Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: It is a really great book! The novel is a fairly quick read if you are looking for an interesting story about family life and relationships. It is written by a woman author, telling the stories of eight women in one household through the perspective of a male. I would recommend reading it!
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: It is hard to believe that Anne Tyler wrote this book, her first, when she was only 22 years old. To have such perception, such vision, such maturity, and such knowledge of the intricacies of family life is something I would expect of a writer twice that age.This is also, I believe, her only novel set in the south, where Tyler was brought up. In a rare interview, she has said that she considers herself a Southerner. She certainly paints a good picture of a typical extended southern family! And this family has all the quirks and curious behaviors that have become Tyler's hallmark over the years. Poor BenJoe...he is so confused, having taken the path of least resistance by going to law school in New York City, a totally foreign element to this small-town boy. He uses the slightest excuse to rush back home where he gets into everyone's business in a few short days, even though the houseful of women (mother, grandmother, five sisters, and a niece) clearly was doing just fine without him. Tyler makes us like him. She writes from his point of view and gets it letter-perfect. This book is about much more than a small-town extended southern family - it is about birth and death, living and dying, and the unbreakable bonds of family.
Rating:
Summary: Ben Joe needs to let go of worrying about others
Review: The guy is a self-proclaimed worrier, and when he learns one of his many sisters has returned to the family home with a baby and no husband, he feels somehow responsible and obligated to fix things. His return proves to be of more value to himself than to the houseful of eccentric (Tyler's specialty) women that have been muddling along just fine without him, thank you very much.
Typically wonderful writing in this compelling family drama about love, caring, bonding, and healing. Not Tyler's best, but just fine.
Rating:
Summary: It's Anne Tyler So It Must Be Good
Review: This is Anne Tyler's first novel and it shows at times, but it is extremely entertaining and worth your time and effort. I actually prefer her earlier writing to her latest and this is no exception. You are safe reading most anything by Anne Tyler.
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