Breathing Lessons

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: Love Battles with Reality in Humorous Ways
Review: Most people love a lover. Also, most of us would like more love in our lives. If you read nonfiction books on the subject, they tell you to be more loving to others to receive more love in return. But most of us feel frustrated in that quest. What would it be like to pursue love in a more unrestricted way? That's the subject of Breathing Lessons.

Now, this could be a pretty heavy subject so Ms. Tyler wisely chooses to leaven her lessons with humor. Her protagonist, Maggie Morgan, will remind many of other fictional characters beginning with the lovable red head, Lucy Ricardo, in I Love Lucy. Those who have Dreamed the Impossible Dream while watching Man of La Mancha (or while reading Don Quixote) will recognize elements of Don Quixote in her character. The humor plays the same role that the fools play in Shakespeare's tragedies, to lighten the atmosphere from profoundly sad situations.

Maggie is a klutz who doesn't let her klutziness stop her. She's a one-woman pile driver intent on her purposes of spreading love and connection among all she meets. Her husband, Ira, plays the foil (the Desi Ricardo/Sancho Panza role) to help us know what the real situation is. Ira is almost all reason while Maggie is almost all love. You will find Ira to be interesting for examples of how reason needs to accommodate love.

Breathing Lessons shows a typical day for Maggie and Ira in an atypical environment . . . while on an out-of-town trip on a Saturday for a memorial service for the husband of Maggie's old friend. That environment turns the day into a quest (like Don Quixote) and they meet many interesting characters on whom Maggie has an unforgettable impact.

Many will look for a heroic ending featuring accomplishment. But did Don Quixote have such an ending? Ms. Tyler redefines heroism in terms of continuing to love and hope for the best . . . even when everything crumbles into dust. I think anyone will be inspired by the example of Maggie to do the right thing.

As you probably know, this book won a Pulitzer Prize which it certainly deserved. Seldom has a book created such a new an ennobling expression of human potential in the context of our all-too-human tendency to err.

Many will find Maggie's klutziness to be overdone . . . and possibly annoying. I, too, found it a little overdone, but enjoyed the book nevertheless. Ms. Tyler doesn't want us to miss the point that we should make the most of our talents . . . however modest or great they are.

Nice job, Ms. Tyler!

Rating:
Summary: Completely Credible Characters
Review: So many reviewers have gone over the plot, so I shall spare you yet another repetition. Like many, I was annoyed throughout at the level of dysfunction displayed by all the characters and not just Maggie; but this proves a point. Like most reviewers, including those who disliked this book, Anne Tyler thoroughly involves the reader in her story. I enjoyed this book as I have other Anne Tyler's books, basically because I find them "easy reads", stories that hold my attention, make me laugh and keep me turning pages. If I am any judge, then I feel that Breathing Lessons comes through as a deceptively simple story, as Anne Tyler is a master in control of her novel which is technically brilliant, humorous and filled with completely credible characters.