiving dinner--the book is worth reading just for that scene. This would be a great book for mature teens who are starting to wonder what truly defines success in life.
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Summary: Tyler is the best American writer today
Review: I loved this book! I've enjoyed all of her writing, but this one seemed to strike so many personal chords. I thought the main character - Barnaby - is one of her best. I don't understand how any of the other reviewers thought this was boring. I had to force myself to put it down so that it would last . . . The last line of the book is one of the most moving I've ever read. She amazes me!
Rating:
Summary: A fair book, but quite disappointing.
Review: In fact, I almost stopped altogether after the first 120 pages. It was, simply, dull. And I'm not just a fan of Tyler's older works -- "Saint Maybe" (book #12) is my favorite. But this one (#14) just doesn't go anywhere. It doesn't have to as long as the characters intrigue. Only Sophia has an interesting effect on the story, which does pick up considerably in the last half despite a series of forgettable minor characters that drag the early portions of the book down. Despite that, it was entertaining enough, but in the lesser quartile of the Tyler cannon. Not a bad read, but wait for the paperback. (Pet peeve: Tyler refers to any character of color, initially, as "a black kid" or "an old black lady". It's a poor way to characterize. If she descrived Ms. Alford as "an elderly white woman," it would be okay. But she doesn't.)
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Summary: Is There A Better Writer Out There Today?
Review: Anne Tyler should be considered a National Treasure by anyone interested in appealing, three-dimensional characters in popular fiction. In her latest, "A Patchwork Planet", Ms. Tyler continues to explore the flawed hearts and souls of her characters. Like her classic novels "Ladder of Years" and "Accidental Tourist", this most recent book focuses on how even the smallest, most innocent decisions can have huge repercussions. If this book doesn't live up to the standard of her earlier novels, it is simply because Tyler has set the bar so high for herself... and her fellow writers.
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Summary: A very worthwhile summer read:
Review: Anne Tyler's A Patchwork Planet is one of the most charming books I've read lately. In the Seinfeld mode of really being about nothing, by the end of the book you know its main character very well and you are sorry to have to part with him. She makes you empathize with him, all the while wanting to kick him for his wrong decisions. She lets this character disclaim a number of profundities about the human condition that I will go back and reread in the future. Curl up with it on a rainy day and you will not be sorry!
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