Pretty good first novel. I don't remember much about it now, I know it's about a young man and his relationships, but I liked it. I especially am fond of her later novels that I read. ( )

Anne Tyler is one of my favorite authors. My son told me that I was just like one of the characters in Accidental Tourist. I had to go back that re-read the book and I still wasn't sure of which character. Oh well. I found a lot of her books at used book store. I did not know when I bought this one that it was her first and that she had disowned this book and the second one! I am giving it a three stars because the characters needed more development and the plot was very simple. I agree with her but she has come so much farther in her later books.

Two things struck me: When the main character Ben Joe Hawking said " Every place I go, I miss another place. That rang true for me. Except that I have never missed high school. The grade school that I went to has been demolished and newer and uglier one took its place It is sad when you miss a place and it no longer exists.

I had trouble understanding Ben Joe Hawke, why did he want to get married? Who in his family,did he like the most? Why did he get tired of Columbia and New York? I have many unansered questions for him.

I identified a little with Gram who got tired of the same old food that her daughter cooked every day. Even though I like strawberry Greek yogurt, I do not want to eat it every day. My husband does our grocery shopping and last week, they did not even have vanilla, much less lemon, banana or chocolate. I cannot blame him for that, our choices are fewer with the pandemic.

Gram also wondered what her life would have been like if she had married a different man. I felt anxious for her to get out all her questions to her old boyfriend in the Old Friends Home. That is the same way that I feel when my son calls me from China. I felt very sad for her when her boyfriend died the very next day. I wanted them to connect again.

READING PROGRESS ( )

I love Anne Tyler and find her books in general to be a really comforting and soothing read. This book provides some insight into a rather odd family, who are totally charming aside from their strangeness. The only character I found hard to relate to is the mother, who despite a very thick shell of defences, loves her family and does her best to provide support (in her case, financial but not emotional). The emotional support burden has landed on the eldest and only son, Ben Joe, and this book is mainly about his struggle to find himself while balancing the need he feels to be the anchor for his family. A lovely read! ( )

Enjoyable light read, with Anne Tyler's usual excellent observations and pithy humour. Focuses on a delightful young university student who worries about his family a lot. ( )

Ben Joe Hawkes is attending law school in New York while his mother, grandmother, and five sisters go about their lives in North Carolina. When he finds out that his oldest sister has left her husband and come back home, he also feels drawn back home. At home, Ben Joe is haunted by his past, but learns that by embracing it, he can find a way into the future.

Anne Tyler's books are wonderful to read because there are so many layers in them. Her characters are so quirky and outlandish that the logical part of your brain thinks, "no one is that messed up," but somehow, Tyler always makes it work. This story didn't come together for me until the end of the novel, but the wait was worth it. ( )