Publication
New York : Random House, [2012]
Collection
Call number
LARGE PRINT FICTION T
Physical description
247 p.; 24 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
"Anne Tyler gives us a wise, haunting, and deeply moving new novel in which she explores how a middle-aged man, ripped apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored by her frequent appearances--in their house, on the roadway, in the market. Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron has spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, independent young woman, she is like a breath of fresh air. Unhesitatingly, he marries her, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy's unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and to find some peace. Gradually he discovers, as he works in the family's vanity-publishing business, turning out titles that presume to guide beginners through the trials of life, that maybe for this beginner there is a way of saying goodbye. A beautiful, subtle exploration of loss and recovery, pierced throughout with Anne Tyler's humor, wisdom, and always penetrating look at human foibles"--… (more)
Genres
Media reviews
Embarking on an Anne Tyler novel is like heading off on vacation to a favorite destination: You're filled with anticipation of pleasure, even though you know the place is likely to have changed since your last visit.
The Beginner's Goodbye, Tyler's 19th novel, fulfills that dual craving for
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familiarity and freshness. Its focus is loss and recovery, grief and growth.... Show Less
This is not a dramatic transformation but a slow, hard-won realisation that comes with time and constant picking-over the same problem. For the essentially optimistic Tyler, this process allows for rejuvenation and the opportunity for a second chance. For Tyler's many fans, her latest work won't
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disappoint. Show Less
The Beginner's Goodbye," Tyler's 19th novel, features all of these things and more — there is a ghost — and less; just over 200 pages, it is, both in literal weight and narrative complexity, lighter than most of the Tyler canon. Which should not be construed as "less," at least not in the
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pejorative sense of the word. In many ways, "Goodbye" feels like the center slice of an Anne Tyler novel, a distillation.... The wonder of Anne Tyler is how consistently clear-eyed and truthful she remains about the nature of families and especially marriage. Show Less
All of this Tyler understands, tackling Aaron’s sudden loss with characteristic warmth, sympathy and wisdom. As in all her books – and this is one of her great strengths – male and female characters are equally well drawn.
Perhaps the chief constituent of grief is regret: regret for the
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unkind word, the unexpressed affection, the small opportunities missed. To say that Tyler writes about regret would be like saying that Anton Chekhov writes about boredom: true, but inadequate. Without melodrama but always with compassion, as well as outstanding insight and gentle humour, regret is the abiding theme of her fiction. This makes her especially popular with readers over the age of 35, who are old enough to have started accumulating regrets of their own. Show Less
Ms. Tyler’s tepid new novel, “The Beginner’s Goodbye,” doggedly follows this formula, adding a supernatural twist seemingly borrowed from old movies like “Topper” or “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.”...The problem is that the reader couldn’t care less. Whereas Ms. Tyler’s most powerful
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work has been animated by an intimate knowledge of her characters’ inner lives — sympathy that lofted us up over whatever was clichéd or cloying about their stories — the people in “The Beginner’s Goodbye” are irritating stick figures, insipid and emotionally uptight. .....As the title of “The Beginner’s Goodbye” suggests, Dorothy’s spectral visits are supposed to help Aaron learn to come to terms with her death — and with the imperfections of their marriage — so that he might move on with his life. It’s a trite and predictable lesson from what is arguably this talented author’s tritest and most predictable novel. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member gbelik
This is an engaging novel about a man coping with the unexpected death of his wife. She visits him now and again as he comes to terms with his grief. He works in a publishing company which puts out a series of books: "The Beginners Book of .......". He is a beginner in dealing with death but will
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learn to cope in the course of the novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member burnit99
Always a pleasure to read a new Anne Tyler book. In this one, the central character is Aaron, middle-aged, partly crippled, adept since childhood at putting up walls from the world, until plain and plain-spoken Dorothy came into his life, and he married her. One day a tree crashes into their house,
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killing her, and Aaron's world is shattered, until she starts re-appearing to him at odd moments. With the help of these puzzling and silent ghostly appearances, Aaron gradually pieces together a way of saying goodbye, and opening himself up for whatever (or whoever) may be waiting for him. Aaron is like many of Tyler's main characters: wounded (in this case, literally as well as emotionally), hesitant and reserved, afraid to open up to life's offerings. Sometimes her characters never grow past this; I enjoy her books more when we see that they can, and do. Show Less
LibraryThing member michalsuz
Lightly written, not entirely believable, beautifully structured, acharacters one cares about.
I noticed especially AT's skill in naming the characters - only those that mattered, and then each name so individual and noteworthy.
I noticed especially AT's skill in naming the characters - only those that mattered, and then each name so individual and noteworthy.
LibraryThing member SamSattler
For Anne Tyler fans (among whom I count myself), the arrival of a new novel of hers is a major literary event. Tyler’s way of creating wonderfully quirky characters and placing them in universal life situations is probably what attracts so many of us to her work. Her fans know not to expect lots
Aaron Woolcott and his spinster sister, Nandina, run Woolcott Publishing, a company with two basic sources of revenue: what, before the advent of self-published e-books, was called “vanity publishing” and a long series of books for “beginners” that are even more dumbed-down than the real-world “for dummies” series that is so popular. Aaron has recently lost his wife in a tragic, fluke accident and is struggling to say goodbye. He badly needs to feel a sense of closure but, because Dorothy died almost immediately after an argument with him, Aaron is too filled with regrets to let her go. Thus, the title of the book.
The novel’s self-description emphasizes how Aaron begins to see Dorothy at random intervals and places. Sometimes she speaks to him, sometimes she does not. Strangely, others often see Dorothy by Aaron’s side, but they instinctively focus on Aaron and never acknowledge Dorothy’s presence – even, it seems, to themselves. Surprisingly enough, despite the book blurb’s emphasis on it, Dorothy’s return plays a much smaller role in the story than one might expect.
The Beginner’s Goodbye is about how one man comes to terms with his grief. I suspect that all of us handle grief somewhat differently and that we do not truly know ourselves until we are tested this way. Aaron prefers to handle it internally despite the number of sympathetic and loving co-workers and friends with which he is surrounded. It is easier for him to deny that he is suffering than to explain to his friends the level of grief he is feeling.
But, as he will learn, the world continues to evolve, people change, and new relationships are formed. I find that the first and last sentences of The Beginner’s Goodbye perfectly encapsulate Aaron’s story:
“The strangest thing about my wife’s return from the dead was how other people reacted.”
“We go around and around in the world, and here we go again.”
This deceptively simple little novel has a lot to say about life and love. Anne Tyler fans will jump all over it. I hope that others less familiar with Tyler’s work will not miss out.
Rated at: 5.0
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of action or overly complicated plots from her; the woman writes beautiful novels about people and what makes them tick. She has done it again with Aaron Woolcott and The Beginner’s Goodbye. Aaron Woolcott and his spinster sister, Nandina, run Woolcott Publishing, a company with two basic sources of revenue: what, before the advent of self-published e-books, was called “vanity publishing” and a long series of books for “beginners” that are even more dumbed-down than the real-world “for dummies” series that is so popular. Aaron has recently lost his wife in a tragic, fluke accident and is struggling to say goodbye. He badly needs to feel a sense of closure but, because Dorothy died almost immediately after an argument with him, Aaron is too filled with regrets to let her go. Thus, the title of the book.
The novel’s self-description emphasizes how Aaron begins to see Dorothy at random intervals and places. Sometimes she speaks to him, sometimes she does not. Strangely, others often see Dorothy by Aaron’s side, but they instinctively focus on Aaron and never acknowledge Dorothy’s presence – even, it seems, to themselves. Surprisingly enough, despite the book blurb’s emphasis on it, Dorothy’s return plays a much smaller role in the story than one might expect.
The Beginner’s Goodbye is about how one man comes to terms with his grief. I suspect that all of us handle grief somewhat differently and that we do not truly know ourselves until we are tested this way. Aaron prefers to handle it internally despite the number of sympathetic and loving co-workers and friends with which he is surrounded. It is easier for him to deny that he is suffering than to explain to his friends the level of grief he is feeling.
But, as he will learn, the world continues to evolve, people change, and new relationships are formed. I find that the first and last sentences of The Beginner’s Goodbye perfectly encapsulate Aaron’s story:
“The strangest thing about my wife’s return from the dead was how other people reacted.”
“We go around and around in the world, and here we go again.”
This deceptively simple little novel has a lot to say about life and love. Anne Tyler fans will jump all over it. I hope that others less familiar with Tyler’s work will not miss out.
Rated at: 5.0
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LibraryThing member ken1952
Can't say that this is a novel that's going to start any sparks in the literary community. Ann Tyler has certainly pleased many readers in her time. But this story is rather ordinary. She deals with grief...a subject quite fitting for a novel. But it's been done better. (Take note of Christopher
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Coakes's June release YOU CAME BACK.) And I didn't care much for any of the characters. Too bad. I really wanted to like it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
An introspective look at the various ways we grieve, the things that go into making us the person we become, and the assumption we make about our roles in a marriage and family. The main character, Aaron, quickly grew on me and I just loved the way he changed throughout the course of this
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relatively short book. In the beginning I thought this book was only so so but by the end I liked it quite a bit. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookappeal
No one writes married couples better than Anne Tyler and she's back in great form with The Beginner's Goodbye. Aaron is an editor of a "Beginner's" series of books, grieving his wife so much that he starts to see (and speak to) her. While repairmen fix the damage done to his house by the falling
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tree that killed Dorothy, Aaron is at a loss how to move on without her. The marriage was quirky - Aaron with his physical handicaps and Dorothy with her emotional handicaps - but they loved each other. As the house is put whole, though, Aaron starts to appreciate the reality of his relationship with Dorothy and begins to find a way to say goodbye. Tyler manages to lace a husband's grief with a good deal of quiet humor for a thoroughly enjoyable read. Show Less
LibraryThing member shazjhb
Excellent book. Maybe not the best Anne Tyler but at least it story was interesting and from a man's perspective.
LibraryThing member sharlene_w
Written from the viewpoint of a man whose wife was killed suddenly in an accident. Interesting. One major flaw I felt was that her key characters (the husband and wife) seemed like old codgers rather than someone in their 30s--nothing youthful about either one of them. The husband seemed like
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someone in his 70s and the wife older! Show Less
LibraryThing member mhsab
Loved this book. Appearances of Dorothy to Aaron after her death are beautifully described. Glorious mix of mundane and sublime. Amplifies questions about afterlife and meaning/purpose of life. Great ending: 'But i'm not so sure anymore that those who showed no surprise had forgotten she had died.
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maybe they remembered perfectly well. aybe they were just thinking, Of course. We go around and around in this world, and here we go again. Show Less
LibraryThing member BevFuller
This isn't one of my favorite Anne Tyler books, but it was still good. I love her quirky characters and always look forward to each and every one of her books.
LibraryThing member nancyewhite
A bittersweet look at marriage and grief. Populated with the typical oddball Anne Tyler characters we watch as a young widower rebuilds his life after the unexpected death of his wife. The descriptions of his wife, coworkers and especially his annoying but beloved sister are delightful. If you like
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Anne Tyler, you'll enjoy this lovely novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member msf59
"The strangest thing about my wife’s return from the dead was how other people reacted."
Aaron Woolcott is a married, thirtysomething, book publisher. When his physician wife is suddenly killed in an accident, Aaron is set adrift. One day, his wife “seems” to return and offer him guidance.
Aaron Woolcott is a married, thirtysomething, book publisher. When his physician wife is suddenly killed in an accident, Aaron is set adrift. One day, his wife “seems” to return and offer him guidance.
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This has all the Tyler trademarks: eccentric characters, dry, sometimes biting humor and an uncanny sense of human nature. I thought it was terrific and reminded me of her classic The Accidental Tourist. Show Less
LibraryThing member ccayne
Classic Tyler, passivity, sibling relationships and Baltimore. What's different is the element of magical realism in the form of Dorothy's ghost. There are some passages which bring up what passion exists in Aaron and a classic verbatim of an
LibraryThing member dianaleez
In her latest novel, ’The Beginner’s Goodbye,’ Anne Tyler portrays the American way of dealing with the death of a loved one….which is usually not too well.
Aaron loses his wife Dorothy in a freak accident when a tree falls on their house. One moment they’re a couple - not as compatible as
But Aaron is a quirky Tyler character in that magical Tyler Baltimore that only she seems able to locate. And his journey through grief, though sad, will also be enlightening for both protagonist and reader.
To say that Tyler is a master craftsman is an understatement. The novel’s first sentence says it all: “The strangest thing about my wife’s return from the dead was how other people reacted.”
Tyler’s is a kinder, gentler view of humankind….she sees us as we are and as we wish to be. Dorothy’s post-death visits force Aaron, once his grief has ebbed a bit, to give serious thought to their marriage and to his own failures and hopes.
Tyler tells us that death is a leveler; that it hurts; that it can’t be avoided. But that, with care, our lives, like Aaron’s, will go on.
(The publisher provided a review copy of this book.)
Aaron loses his wife Dorothy in a freak accident when a tree falls on their house. One moment they’re a couple - not as compatible as
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they’d like, but still working at creating a good marriage - and then she’s gone and he’s alone. And Aaron, with support from family, friends, and neighbors, goes through shock, and sadness, and confusion, and all the other stages of grief that we know so well.But Aaron is a quirky Tyler character in that magical Tyler Baltimore that only she seems able to locate. And his journey through grief, though sad, will also be enlightening for both protagonist and reader.
To say that Tyler is a master craftsman is an understatement. The novel’s first sentence says it all: “The strangest thing about my wife’s return from the dead was how other people reacted.”
Tyler’s is a kinder, gentler view of humankind….she sees us as we are and as we wish to be. Dorothy’s post-death visits force Aaron, once his grief has ebbed a bit, to give serious thought to their marriage and to his own failures and hopes.
Tyler tells us that death is a leveler; that it hurts; that it can’t be avoided. But that, with care, our lives, like Aaron’s, will go on.
(The publisher provided a review copy of this book.)
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LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
The narrator of Anne Tyler’s The Beginner’s Goodbye, Aaron Woolcott, is crippled in his right arm and leg as the result of a childhood virus. He always tells everyone that he can get by just fine. Which he does. Unfortunately his real crippling lies deeper; a lifetime of fending off solicitous
In typical Tyler fashion, this novel is filled with unusual individuals who are presented as run-of-the-mill. Dramatic action, even action as dramatic as trees crashing through houses, is muted. Interior thoughts and self-doubt predominate. And there is a gentle sprinkling of light humour and passing psychological insight.
Somewhat unusually, there is a ghost lurking in this novel. Not the much talked about visions of Dorothy that Aaron experiences periodically during the year following her death. Rather, it is the character of Dorothy herself. She is endlessly enigmatic and always just out of reach. Who is this woman? She is an Oncologist of Hispanic origin with a respected medical practice. She is curiously muffled emotionally and strangely unpractised in social interaction. Very curiously (but entirely unexplored in the novel) even after years of marriage, Aaron has never met Dorothy’s family. Aaron’s call to her brother with the news of her death is his first occasion of speaking to him. I wanted to learn a great deal more about this woman. Alas, this is Aaron’s story and he either doesn’t know anything more about his wife, or doesn’t want to know.
As ever, when you try to situate an Anne Tyler within the range of her (now 19) novels, you find that it fits somewhere in the middle. As do all of the others. Gently recommended (for lovers of Anne Tyler novels).
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mothers, sisters, and sympathetic young women has left him, perhaps not surprisingly, isolated emotionally. With the sudden and unexpected death of his wife, Dr Dorothy Rosales, who is literally flattened when a huge tree comes crashing through the sunroom of the house, Aaron finds himself bereft. But of what he is bereft?In typical Tyler fashion, this novel is filled with unusual individuals who are presented as run-of-the-mill. Dramatic action, even action as dramatic as trees crashing through houses, is muted. Interior thoughts and self-doubt predominate. And there is a gentle sprinkling of light humour and passing psychological insight.
Somewhat unusually, there is a ghost lurking in this novel. Not the much talked about visions of Dorothy that Aaron experiences periodically during the year following her death. Rather, it is the character of Dorothy herself. She is endlessly enigmatic and always just out of reach. Who is this woman? She is an Oncologist of Hispanic origin with a respected medical practice. She is curiously muffled emotionally and strangely unpractised in social interaction. Very curiously (but entirely unexplored in the novel) even after years of marriage, Aaron has never met Dorothy’s family. Aaron’s call to her brother with the news of her death is his first occasion of speaking to him. I wanted to learn a great deal more about this woman. Alas, this is Aaron’s story and he either doesn’t know anything more about his wife, or doesn’t want to know.
As ever, when you try to situate an Anne Tyler within the range of her (now 19) novels, you find that it fits somewhere in the middle. As do all of the others. Gently recommended (for lovers of Anne Tyler novels).
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LibraryThing member St.CroixSue
Tyler’s latest book is about a middle aged man who is jolted out of his rut by the untimely death of his wife. There is a supernatural twist when his wife Dorothy comes back to haunt as he works through his grief. Tyler is so very good at capturing everyday lifes and emotions, but I had
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difficulty relating to the sad sack main character was not too receptive to his conversations with Dorothy's ghost. Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
On a day when his office-mates send him home, ill with a cold, Aaron Woolcott's wife, Dorothy, arrives home unexpectedly early too. After an argument, over something silly, she is killed in a terrible accident. A tree that has been consistently checked for its safety, falls on their house. Aaron is
As time passes, Aaron begins to see his late wife Dorothy in unexpected places, and at unexpected times. The reader even gets the feeling that she is also seen by others, but the reader can never be sure. Has she returned to him? Through these visits from Dorothy, he works out the problems they shared. She confides in him and tells him things he never knew about her before, which adds to his wonder. Is she real or is his imagination returning her spirit to him in order for him to discover solutions to work out his grief?
Aaron Woolcott is in the publishing business started by his family, and the company is working on a series of beginner's books: the beginner's book of marriage, the beginner's book of menopause, the beginner's book of pregnancy, etc. With this book, we watch Aaron work out the beginner's book of a widower, the beginner's book of grief. We watch him learn to cope with his loss. As the title hints, it is the beginner’s book of how to say good bye.
After the accident, Aaron finds he cannot return to the home he shared with Dorothy. It is the scene of the "crime", so he moves in with his sister Nandina, to his childhood home. He takes nothing with him; he leaves his life behind. He even buys a new razor because he can't bear to return to the house to get the one he left there. Finally, when the house deteriorates further, he has no choice but to hire a contractor to repair it, and with the rebuilding of the house, he also begins to rebuild his life.
Everyone tries to be kind and sympathetic toward him. They bring him casseroles for dinner, extend invitations to dinner, try to introduce him to friends, but he wants to be left alone. Dorothy was his whole life. He feels uncomfortable in social situations, but soon, he wants to get back into some activity. He wants to play racquetball with his friends again, but they want to invite him to dinner, thinking he is not ready for racquetball. Gradually, his life does begin to resume in some fashion, although, he becomes short tempered and angry at times. We are with him as he works through his loneliness.
I found the book to be well written, as Tyler's books are, but this one was a little too simplistic for me. I read "An Available Man", by Hilma Wolitzer, another book about a man, Edward Schuyler, who was also overcoming the loss of his wife, adjusting to life alone with the attentions of friends and family, sometimes wanted and sometimes unwanted. I believe that novel had more depth and more interesting characters, perhaps engaging me as a reader more, encouraging me to think about the grieving process more intensely and inspiring me to identify with the character's emotions more deeply.
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devastated and guilt ridden. Could he have behaved differently and changed the course of events? He is saddened by the thoughts of things he did and things he didn't do, things that were said and things that remained unsaid, things that will now, never be said.As time passes, Aaron begins to see his late wife Dorothy in unexpected places, and at unexpected times. The reader even gets the feeling that she is also seen by others, but the reader can never be sure. Has she returned to him? Through these visits from Dorothy, he works out the problems they shared. She confides in him and tells him things he never knew about her before, which adds to his wonder. Is she real or is his imagination returning her spirit to him in order for him to discover solutions to work out his grief?
Aaron Woolcott is in the publishing business started by his family, and the company is working on a series of beginner's books: the beginner's book of marriage, the beginner's book of menopause, the beginner's book of pregnancy, etc. With this book, we watch Aaron work out the beginner's book of a widower, the beginner's book of grief. We watch him learn to cope with his loss. As the title hints, it is the beginner’s book of how to say good bye.
After the accident, Aaron finds he cannot return to the home he shared with Dorothy. It is the scene of the "crime", so he moves in with his sister Nandina, to his childhood home. He takes nothing with him; he leaves his life behind. He even buys a new razor because he can't bear to return to the house to get the one he left there. Finally, when the house deteriorates further, he has no choice but to hire a contractor to repair it, and with the rebuilding of the house, he also begins to rebuild his life.
Everyone tries to be kind and sympathetic toward him. They bring him casseroles for dinner, extend invitations to dinner, try to introduce him to friends, but he wants to be left alone. Dorothy was his whole life. He feels uncomfortable in social situations, but soon, he wants to get back into some activity. He wants to play racquetball with his friends again, but they want to invite him to dinner, thinking he is not ready for racquetball. Gradually, his life does begin to resume in some fashion, although, he becomes short tempered and angry at times. We are with him as he works through his loneliness.
I found the book to be well written, as Tyler's books are, but this one was a little too simplistic for me. I read "An Available Man", by Hilma Wolitzer, another book about a man, Edward Schuyler, who was also overcoming the loss of his wife, adjusting to life alone with the attentions of friends and family, sometimes wanted and sometimes unwanted. I believe that novel had more depth and more interesting characters, perhaps engaging me as a reader more, encouraging me to think about the grieving process more intensely and inspiring me to identify with the character's emotions more deeply.
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LibraryThing member khiemstra631
If you ever read Tyler's Accidental Tourist, this will probably remind you of it in some ways. A rather inept thirty-something man loses his older mate when a tree crashes through the roof of their house, and she is crushed by falling debris. She returns as a ghost at the beginning of the book
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before the tree scene even occurs. Then she does not appear again until almost the end. The rest of the book details Dorothy's life with her husband Aaron. Theirs was a rather unlikely match, and as he reflects on their time together he gradually becomes aware of this fact. It's almost a coming-of-age tale in reverse. The book has a somewhat unexpected ending, and it's a fun read that will have the reader chuckling at numerous points along the way. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member peggygillman
Poor Anne, she really should just retire. This was horrible. I didn’t like the main character, the story was stupid and unbelievable and the ending just too perfect. Aaron’s wife visits him as a ghost or as a real dead person so Aaron can get closure to their marriage. UCK 9/24
LibraryThing member stillwaters12
The story of Aaron and the unexpected loss of his wife is hauntingly (forgive the pun) sad yet the book is far from that. Dorothy, the deceased wife of Aaron, appears to him not in a foggy, mysterious way but seemingly is just there as she lived. Both characters are understated and rather plain
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which is Anne Tyler's style and which is rather endearing. I'm glad I read it. My three star rating is based on so many details I would have liked Ms Tyler to develop like Dorothy's background and the introverted lives she and Aaron lived. Show Less
LibraryThing member LynnB
I love Anne Tyler and have read every one of her novels. In this story, Aaron Woolcott has just lost his wife and we experience his process of grieving and dealing with his loss. In typical Anne Tyler fashion, Aaron and other main characters are slightly off-beat, but presented as entirely
To contradict some of the other reviewers: I would not say that this book features magical realism or supernatural events. What we have is Aaron's conscious and subconscious mind (and his heart) dealing with his loss.
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mainstream. I found this story reminiscent of some of her earlier books and completely enjoyed it.To contradict some of the other reviewers: I would not say that this book features magical realism or supernatural events. What we have is Aaron's conscious and subconscious mind (and his heart) dealing with his loss.
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LibraryThing member oldblack
Interesting...it's not my favourite Tyler, but she's always worth reading. I actually had the audiobook version and I'm not 100% convinced that the reader, Mr Heyborne, did a great job. His reading was perfectly competent, but he certainly added a personality to each character that I wouldn't have
Also, and this is Ms Tyler's responsibility, I didn't warm to the "ghost" concept on which a big chunk of the book is based - that is a man "sees" and even talks to his dead wife as though she really has come back to life. Sure, I can see the partial validity of this perspective as a manifestation of the grieving process (especially where there's unresolved issues between the couple, as in this case) but it was a bit too unrealistic to my mind. And I do like my novels to be completely believable.
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imagined if I were reading the written word. It's a pity Anne Tyler doesn't read them herself.Also, and this is Ms Tyler's responsibility, I didn't warm to the "ghost" concept on which a big chunk of the book is based - that is a man "sees" and even talks to his dead wife as though she really has come back to life. Sure, I can see the partial validity of this perspective as a manifestation of the grieving process (especially where there's unresolved issues between the couple, as in this case) but it was a bit too unrealistic to my mind. And I do like my novels to be completely believable.
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LibraryThing member wcath
A subtle, nuanced story of love and loss in true Anne Tyler style.
LibraryThing member flydodofly
Big things happen even in small lives, and when the old tree falls onto their house, the main character is left without a wife. He gets to terms with his loss and life in general in a surprisingly short time and without messy emotional crises, quietly and neatly, with a little help from his
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imaginary friend (wife). Sadly, a mediocre effort which is easily forgotten. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2014)
Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction (Longlist — Fiction — 2013)
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (Fiction — 2012)
Language
Original publication date
2012
ISBN
9780739378540