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Summary: Book for the Oprah set
Review: If you think that all that is needed to cure the world's problems is more hugs, Anne Tyler is your author. This book is chock full of two-dimensional characters, facile hope and forgiveness, and a second half that races ahead nearly thirty years while the first half concerned itself with only one year. For a more cogent representation of the world, read Don Delillo or Ann Beattie.
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Summary: Common salvations, normal miracles
Review: You won't find characters with brilliant minds, lucid insights or witty repartee. The funniest moment is an incident of accidental black humour ("They say he had jumped so many times, he just forgot his parachute," the bereaved mother of a Vietnam paratrooper explains.) The courage it takes to live the daily round of domestic life is the theme here. In the end, Ian Bedloe ("Saint Maybe") is sanctified in the most ordinary way - by being human. A warm, uplifting and, in its own deft way, a spiritually profound book.
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Summary: Reality and Tenderness
Review: I loved Saint Maybe because Tyler didn't water down the reality of life and the trials it sometimes brings. At the same time, however, she tenderly draws out the feelings of each character as she tells the story from their points of view. Many books that attempt to do this become cumbersome and hard to follow. Not with Tyler. She is a excellent writer and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.
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Summary: Saint Maybe: No Maybe's about it, this book is great!
Review: I read this book for a school class, and at first it didn't sound really enjoyable. But as I got into it, I realized that you truly can't tell a book by its cover. In class, our teacher told us to go to a certain chapter & no further at first, but I couldn't put it down! I am very well read, and I know a good book when I read it. The ending didn't make a lot of sense, but it's one of the quirky little qualities that make this book really well written! I strongly reccommend this book to anyone and everyone who reads this review!
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Summary: One of the best Anne Tyler books
Review: One of the best things about this book is the way Anne Tyler portrays the children--the chapter called The Department of Reality is told from Agatha's point of view--she's about 7--and it's excruciatingly on target--excruciating because she and her little brother Thomas are watching their mom fall to pieces little by little after their kind stepdad's death. There's one part in which the toilet overflows that captures just exactly what it feels like to be a scared little kid: "The water rose calmly higher and higher; it reached the rim. She had never guessed what a scary thing a toilet was. Thick yellow water slopped over the edge and spilled across the floor while she stood watching, horrified. 'Mama!' she shrieked finally." Events like this are much scarier for kids, because they have no way of knowing that this won't be their reality FOREVER. Maybe it's a little like the way animals feel when they're in terrible danger. A wonderful, funny, poignant book. I'd agree that this is Tyler's masterpiece, except that several of her books are just as good.
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Summary: A moral novel
Review: This novel truly tests your morals. Anne Tyler makes the novel flow with emotion and believible senarios. The underlying themes jump out at the reader and create a basis for soal searching. Ian Bedloe is a universal character that everyone can relate to at some point in the novel. He is faced with challenges everyday that create his dynamic personality. Anne Tyler brings out the purest of human emotions through her characters and creates a wonderful reading experience.
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Summary: I turn to Anne Tyler when I want a nice and easy read.
Review: Her books are easy reads because I never have to go back over pages to keep track of characters or their motivations. I become completely engrossed in the story & characters. The sweetness of the Bedloe family and their connection with their community is refreshing. The Church of the Second Chance is a wonderful concept because, although in the story it is an actual congregation, it could also be a church within our own heart. Ian Bedloe turns his trauma into something loving and constructive instead of destroying himself and the rest of his family. Anne Tyler touches all the senses without excess and histrionics. Well worth adding to anyone's "to read" list.
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Summary: An awesome story about a blind faith for GOD.
Review: To make a decision on a blind faith is one of the most difficult things in the world. Giving up your future, an education, and a path toward success is probably one of the most drastic things anyone could do. In this story Ian Bedloe does just that. He does this to earn forgiveness from God, have his guilt lifted, and to live without the blame of his sin. It's an inspiring and encouraging story of faith and love.
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Summary: I took a break from Leonard, Grisham, and Diehl today.
Review: This was a pretty good story. I admit that I even shed a few tears here and there. My only qualm was with the development of the protaginist. He seemed at times to be more of a 'fly on the wall' rather than a participating character in the family. Further more, throughout the personal changes he underwent I feel that the reader is somewhat excluded from much needed inner dialogue that could have made his development seem more natural. All we get to see are the external incidents that affect him, withoutseeing enough of 'how' they affected him, aside from the changes in his behavior. Probably my favorite theme for any writer or director to deal with in a story is the seeking of redemption. This novel presents an exceptional plot for such a theme, but left me hungering for more of the internal conflict that should accompany the protaganist. That being said, I have to recomend this book on its more finer merits, such as realistic dialogue, detailed sensitivity to family dynamic, and several geniunely heart warming moments.
Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: This is probably one of the best books I have ever read. I stumbled upon it in the library and I am so excited to find an author I have not yet experienced. I laughed and I cried at times while reading. It is really a masterpiece and I keep telling others to read it! I really did not want it to end!
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