How does a man addicted to routine - a man who flosses his teeth before love-making - cope with the chaos of everyday life? With the loss of his son, the departure of his wife and the arrival of Muriel, a dog trainer from the Meow-Bow dog clinic, Macon's attempts at ordinary life are tragically and comically undone. (19941121)
The Accidental Tourist
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Review
"Brilliant, funny, sad and sensitive" (Independent on Sunday )
"Anne Tyler gets better with every book, and this one is a triumph - funny, profound, sad and ultimately reassuring" (Sunday Telegraph )
"Now poignant, now funny... Anne Tyler is brilliant" (New York Times Book Review )
"A vibrant and astonishing and, above all, achingly funny book" (Cosmopolitan )
"My favourite writer, and the best line-and-length novelist in the world, is Anne Tyler" (Nick Hornby )
"Anne Tyler gets better with every book, and this one is a triumph - funny, profound, sad and ultimately reassuring" (Sunday Telegraph )
"Now poignant, now funny... Anne Tyler is brilliant" (New York Times Book Review )
"A vibrant and astonishing and, above all, achingly funny book" (Cosmopolitan )
"My favourite writer, and the best line-and-length novelist in the world, is Anne Tyler" (Nick Hornby )
Book Description
As Macon's life falls apart, he tries to tie it back together with routine and habit. But sometimes life just doesn't work like that.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Dickens
Format:Paperback
Macon the traveller who hates travelling can be forgiven for being boring. Macon lost his only child in a senseless murder and his marriage collapses. A recipe for despair you might think! Well, yes and no. Yes because he cannot properly grieve or piece his life together. No because the process of his life is comic in the face of inevitable twists and turns. Enter Muriel. Muriel takes life by the scruff of the neck with zest. She more than overlaps into his life. She knows what she wants and he does not - but it is not just about the two of them.
It is a romantic comedy but without the romance as we know it. I found easy to read dusted with just the right amount of expression. Great language, you can really hear the characters speaking and see the dynamic in the dialogue. Once again Tyler wonderfully presents the ordinary like a refreshing breeze to the reader dancing cheerfully page after page.
It is a romantic comedy but without the romance as we know it. I found easy to read dusted with just the right amount of expression. Great language, you can really hear the characters speaking and see the dynamic in the dialogue. Once again Tyler wonderfully presents the ordinary like a refreshing breeze to the reader dancing cheerfully page after page.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Veronica
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
The Accidental Tourist is a wonderful novel. It is beautifully written and very wise and sensitive. The characters are ordinary people and the plot is full of everyday occurences, and yet I was turning the pages as if I was reading a nail biting thriller.
I'm always hearing that good writers should 'show and not tell', and Anne Tyler does this to perfection. The first chapter alone is a masterclass in how to create an original and moving marriage break-up scene. At the beginning of the novel, we find out that Macon and Sarah's son has died. In other books there would have been endless pages about the death and flashbacks to the family before the tragedy, but Tyler manages to convey the parents's terrible loss without going down this rather tired route. As the book progresses, Macon and Sarah separate, and then Macon meets Muriel, an unusual dog trainer who seems determined to work her way into his life.
All of the characters seem like living, breathing people - with good and bad points. Macon, the main character, is an excellent invention. Being an introvert myself, I felt like I could understand much of his motivation and attitude towards life. I also grew to admire Muriel a great deal and the physical descriptions of her - her frizzy hair and clothes ('I look like the Wrath of God') - were particularly good. I was glad the author didn't go down the stereotypical route of having her be tremendously good looking. And yet, the tension was there the whole time about whether Macon would return to his wife, if she would have him back. The novel made me care deeply for all the characters, and I was utterly torn as to what I thought Macon should do.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. The author has a very compassionate way of writing about people, but not so that they come across as cloying or too good to be true. The humour and kindness in the book is matched by tragedy and sadness. I also thought the ending was beautiful - it had me in tears and gave me a lot to think about. Real life is full of complications and grey areas and misunderstandings and it is wonderful that Anne Tyler has managed to capture this on paper.
I'm always hearing that good writers should 'show and not tell', and Anne Tyler does this to perfection. The first chapter alone is a masterclass in how to create an original and moving marriage break-up scene. At the beginning of the novel, we find out that Macon and Sarah's son has died. In other books there would have been endless pages about the death and flashbacks to the family before the tragedy, but Tyler manages to convey the parents's terrible loss without going down this rather tired route. As the book progresses, Macon and Sarah separate, and then Macon meets Muriel, an unusual dog trainer who seems determined to work her way into his life.
All of the characters seem like living, breathing people - with good and bad points. Macon, the main character, is an excellent invention. Being an introvert myself, I felt like I could understand much of his motivation and attitude towards life. I also grew to admire Muriel a great deal and the physical descriptions of her - her frizzy hair and clothes ('I look like the Wrath of God') - were particularly good. I was glad the author didn't go down the stereotypical route of having her be tremendously good looking. And yet, the tension was there the whole time about whether Macon would return to his wife, if she would have him back. The novel made me care deeply for all the characters, and I was utterly torn as to what I thought Macon should do.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. The author has a very compassionate way of writing about people, but not so that they come across as cloying or too good to be true. The humour and kindness in the book is matched by tragedy and sadness. I also thought the ending was beautiful - it had me in tears and gave me a lot to think about. Real life is full of complications and grey areas and misunderstandings and it is wonderful that Anne Tyler has managed to capture this on paper.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thought this book was absolutely superb. I loved the way the characters were portrayed: real 3-dimensional people, with real human characteristics and foibles. I found the book more and more enjoyable as I got to know the individuals and was sorry to close the book for the last time. The only (minor) irritation was the pronounciation of Macon, but perhaps that was just part of his character. I am a great fan of Anne Tyler's books. She writes about ordinary people with style and panache.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyment
From the first word I am enjoying Anne Tyler books - I find that her way of using language draws me into the book straight away - in some way its all so familiar and so effortless... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Cassandra
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful book offers life's choices at any age
The accidental tourist writes guides for people who would rather not be travelling. His ostensibly conservative but actually eccentric lifestyle is challenged by separation from... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Cole Davis
3.0 out of 5 stars
Improved on second reading
I’m writing this review after the second time of reading this book. The first time round I would have given Tyler’s work a 2/5; I didn’t particular enjoy the plot and thought it... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rach H
5.0 out of 5 stars
outstanding writer
Ann Tyler has the knack of bringing all of her stories to life in a memorable way,its an easy read about the people in Baltimore highly recommended.
Published 1 month ago by P. R. Douglas
4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended
Like all Anne Tyler books,this one is written in her typical style. Easy to read and well worded.It also has a slightly dark side to it,where you can,t help reading it without a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Monica Keane
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Work of Art
'Anne Tyler is the person who first made me want to write: I picked up Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant in a bookshop, started to read it there an then, bought it, took it home,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Metropolitan Critic
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful!
The Accidental Tourist is yet again a wonderful novel by Anne Tyler.
The tragic death of Macon and Sarah's son Ethan has led to the collapse of their marriage. Read more
The tragic death of Macon and Sarah's son Ethan has led to the collapse of their marriage. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Bakey
2.0 out of 5 stars
couldn't get into it
This is the ninth Anne Tyler book I've read and the second I've not finished. Most of the others I've enjoyed [my favourite is still "The Patchwork Planet"] but I got one third of... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ms. K. J. Waghorn
2.0 out of 5 stars
She gave up at the end
I find the narrative to be dull, especially from the start then it got okay, but once I got halfway I was really bored and wasn't expecting much. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Sketcha
3.0 out of 5 stars
Alright
It was alright, the writing was good, but I personally found much of the story unbelievable and couldn't really relate to the characters. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Noods
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