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Summary: It was perfect.
Review: It was the best book ever written
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Summary: A raw depiction of life proves Tyler worthy of praise
Review: The action takes place over the course of one day, but the lessons Maggie learns capture our hearts forever. She learns that even common things you take for granted can need improving: your marriage, parenting, even breathing takes lessons sometimes. A great depiction of life in its entirety.
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of precious reading time!!
Review: With so many good choices out there, why spend any time on a ho-hum, at times even annoying read? The characters are all pathetic people living apathetic lives that I didn't even care about! All I cared about was how fast could I finish this book about losers and start a good book?!! Don't bother with this one! I wish somone would have told me that before I picked it up!
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Summary: One of the most important books for my life.
Review: There are phrases and quotations that stick with you for the rest of your life. My childhood was molded by "tis land that is the only thing that lasts" and "after all, tomorrow is another day. like any good southern girl. But the book passage that has most shaped my adult life is the daughter's question to the mother, "when did you decide to be ordinary?"Besides having such a powerful effect on my life, the story is extraordinary and I could not put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: A book that was easy to put down and leave down!
Review: This was my first opportunity to read a book by Tyler and I wish now I would have started with "The Accidental Tourist". The story was at times quirky and funny; I did laugh out loud a couple of times. However, it never really seemed to get off the ground and I was hoping for a more purposeful ending. It's OK as a filler book, but not one I would necessarily recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting but Confusing
Review: For the most part I believed the book was exciting and well worded. The only thing about the book is that Tyler made it difficult reading when she switched from the present to the past in a matter of a sentence. I felt excited towards the end. I couldn't put the book down, I had to find out what happened between Fiona and Jesse. The ending was the ending that probably would have happened in real life, so I enjoyed it. I haven't read many books at all and I picked this one for my English class and I am glad I chose this book, I Would recomend it to anyone.
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Summary: Loved it!
Review: After finishing "The Accidental Tourist", I was anxious to read another of Anne Tyler's novels. I was not at all disapointed with "Breathing Lessons"; in fact, I was thrilled! The novel consists of many, many poignant stories told through the eyes of some of the quirkiest characters I've ever been introduced to. This novel absolutely deserved the Pullitzer prize!
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Summary: Tyler finally leaves her junk drawer at home
Review: I've read ten of Anne Tyler's novels, and this is by far my least favorite. Arguably her most anomalous because (a) It's not entirely set in B'more, and (b) it's the only Anne Tyler I'm aware of where a house or similar building does _not_ play a significant part in the story. A device in which Ms. Tyler loves to load up with heaps of junk or curious mementoes to flesh out a Macon Leary, the Tulls, or more recently _Patchwork Planet's_ Barnaby, who finds links to his past in (a splendid variation) the attics of other people's houses. Anne Tyler's other motif is the notion of people becoming caste at some point in their lives, and that's definitely here too in the form of a bickering middle-aged couple stuck on the road in a beat-up car. And that's it. Making this book for a longer ride than expected. The prose is unmistakably hers, but I'm shocked that this is her Pulitzer Prize winner, which makes me think she was given the award belatedly for her chronologically previous novels, _Accidental Tourist_ and _Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant_, which for the majority of Anne Tyler fans are generally considered two of her best novels.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't Care For It
Review: The character was at times unbelievable. And the story didn't seem to have a plot.
Rating:
Summary: A Loving, realistic portrayal of a Family--A True Gem
Review: Anne Tyler has been praised by writers of the caliber of John Updike for her unique talent to write wonderful "domestic" novels, and Breathing Lessons is an outstanding example. Rarely have I encountered a writer who manages to infuse such love, humor and observation into their work. In Breathing Lessons, Tyler fleshes out characters that will stay in your heart long after the last page has been turned. With their flaws and quirks, their strengths and weaknesses, one feels Tyler could be writing about our own lives. Maggie Moran, and the world she inhabits with her stalwart husband Ira, is another addition to the marvelous cast of characters that Tyler has given to us in her 14 novels. Read anything by Tyler, she is a consistently top-notch writer (Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, The Accidental Tourist), but use Breathing Lessons as your port of entry. You'll thank your luck for finding such a gem.
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