The Accidental Tourist

I've been so focused on what Hurricane Irma is and isn't doing that I totally forgotten I'd never reviewed The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler. It was recommended to me by several members of my community book club when we discussed A Spool of Blue Thread last month.

Before I forget, The Accidental Tourist became a movie in 1989, 4 years after it was published as a book. And while not major characters, there was a neighbor named Sue and a niece named Susan. It was also National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction that year.

Macon is a reluctant travel writer. He hates to travel and writes travel guides for businessmen whom he presumes don't like to travel either. His son has been murdered and his wife has left him. Macon was also born into a family that likes to keep things very routine. Macon and his siblings put the "quirk" in "quirky." This makes his entrance into single-dom after marriage quite entertaining.

Some of the most interesting scenes in the story were when Macon was still living home, trying to make things easier - sleeping in a sweatsuit so he wouldn't even need to get dressed. Oh, and yes, he did wash the sweatsuit - while he was wearing it in the shower! He created a crazy kind of laundry chute. At this moment I can't recall why he needed a laundry chute. He sewed sheets into sleeping bags so he wouldn't have to make the bed or change the linens. He washed his clothing in the bathtub while taking his shower.

This book was all about the characters. We see Macon go from unhappy married man and transition several times. We watch Macon's sister, Rose, develop into a full-fledged character. The brothers remain caricatures but they're of real people. My favorite characterization in the book was of Macon's boss, Julian. 'A dashing sailor, a speedy driver, a frequenter of singles bars, he was the kind of man who would make a purchase without consulting Consumer Reports.'  Imagine that!  (My dad wouldn't make a purchase without consulting Consumer Reports but he was not nearly as set in his way as Macon was.

Muriel, Macon's dog trainer, was a character herself. And I mean that in the non-literal sense! What a character! She had another one of my favorite lines.

"Sometimes late at night when I get desperate for someone to talk to I call the time signal," Muriel said. " 'At the tone the time will be eleven...forty-eight. And fifty seconds.' " Her voice took on a fruity fullness. " 'At the tone the time will be eleven... forty-nine. Exactly.'

Do you remember the days of calling TIME? A younger person reading the book - or reading this post - might not have a clue about what that's all about.

The people in Macon's life refer to Muriel as "this Muriel person." That made me smile, too. My mother had a friend that was referred to as "that Doris."

I liked the characters. This novel begs you to think about whether or not it's enough to like the person you when you're with someone and you don't necessarily need to feel love. Who brings out your best self?

As a divorced person - and as someone who loves to travel and in my early years had aspirations to be a travel writer - I liked Tyler's take on what it's like to be newly separated and not yet divorced as well as what it's like to be a travel writer who doesn't like to travel.

I would only recommend this book to people who don't need a lot of action in a story. There's a level of sadness in the novel. A child being murdered, elements of divorce, neglect by a parent. On the other hand, there are humorous warm moments dealing with relationships we have with others and with ourselves.

Let's talk about A Spool of Blue Thread

Just as I suspected, while A Spool of Blue Thread was just an okay book, the book club discussion was so much better. It was a great book to discuss.

A dozen members of my community book club met to chat about Anne Tyler’s latest novel, “A Spool of Blue Thread”.  Anne Tyler is famous for writing about family relationships. Over time, “the essential concern for family remains the same.” The facilitator of the discussion came prepared with lots of background information about Tyler. In addition to talking about the book, many aspects of the author’s life were discussed as well. One member of our group is a huge fan of Tyler’s and has read all twenty of her novels at least once. I think I've only read 3 or 4. Or maybe 5. After our discussion, I might want to check if I've read "The Accidental Tourist" or not. That sounds like a book I might enjoy, if I haven't enjoyed it already.

“A Spool of Blue Thread” is the story about a house. It’s also about the Whitshank family living in the house. The house was very much a character of the novel. And the story of how the house came to the family was quite compelling. One of the reviews shared said that Tyler’s characters are frequently described as “sweet, sentimental and cozy.” The book club disagreed with this account. They felt that most of Tyler’s characters are quirky and unpredictable. The quirkiness of the characters was a big appeal to many in the group. 

No one in attendance at the meeting disliked the book although some felt it was one of Tyler’s weakest books. Whether we loved the book or felt it was mediocre, there was so much to talk about. Big families have lots of drama. They also have interesting stories. The way the elder Whitshanks came to get married. The way the second generation Whitshanks came to get married. The way that Abby Whitshank picked up strays wherever she went, unless it was to the beach on family vacations. The way the Whitshank family considered themselves “special.” What does it mean to consider yourself part of a “special” family? That debate could have gone on for a good long time. One woman hated the word special. Another woman and I felt that being special wasn't always a good thing... but that's what made our family our own.

Aging was a theme of the novel. Some wondered aloud whether Anne Tyler’s own aging contributed to some parts of the story not quite jiving. There were some missing threads (pun intended). There were some stories that didn't quite seem necessary. Many felt that the ending seemed rushed. It also gave ample opportunities for the group to discuss related experiences. After the death of Abby, Red is very willing to move out of the house. How realistic is that? Why and how would he realize that staying in the beloved family home was no longer the correct choice? How does an older person know when it’s time to give up a house? We also talked about Denny being the prodigal son and about the roles that each of the adult children had within the family. Abby always wanted her children to be friends for life. Is that what we want for our children? I'm happy to report that my three adult children are very close and while I don't take credit for that, it makes me very happy and proud. What expectations do have parents have for their children as adults? What do we want most for our children?

“A Spool of Blue Thread” might or might not be Tyler’s final book. Rumor had it that she was never going to finish this one. But she did. And while there are no plans to publish a next work, she’s still writing.

Commonwealth

It was only once I finished Commonwealth by Ann Patchett and went to update my goodreads that I realized I had never read the full description of the book. I knew it was a tale about two families who become joined spanning five decades. Commonwealth is the July title for my community book club. I would have started to read it regardless of the description. In retrospect, I wonder if knowing what was going to happen would have impacted the way I felt about the book.

On goodreads.com, I gave Commonwealth a 4-star reading. If half stars were possible, I would have given it 3-stars. There's something about Ann Patchett's language that draws me in. I love the way she weaves a story, sprinkling bits of foreshadowing here and there. Sometimes, there was just a little something that I can't put my finger of that made me not love the story. I liked it. Just didn't love it. Commonwealth is a character study. Yes, the plot moves forward and there is a climax and resolution at the end. But not a whole lot really happens and I frequently wondered where Patchett was taking the story. Perhaps my feelings about the book will change after next week's book club discussion. That's often the case.

The story starts in 1964 at the christening party of Franny, the daughter of Fix and Beverly, younger sister to Caroline. Albert, husband of Teresa, father of Cal, Holly, Jeanette, with Albie on the way, is married to Teresa. Yet he comes to Franny's christening party (not the christening, just the party) uninvited - and alone. He takes one look at Beverly and his world is changed forever.

Chapter 2 fast forwards the reader 50 years into the future. Fix is dying from cancer and Franny returns to California to take her father for one of his treatments. Over the remaining chapters, the story bounces back and forth between the lives of the blended families and points in the future. We learn a lot about the type of parents Fix, Beverly, Bert and Teresa are. We learn a lot about the type of kids Caroline, Franny, Cal, Holly, Jeanette and Albie are. What we never learn are any of the details of the divorces, just that they happened and that Bert and Beverly end up together. 

At times while reading, I'd think, Oh, this reminds me of The Nest (review here). A bunch of dysfunctional kids, a mother who isn't too involved in their adult lives. But this book is so much more. Family dynamics and the blended families are a big focus in the book. (All that had me wondering about what the relationship my kids will have with their stepbrothers in another 20 or 30 years.)

All 6 kids spend at least two weeks every summer together at Bert and Beverly's home in Virginia. They are often unsupervised and they go off on adventures that I wouldn't have dared gone on as a kid and that would have made me want to lock my own kids up if they'd done these types of things while I was asleep. A tragedy occurs that really changes the trajectory of the lives of each and every one of them.

About halfway through the five decades of the plot line Franny has dropped out of law school and is working as a waitress at the bar of a fancy Chicago hotel. Her all-time favorite author, Leon Posner, walks into the bar and starts flirting with her. It's just the start of a five year relationship. One of my favorite lines in the book comes during the scene where Franny and Leon meet. Leon asks Franny if she ever wanted to be a writer. "No," she said, and she would have told him. "I only wanted to be a reader." Boy, can I relate!

In Leo, Franny finally has someone who seems to truly listen to her. In bits and pieces, she tells him the story of her family. How they became a blended family and what they were like pre- and post- tragedy. Leo who seems to have been in a writing slump takes Franny's story and "makes it his own." The bestseller, "Commonwealth" is the result. It's still very obviously Franny's family's story. Who really has the right to tell this story? And who will feel pain as a result of Franny's family story being out there for anyone to read? 

Perhaps through my own personal lens of divorce and blended families, I was particularly drawn to those parts of the story. In some ways, it was like I was judging my divorce against the divorces of these characters. Loyalty towards one parent or the other is an important component in the characterization of all the children. Once again, I could certainly relate. 

In addition to divorce and blended families and different reactions to a shared tragedy, the book deals with finding your own path in life and what it's like to grow older or to have an aging parent.

If you enjoy novels with lyrical language with extremely well-developed characters, some whom you'll like, some whom you'll deplore and some whom you will merely tolerate, then Commonwealth might be a novel for you.