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Summary: Another gem from Anne Tyler
Review: Saint Maybe is a thoroughly enjoyable book with especially interesting characters. The hero of the story is Ian Bedloe, a 17 year old boy who must deal with the guilt he feels after he- as he believes- causes the death of his brother. Searching for forgiveness, Ian finds religion at the Church of the Second Chance, and he is able to bring meaning to his life. The story is an interesting examination of organized religion, faith, and the roles they play in one's life. I particularly liked the characters' examinations of religion- from Agatha's skepticism to Ian's almost blind faith. Although all of Anne Tyler's books are virtual masterpieces, choose to read this one if you like to think about religion, faith, and all the questions which have no answers.
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Summary: Ordinary lives, extraordinary lessons
Review: Anne Tyler mines the lives of an ordinary, middle-class Baltimore family and achieves extraordinary effects in Saint Maybe, arguably her best novel. Saint Maybe traces the subtle, yet complete transformation of Ian Bedloe, a genial 17-year-old paralyzed with guilt after he plays a role in the "accidental" death of his older brother. Searching for relief, Ian discovers the Church of the Second Chance, a new purpose for his life, and eventual redemption. Like many of Tyler's previous works, including The Accidental Tourist and the Pulitzer-Prize winning Breathing Lessons, Saint Maybe examines how unpredictable events jolt even the most mundane lives. In the aftermath of domestic tragedy, the Bedloe family declines and rallies in ways that are occasionally shocking, yet completely logical. The depiction of Ian's evolution is especially masterful; while his transformation is both radical and extraordinary, never once does it seem unrealistic or strained. The joy of reading Saint Maybe lies largely in its endearing, familiar characters: as in other Tyler novels, they are sometimes foolish, frequently eccentric, and always thoroughly human. Even minor players get their turn in the spotlight: the awkward foreign graduate students who live near the Bedloes; the overeager yet supportive parishioners at the Church of the Second Chance. In this novel, every character, however bumbling or marginal, has important lessons to deliver. Therein lies Tyler's greatest strength: the compassion and humor with which she examines both her characters and the mundane world in which they live. She finds lyricism and meaning everywhere: in her capable hands, musty linen closets, spiritless summer camp, and even a late night trip to the grocery store become imbued with significance. Saint Maybe is both luminous and sublime: a beautiful tribute to the drama of the commonplace.
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Summary: Perhaps Tyler's Best - A Joy to Read
Review: It is hard to believe that this book is a more than a decade old-but then again, it is perhaps a measure of its usefulness to all seeking Christians that what was fresh and new in 1991 remains so today. A modern classic both as an American novel and as an exploration of the interrelationship of faith and life, SAINT MAYBE is perhaps the greatest work by this acclaimed contemporary novelist. Born in Minnesota, reared in Raleigh (NC) and infused with a slice of America mid-Atlantic milieu, Anne Tyler is the author of more than a baker's dozen of novels, and all have the ring of truth about them-from BREATHING LESSONS (awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988) to THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST. Here, the setting is Baltimore, the scene is a once-fashionable, now down-at-the-heels cul de sac, which serves every bit as well as the more oft-used device of an English market village for exploring what makes her extraordinarily real ordinary characters tick. The story centers around a multi-generation family on this street and the others whose lives intersect their own. Chief among them are what seem to be an offbeat, storefront church group of Christians who are having all too good a time following Jesus. Dubbed by its founder as "The Church of the Second Chance" this congregation (with members who get as much of a kick out of forgiveness as they do picnics) can serve as a plumb line for any other church you've known or know. Anne Tyler has created a lively read, but much more. She has turned the idea of "church" slightly askew, and having done so, perhaps given us all an idea of how to set things right where we worship now. If this is not enough to make you want to read this book (or reread it)... Well, give it a look because it is by one of the best living writers in the English language. And then, of course, you will want to read everything else by Tyler, too.
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Summary: A Satisfying Taste of Reality
Review: Anne Tyler's brilliant and heart-felt novel, Saint Maybe, has surely touched readers of all generations. The thoughtful analogies and individualization of characters familiarizes a person with this Baltimore family of 1965. The magnified details that the author provides are immaculate and transform the reader into a participant rather than just an audience in the emotional roller coaster of the Bedloe family. In this compelling story, Bee and Doug Bedloe have three aspiring and hopeful children. Their middle child, Danny, meets a woman at his place of work and soon after has a beautiful baby girl, Daphne, with her. Ian, the youngest child, conveys his opinion about his brother's marriage and child and of the dishonesty on his wife's behalf. Ian and his parents' lives will forever be burdened and complicated with the effects of his choice of displaying his notions. After a change of heart and spirit, Ian is enlightened, yet confused as to his purpose in the world. Anne Tyler brings to life the everyday occasions that may seem so insignificant to a person. Although the story was dull on a few elements, the majority of the novel was notable and also eloquently depicted. Dedicated and patient readers will ultimately enjoy Saint Maybe.
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Summary: saint maybe
Review: One of my Favorite,Nov,24,2003
Rewiewe: Jacqueline Ballestas from West Hartford Conn
Ann Tyler really makes you feel so connected with the Chareacters in this story.I originally read this bacouse It was assigned to me for a book report at school. I wasn't to thrilled about that...but it just happened to be the best school assigment ever. Saint Maybe is just a Womderful book. I was very upset when it ended, because I felt so in tune with the tone of the book and it's characters.
Ian, the main character, has some tramatic events that happend to him his life forever changes after that. I highly reccomened this book! to any body even young kids between 12 and up.
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Summary: Tyler with a normal twist - sort of
Review: This is something new. Instead of writing about weirdos, Anne Tyler peoples Saint Maybe with ordinary people who rise to extraordinary heights as a result of tragedy. The cheerful Bedloe family is plunged into despair when suicide rears its ugly head. Ian, the teenage boy who was perhaps the cause of his brother's suicide, seeks redemption at the Church of the Second Chance and subsequently drops out of college to care for the three children orphaned as a result of his unthinking statement that began the whole tragic series of events. Redemption and forgiveness eventually come in a very satisfying ending.
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Summary: Slow reading but good story
Review: I like the characters and the story, but the author takes too much time with details and the pace is slow.
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Summary: One of my Favorites
Review: Anne Tyler really makes you feel so connected with the Characters in this story. I originally read this because It was assigned to me for a book report at school. I wasn't to thrilled about that...but it just happened to be the best school assingment ever. Saint Maybe is just a wonderful book. I was very upset when it ended,because I felt so in tune with the tone of the book and it's characters. Ian, the main character, has some tramatic events that happen to him and his life forever changes after that. I highly reccomend this book!
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Summary: Wonderful and insightful
Review: Anne Tyler is, I think, one of the best American writers working today. She does an amazing job of showing the internal and secret lives of ordinary people (or people who simply appear to be ordinary as they are our neighbors, our friends and our co-workers).
Ian, the hero of Saint Maybe, is one of Tyler's best creations ever. When his older brother dies, the adolescent Ian takes on the care of three children---all of whom are unrelated to him (altho' there is a slightly possibility that the youngest child is his niece). The story follows Ian's attempts to raise the children---but also to find out who he really is.
Tyler's writing is lyrical and the characters are memorable and very real. There is something in Ian's search which has parallels in everyone's search to discover who they are and what they think is important.
I can't recommend this highly enough!
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Summary: A Captivating Book
Review: Anne Tyler's "St. Maybe" is a captivating book. She writes in the omniscient point of view, giving the reader a good understanding of all of the characters, not just Ian (who could be considered the main character). Her use of this point of view keeps the reader involved in the book, always begging for the next piece of information, which Tyler almost always delivers quite smoothly. The story left some questions unanswered for me, but other readers may disagree, and say that the answers are given through the story's finish. Overall, this book is recommended and like other readers, I plan on reading other Anne Tyler books in the future.
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