Meet Macon Leary--a travel writer who hates both travel and strangeness. Grounded by loneliness, comfort, and a somewhat odd domestic life, Macon is about to embark on a surprising new adventure, arriving in the form of a fuzzy-haired dog obedience trainer who promises to turn his life around.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
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Book Description
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From Library Journal
Scarred by grief after their 12-year-old son's senseless murder (he was shot by a holdup man in a Burger Bonanza), Macon and Sarah Leary are losing their marriage too. Macon is unable to cope when she leaves him, so he settles down ``safe among the people he'd started out with,'' moving back home with two divorced brothers and spinster sister Rose. Author of a series of guidebooks called ``Accidental Tourist'' for businessmen who hate to travel, Macon is Tyler's focus here, as she gently chronicles his journey from lonely self-absorption to an ``accidental'' new life with brassy Muriel, a dog trainer from the Meow Bow Animal Hospital, who renews and claims his heart. Not a character, including Macon's dog Edward, is untouched by delightful eccentricity in this charming story, full of surprises and wisdom. All of Tyler's novels are wonderful; thisher tenthis the best yet. BOMC main selection. Janet Wiehe, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“INDISPUTABLY HER BEST BOOK . . .
It leaves one aching with pleasure and pain.”
–The Washington Post
“Hilarious . . . and touching . . . Anne Tyler is a wise and perceptive writer with a warm understanding of human foibles.”
–St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Comic . . . Sweetly perverse . . . A novel animated by witty invention and lively personalities.”
–Time
“Anne Tyler [is] covering common ground with uncommon insight. . . . Convincingly real.”
–People
From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
It leaves one aching with pleasure and pain.”
–The Washington Post
“Hilarious . . . and touching . . . Anne Tyler is a wise and perceptive writer with a warm understanding of human foibles.”
–St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Comic . . . Sweetly perverse . . . A novel animated by witty invention and lively personalities.”
–Time
“Anne Tyler [is] covering common ground with uncommon insight. . . . Convincingly real.”
–People
From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By D. Money
Format:Audio Cassette
I just finished listening to the unabridged Recorded Books version of this book for the second time. It is narrated by George Guidall, who is one of the best narrators out there. If you are going to listen to this book on tape, I highly recommend this version. See if your library has it, or go to recordedbooks.com and rent it--it will be well worth it. He also narrates another Anne Tyler book, Saint Maybe, and does just as fabulous a job on that one. Anne Tyler is one of my favorite authors, and George Guidall is one of my favorite narrators--the two together are amazing!
By Peggy Vincent
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
I've read all her books, and this is one of my favorites. It begins with Macon and his wife separating after tragedy drives them apart. Macon moves 'back home' with his 3 hopelessly out-of-touch-with-reality siblings, the oddest of which is his spinster sister, Rose. Enter: Muriel, an eccentric dog trainer, who gets right to work training Macon for re-entry into life.
Every nuance is in place in this quirky book full of odd characters who have trouble finding their niche till Tyler discovers them and sets them again on their crooked path.
Every nuance is in place in this quirky book full of odd characters who have trouble finding their niche till Tyler discovers them and sets them again on their crooked path.
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have never read anything which so effectively spoke to me (at the same time) of the beauty and loneliness of life.
Somewhere on this earth right now, lives a person (Anne Tyler) who possesses an amazing ability to see/sense/perceive an extraordinary range of the human experience.
A million people could look at the same thing and not really know what it means. But Anne Tyler might understand.
Such breadth of awareness.
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4.1 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Courage of Living
Anne Tyler's strongest novel. Macon Leary, an emotionally battered man, has always been insular, introverted, and a loner. Read more
Published on July 14 2002 by Pamela
4.0 out of 5 stars
All the Lonely People
There's a great passage about halfway through this novel. Macon, the protagonist, is flying and he looks out the window to see the roofs of houses. Read more
Published on May 29 2002 by John
4.0 out of 5 stars
Life is always an unfinished activity
The book speaks to that lonely place inside of us that no matter how many persons we have around or how many activities me immerse ourselves into, always remains in a vacuum. Read more
Published on Mar 1 2002 by Juan Carlos Uribe
4.0 out of 5 stars
A book of contrasts
The story dipicts contrasts in our world behind closed doors. It is a great read that takes you on a ride with a very unusual man. Read more
Published on Jan 16 2002 by Katieq
4.0 out of 5 stars
Accidental Tourist is a Deliberate Joy
Anne Tyler in AT starts with characters who are not out-right likeable. Macon Leary's story continues in such a way that he, especially, becomes more than likeable -- he becomes... Read more
Published on Dec 27 2001 by Denton Loving
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wish it never ended
I generally read spy thrillers or crime novels, so the lack of action in this book could have made it not my cup of tea. However, the clever ways that A.T. Read more
Published on Nov 28 2001 by David M. Opas
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fairly good story
I've never listened to a book on tape before, and only did so with this book because I needed something to listen to at work. Read more
Published on Nov 10 2001 by C. Hill
5.0 out of 5 stars
VIVIDLY EVOKED.
Such wonderful things happen deep inside the sentences. Anne Tyler has taught us to expect something extraordinary. Her touch is gentle but firm.
Published on Oct 22 2001 by Waleed Eissa
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kept me wondering to the very end... and beyond
While in the library scanning books on how-to-write, I came across a strong recommendation for Anne Tyler's "Accidental Tourist" as a good example of what a novel should... Read more
Published on Aug 17 2001 by Tom Bruce
3.0 out of 5 stars
Better late than never!
I've seen *The Accidental Tourist* on favorite book lists for years and even seen the movie. But I had procrastinated on the actual book until recently. Shame on me! Read more
Published on May 20 2001 by Meleriel Riley
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