Rating: 
Summary: Not her best, but reader's age will affect how it's viewed
Review: Almost everyone enjoys Tyler's wit, sagacity and style. Her books are mostly about people enmeshed in the ceremonies, traditions and frustrations of contemporary relationships.Maggie and Ira Moran, married 26 years, are on their way from their home in Baltimore to the funeral of an old friend in Pennsylvania. In the scope of one day and in 200 miles, Tyler explores the ties that hold a family together with warmth and a sense of irony. Maggie's a bungler, an incorrigible meddler concerned with everyone's problems but her own, trying to make everything turn out all right for others while her marriage flounders. Ira is the typical middle-aged failure, a man to whom ambition is a long-dead memory but who agonizes over his mediocrity. Through leaps back and forth through time and imagination, Tyler draws a message that comes through loud and clear: how important it is to realize how much we love those nearest and dearest to us. It's a look at aging that won't shock those who are experiencing it as much as it will younger folks who haven't thought this far ahead. The lessons are important.
Rating: 
Summary: A Big Ho-hum
Review: First of all, if flashbacks bore you to death, better not pick this one up. It all started when Maggie Moran and her dreary husband, Ira, travelled all the way from Baltimore to Pennsylvania to attend the funeral of her best friend's husband. Soon, it became a reunion for Maggie & Serena's batchmates. After several pages of flashbacks on the development of romance between Maggie & Ira, the couple was "forced" to leave at Serena's house because of the "accidental" & disrespectful incident. After leaving, the story turned again to a lot of reflections and flashbacks. They bore two children, Jesse, (a drop-out from high school who was a rock band member, a separated husband and had a daughter out of wedlock) and Daisy, an incoming freshman who never became close to Maggie. (Wow, I can't believe Maggie's still there!) All of a sudden, Maggie insisted to visit Fiona (Jesse's ex-wife). But Ira said that she only wanted to visit her so that she would see their only granddaughter, Leroy. After pages of flashbacks (still there?), Maggie suggested to Fiona that she and Leroy would spend a night at their home. She hoped that Jesse & Fiona's marriage could still be saved. When she agreed, Maggie called up Jesse and told about Fiona. Jesse couldn't believe it but he went there anyway. In the end, well, the plot went nowhere. I still can't get the essence of this story. Okay, probably this- this is all about one nosy and caring mother who couldn't prosper the values she wanted to instill in her children and unmoved husband.
Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinary in the Ordinary
Review: I find that the greatest novels are those which find meaning and give insights into the lives of real people. Anne Tyler certainly does that in this wonderful novel full of complete characters, humor, and loads of insight. This is the story of one day in the life of Ira and Maggie Moran. They are on a car trip to a friend of Maggie's husband's funeral. Along the way, you get the story of their marriage. You also learn so much about their characters. Maggie is the eternal optimist; she believes that the best will happen for the people she loves. She sees only the best in those people, and she tries to manipulate their lives for her vision them. Ira is the opposite. He is cynical and stoic on the outside, but inside, feels deeply for everyone. The two deeply love each other even though they don't always realize it. Maggie's primary concern on the trip is to stop by and see her ex-daughter-in-law Fiona and her grandaughter Leroy. Maggie deeply believes that Fiona is still in love with her son Jesse, and she wants to try to convince them to get back together. And that forms the outline for the whole book. Tyler gets to study the institute of marriage from three angles: that of a couple who has lived together quietly and happily for many years, that of the couple where one has passed away, and that of the young couple who didn't make it. The result is amazing. It is thoughtful, sad, funny, and basically, entertaining on any level. Breathing Lessons is a fine novel which should be read over and over. Also, I must recommend The Spectator Bird and other novels by Wallace Stegner to people who enjoy Anne Tyler.
Rating:
Summary: A Glimpse of the Ordinary
Review: Breathing Lessons is a novel that celebrates ordinary people. Anne Tyler places us in one day of the lives of Maggie and Ira Moran. Maggie and Ira have been married for 25 years; they have raised two children and have a grandchild. By most accounts, they are very ordinary people. The ordinariness is what brings this novel to life. The reader is often granted a glimpse of Ira and Maggie's past memories that have been triggered by the days current events. The memories illuminate what circumstances influenced both of these people and shaped them to who they are today. Maggie is scatterbrained and seeks to manipulate almost all situations, in ways that suit her. Ira, is very strong willed and sensible, haunted by a family that he cannot escape. Breathing Lessons asks the question, what holds this marriage together. Ira and Maggie are completely different, both seem somewhat unhappy. Throughout the course of the novel, we begin to understand the relationship and unravel the strengths amidst the weaknesses. Overall, a great novel, once again Tyler does not disappoint. If you are looking for something fast-paced and dramatic, this novel is not for you. To fully appreciate Breathing Lessons, one must understand the flavor of this novel, ordinary. I am currently on a journey through all of Tyler's work; she is truly a master of her craft.
Rating: 
Summary: A Gentle Book that Evokes Pity, Sympathy, and Regret
Review: Anne Tyler has written a great book about normalcy. Maggie Moran is a pitiful character, for whom I felt incredibe sadness. The lengths to which she goes to make the world as she believes it should be are painful and heartbreaking. If only she put as much energy into learning how to live in a world that is not "perfect," she might be able to reach the level of happiness that it seems she seeks. Tyler's subtle transition of viewpoint between Maggie and her husband, Ira, offers insight on how two people, united in marriage can live in the same world for decades, yet see completely different things. And in a way this book is frightening. Tyler illustrates the ease with which you can close your eyes and wake up 25 years later, wondering "How exactly is it that I got here?" and "How did my life become so common?" While there is little in the book that grabs the reader, its subtlety is admirable especially given its ability to evoke emotions in the reader- including that awful feeling that you can experience when regret happens upon you.
Rating:
Summary: "Quiet Desperation"
Review: As my title implies---this book described "a-day-in-the-life" (lives) of a family, in which each member seems to regret the 'way' their lives have turned out. One character that I feel was NOT fully 'fleshed-out', was the daughter----Daisy. There seemed to be a lot more to her than Ms. Tyler was willing to 'tell'! For some reason, other (less major) friends/aquaintences were given more *space* (in the book) thyan Maggie's own daughter. Maybe Ms. Tyler's point was to show the lack of "closeness" they had..... Also---her husband Ira, as someone else pointed out, at first seems to be a very noble husband...but then one notices his "habit" of exposing other's "secrets/confidences" at most inappropriate moments. (passive/aggresive?) This entire book takes place during one Saturday,with plenty of 'flashbacks' to Maggie's/Ira's past. I found some of the character's behaviors so aggravating! lol I wanted to :::shake::: some sense into each of them at various times, when it seemed so obvious they were making a wrong/foolish choice!! Despite the sometimes *too* lengthy descriptions of certain events/situations----for some reason, I STILL enjoyed the book immensely (sp). I could recognize myself and other people I know in many of the characters. (At least their 'feelings/emotions').
Rating: 
Summary: Hopeful but disappointed
Review: I had high hopes for this book based on the fact that it won the Pulitzer Prize. Unfortunately, I found a tedious unbelievable story about two boring characters that really had nothing important to say for 324 pages. I read the whole thing hoping something interesting would happen. Instead, as the book progressed I found myself rolling my eyes and wishing for the end. Maggie is a meddler that ruins peoples lives and Ira is a loser that can't control his passive aggressive behavior to bring others down to his level of misery. There is nothing poignant in their lives that even remotely hopes to bring tears to your eyes or make you laugh out loud. This book ranks up there with The Pilots Wife - a book that has nothing to say and is a shameful waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Jane Austen Does Baltimore
Review: In this novel, Anne Tyler, while describing the ordinary activities of ordinary people, reveals deep truths about humanity and relationships. Yes, Maggie meddles in other peoples' lives, ineffectually, and to the irritation of her family. However, this aspect of her character is one that endears her to her husband Ira, even as it frustrates him. Ira's crankiness seems less blameworthy when we realize all his self-sacrifices for his own family. The family isn't perfect, but it is all too human, and both Maggie and Ira show their love, each in his own fashion. Breathing Lessons reminded me of Jane Austen's skillfully crafted depictions of the people in her milieu--a small gem, but one carefully polished to reveal great beauty.
Rating:
Summary: A KIND OF MAGIC
Review: Breathing Lessons is an absolute delight, a beautiful novel that becomes a tender examination of marriage and the persistance of love.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing after reading her more recent work
Review: After being totally delighted by "Back When We Were Grownups" and "A Patchwork Planet", I eagerly ordered "Breathing Lessons" expecting it to be even better since it won the Pulitzer prize. I loved the first two books because the characters were so wonderfully human. By no means perfect, they managed to be lovable despite their flaws. Their daydreams and moods and perceptions were very recognizable to me. I also thought that the situations they found themselves in, though perhaps a bit on the quirky side, were quite realistic. I found the characters in "Breathing Lessons" annoying and unappealing for the most part and the plotline farfetched. I don't know how two people who got along as poorly as Maggie and Ira could possibly stay married for 28 years. They belong in "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" more than in a novel by Anne Tyler. Their lives come off as dreary, depressing and pointless. I kind of liked Maggie but I found myself wondering about her contact with reality. I thought Ira was meanspirited and moody for the most part, and his treatment of his son Jesse was horrifying. I think Maggie and Ira are lucky Jesse is only an unmotivated slacker and not a mass murderer considering the emotional and verbal abuse Ira dishes out to him. My other complaint about this book is that none of the action really rang true. I mean how many people manage to crash their car twice in one day by mistaking the gas peddle for the brake and not have their driver's license revoked? Why is Maggie estranged from Fiona and Leroy in the first place? How many people would be willing or able to perform at a funeral without any prior notice or practice? Just to mention three of the many unlikely situations in this book. I'm glad that "Breathing Lessons" was not my first experience with Anne Tyler because I'm afraid it would also have been my last.
| 
