Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, thought-provoking read...
Review: I enjoyed Back When We Were Grownups much more than I expected to. I have never been a huge fan of Anne Tyler, but I couldn't resist this novel's compelling subject matter. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book. There were some minor things that bothered me, which I will discuss later, but all in all, this novel is an enjoyable and quick read, which I found rather thought-provoking. The thought-provoking nature of the novel made it an irresistible read. Rebecca, the fifty-three-year-old protagonist, wonders how she ended up as she did after a particularly bad day with her extended family. Her thoughts send her in pursuit of the life that she could have had, had she not married as she did when she was twenty. She married a divorced man, thirteen years her senior, with three young daughters and a family business to run. He died several years later and she essentially took over his life, raising his daughters (and one of her own), looking after his elderly uncle, and running the family business, which is hosting parties and events. Thirty-three years later, she wonders, did she make the right choice, is this as good as life gets for her? The novel answers that question in a very satisfying, non-simplistic, non-formulaic manner. The novel is honest and based in reality which I found refreshing and enjoyable. Rebecca is a likeable, albeit imperfect protagonist. There were times in the novel when I just wanted to shake her, but most of the time she's a level headed, mature woman. The other thing about the novel that I had difficulty liking was the part of the four daughters. Their selfish behavior was a little over the top for me. Other than that, Back When We Were Grownups is a compelling, thought-provoking tale that centers on the ever elusive question of how one's life might have turned out had we made different choices. That alone makes the novel a worthy read.
Rating:
Summary: Not brilliant, but at least it's Anne Tyler
Review: I must say that I have to agree with a few other comments in other rviews regarding characters names. In the beginning I found it a bit annoying to read names like NoNo and I kept thinking, "Why does Anne Tyler keep saying this man is gay when he has a wife?" Well, the names get straightened out, and the gay husband explained, but the names still annoy and the gay character, while refreshing (I believe it's the first time a gay character has appeared in a Tyler novel) in concept, is little more than a stock figure. I agree that many of Beck's children and grandchildren are whiny and annoying. But that's the case, often, in real life, and unless we remove ourselves from our families, we're stuck with them. As Beck's story continues, I found myself interested enough about her to ignore the pricklings of annoyance I felt when some selfish relation appeared. It's to Tyler's credit that I found myself caring in the end for Beck and her resolution. Not a great book, but a so-so Anne Tyler novel is still miles better than most. I would recommend a different book, though - Ladder of Years, Breathing Lessons or especially Searching for Caleb (my absolute favorite) to anyone reading Anne Tyler for the first time.
Rating:
Summary: This book grows on you
Review: I picked this book up at the discount racks and was filled with mixed feelings on whether to purchase it or not. I've heard about Anne Tyler for the longest time, and Nick Hornby, one of my favourite contemporary writers, did hail her as the greatest fiction writer in our times. However, the first few pages of the novel did cause me great doubt as to the veracity of all these compliments...
That is, until I patiently read the rest of the novel. My conclusion is that this book grows on you. If like me, you're disinclined towards the "Oprah Winfrey Bookclub type" of fiction, I think you may find that Back When We Were Grownups does a neat twist on "heart" kind of books - a term I've bestowed upon Oprah-type books.
Tyler does a good job of making the unlikeable characters (I found Patch the most irritating adult-brat ever!) unlikeable, and the endearing ones (aww, who else but Poppy) make you want to read on to discover what quirky priceless gems of speech they have in store for the reader.
Though overall a very 'heart' book (the kind I don't often enjoy), there is something in it that makes it stand apart from the other 'heart' books. I think this thing is the fact that Tyler has managed to carefully delineate her characters - an imperative thing to do in writing 'heart' books which 99% of the time have plots that don't exactly blow readers' minds away.
Not what I would call an outstanding work of fiction, but this ranks amongst the better of the 'heart' books.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow start, strong finish
Review: I probably wouldn't have selected this book on my own. It was the selection of my book discussion group. Yet, I am so very glad I read it. Anne Tyler is such a gifted, thoughtful writer I knew it wouldn't be a bad read, but as a book based on characterization, not action, it got off to a slow start. I would read a little, put it down, do other things, find a quiet moment and pick it up again. It isn't a page turner that will suck you in; which you can't put down because you need to see what happens next.
Slowly you get to know Rebecca Davitch and her extended family. There are no perfect people here. They are real people with all their flaws, faults, senseless squabbles, doubts, hopes and over it all their love for each other. It is a story of an imperfect family and the middle-aged, overweight woman who is their loving heart. It is a story of mid-life crisis, of redicovery and of hope.
Back When We Were Grownups is a thought provoking book full of wonderful insights. I started this book full of doubts about whether I would enjoy it. I put it down sorry to see it end. That's what I love about our discussion group. I read books I would never have picked on my own, often to my delight.
If you are looking for a book full of action and adventure, full of beautiful people who always make the right choices, well save this book for a time when you desire something a bit more thoughful and thought provoking. This is a book as satisfying and filling as a homecooked meal, unpretentious, but at its core more gratifying than the most elaborate gourmet fare.
A book you will find yourself thinking back on, long after you close the cover.
Rating:
Summary: The Very Best of Anne Tyler
Review: I wept when this book ended, and that is a very unusual experience for me. I don't know whether one has to be middle-aged to become so completely involved with Rebecca Davich, the book's main character, as I became, or whether my reaction was due to a combination of the spot-on rendering by Blair Brown (on the unabridged audio recording--superb!) and the fabulous writing we have come to expect from Tyler. No matter. All I can say that all Tyler does best, from her quirky, distinctive characterizations (and there are quite a few in this book, from 100-year-old Poppy to NoNo, to Min-Foo, to Patch, et al.) to her insightful looks into the special qualities she finds in every ordinary human being, comes together to make this book a perfect whole. The story of Rebecca, who wakes up one morning convinced that she has turned into the "wrong person" is enormously moving, even though Rebecca is an ordinary too-heavy middle-aged woman given to intoning rhyming toasts at endless family parties, and to wearing blowsy hippie-dippie clothing. I loved her from the very first page, which is always Tyler's magic. She makes the reader care deeply about all the Rebeccas she writes about, and this is no exception. Rebecca married on a whim, leaving college and her stodgy college boyfriend to marry a dashing divorced man with three young girls, a decaying old mansion his family rents out for parties, a demandingly impossible mother, and an extended family one has to know to believe. Rebecca walks into all this with aplomb, rescuing the family's business, dealing with her mother-in-law, raising resentful and difficult stepchildren and eventually a daughter of her own, and finally inheriting her husband's elderly uncle, "Poppy," who becomes a full-time job in himself. Rebecca has only 6 years with her husband before he dies in an accident, but she carries on with grace and aplomb--in her own unique way. It is only when she is 53 that Rebecca grinds to a mental halt, so to speak, and wonders whether she took a wrong turn in her life, whether it has all been for nothing, and whether she matters one bit to all the people for whom she has sacrificed. She finds out in this moving, funny, poignant and wonderful journey into her past and her present in this wonderful, special book.
Rating:
Summary: Can be appreciated by all age groups!
Review: I'm not at all like Rebecca, the protagonist of this book: I am not 53, I am not widowed, I don't have a brood of family members to look after. But this woman's story really resonated with me. Who hasn't wondered--at ages 20, 30, 40, or 50--how our lives might life had been different? Anne Tyler is so skilled at making a particular character's concerns universal. (And, I should add, this is the first of the author's books that I have read). How many of us make deliberate choices, and how many of us are propelled by inertia? This issue was subtly but brilliantly captured by Peter, the nerdy step-grandson and his musings about physics and his inventions. I found many layers in this book that I will consider for some days to come, I'm sure. Some characters were fuller than others, but I don't think this distracts from the story, which is really about Rebecca.
Rating:
Summary: not Ladder of Years, but a great read
Review: I've read all of Anne Tyler's work, and love most of her earlier books. However, my favorite book by far was 'Ladder of Years' so I don't think that her knack for writing is fading with every book. But this book lacks the magical quality of 'Ladder' and is not as easy an escape.
It seems that Tyler has fallen into a weird trend where all her characters never find relief within the pages of her books. 'Back When We Were Grownups' is yet another story of a family woman who gets no respect from her gigantic brood. In an effort to discover the self she feels she lost to her family, Rebecca (the protagonist of this story) revisits her youth, and while she doesn't find the enlightment she was seeking within her memories and rekindled friendships, she does make some startling and touching observations of herself through the pages of the book. Tyler's beautiful prose makes this a joy to read, despite the fact that there are too many characters to keep track of (4 daughters, their husbands, their children, and their step children and all are featured prominently in the book!)
I admit that I did put the book down after the first chapter, disgusted by Tyler's insistence on portraying all families (especially children) as indifferent and quirky. Not all of us are like this. The first few pages are very difficult to get through with twenty names and characters to sort out. Rebecca's daughter's names were enough to make me want to not pick up the book again (Biddy, Patch, NoNo, and Min Foo, plus a husband named Jeep - try to keep them straight!) But I persisted after a few days, and am glad I did. Not Tyler's best...but a good book. If you can get beyond wanting to yell at Rebecca "take a stand, tell them how you feel, stop playing the saint!", you will probably enjoy it. I did.
Rating:
Summary: Vintage Tyler
Review: If you are already a fan of Tyler's you will love this new novel. If you haven't tried her yet, this is a wonderful one to start with. Nobody gets into the lives and minds of their characters quite like Anne Tyler. She understands them, their motivations, their feelings, their joys and regrets. This is a novel about families and how the lives of sometimes mis-matched people end up intimately connected by a quirk of nature or marriage. Rebecca Davitch married for love and then lost her husband far too early, inheriting a typically dysfunctional family, including an elderly live-in uncle, and a business organising and hosting parties. Just turned 50 and at a family picnic Rebecca begins to look inward and back, asking that tricky question often avoided - "what if? - exploring the corners unturned, the roads untravelled, that have placed her in this moment in this unexpected life she is living. Like all families, the Davitches are ripe with tensions and misunderstandings, but also with love and affection, and inspite of everything that has happened, inspite of the "might have beens", Rebecca is and remains the heart and soul of the family. Anne Tyler writes with real warmth and insight and brings all the characters to life. She writes like a dream and draws you into the world she has created. Not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Tyler once again brings characters to vivid life.
Review: In "Back When We Were Grownups", Anne Tyler brings the reader a story of a woman on a journey of self-discovery. Rebecca Davitch is a well-meaning grandmother of 53 who finds herself re-evaluating her self worthiness when , at the beginning of the book, an engagement picnic she has planned for her youngest step daughter goes awry. The reader is presented with a woman whose life long duty has been to arrange parties and outings for others. And as often as not she has found herself acting as a diplomat for many of these same people when they cannot bring themselves to appreciate one another. Once the ill-fated picnic is over, Rebecca embarks on a personal journey of discovery that reaquaints herself with who she is.Anne Tyler is one of America's most gifted writers. One has the sense that every character she has written exists somewhere in Tyler's life. The characters are so vividly drawn that it is almost impossible for this reader not to feel as though he has met and spoken with Rebecca Davitch and those around her. The story gets off to a quick start taking the reader on a remarkable journey of change.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and entertaining
Review: Mid-life may not seem the most exciting center for a story but it certainly provides for an intersecting of emotions from those older and younger. It seems Rebecca Davitch serves as ring master for the whole clan and everyone seems surprised when she takes time to discover who she is at this point in her life. This story is funny when you get to some part and realize what you're reading reminds you of your family or someone you know! The range of characters covers many diverse types of personalities. This is a very enjoyable read.
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