Rating: 
Summary: Back in the good old days
Review: Rebecca is a hard nut to crack. I couldn't tell if she was going through a midlife crisis or an identity crisis (or a menopause crisis), or missing her dead husband and yearning for the good old days. She begins by wondering how she has become a person so different from what she was before. But I never get any sense of what she was or even of what she is now, at 53. She was in college before, doing research on a Civil War general and dating Will, a rather dull, studious, and conservative boy. Then she met Joe, a man full of life, laughter, and energy, who was divorced with three daughters. She married Joe. Joe dies young, but from what I can tell, Rebecca was very happy with him. After so many years of being alone, and raising her difficult stepdaughters, Rebecca decides to call her jilted boyfriend Will. Conveniently, Will is just divorced. But now he is more dull and conservative than before, in fact, he's a full-blown obnoxious nerd. It seems that Rebecca made the correct decision not to marry him. So it seems that picking things up with Will, or finishing her college research, or nurturing her troubled, complaining stepdaughters is not going to cure Rebecca of her midlife blues. Now what? At 53, Rebecca is still plenty young enough to make a life for herself. All she has to do is figure out what she wants. This book has a curious way of not resolving anything, but maybe that was the author's intent.
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: 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: awful
Review: This book was an amazing read. The story flowed and I quickly became wrapped up in the characters. They are well defined and FUN to read about. Not cardboard cutouts. You fall for Rebecca. Even though Rebecca is older, I think every woman can look and at some time or another wonder where her own "self" went. In the end Rebecca at least finds some of herself. A definate read.
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