Anne Tyler - A Patchwork Planet  

FRESH AND ENGAGING.
Time Filled with insight and compassion, Anne Tylers 14th novel chronicles a year in the life of a 30-year-old loser named Barnaby Gaitlin. Tyler has crafted a remarkably lovable character, a young man as endearing as Macon Leary, the memorable protagonist of her 1985 bestseller, The Accidental Tourist. Minneapolis Star Tribune What resonates throughout the novel is Tylers gentle wisdom. Her understanding of the complexities of human nature comes across beautifully, making this book a singular treat. She endows the tale of Barnabys eventual self-discovery and redemption with charm, quiet humor and many bittersweet observations on the meaning of emotional connectedness with those around us, the aging process and the ability we all possess to start afresh. The Miami Herald This could only be Tyler territory, where losers are treated with a tenderness that encourages them to consider winning in the world. In her 14th novel, the persuasive storyteller with the beautiful, unforced style works her familiar groundfamily, connection, the quirks of humanswith ease. The Miami Herald Entertainment Weekly A Patchwork Planet is filled with descriptions that summarize an entire way of life in a single image. [Tylers] genius lies in making quotidian events extraordinarily poignant. San Francisco Chronicle In an uncertain world, its reassuring to know for an absolute fact that Anne Tylers next novel (and the one after that and the one after that) will cause me to shiver at truths that I recognize but have never heard voiced, pinch me sharply with its poignancy and catch me off guard with funny moments that make me laugh so hard I have to put the book down until I get a grip on myself. Tylers 14th novel, A Patchwork Planet , does all that. San Diego Union Tribune ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL: Tylers many admirers are sure to number this among her very best work. [Her] appealing warmth and flair for eccentric comedy are abundantly displayed in her superb 14th novel. Kirkus Reviews (starred review) It is Tylers great talent to involve us thoroughly with her characters. With a keen eye for detail and the sense of humanity that she displayed in her 1985 novel The Accidental Tourist , Tyler brilliantly portrays their foibles, their disappointments and their hopes. Barnaby Gaitlin is one of her most sympathetic creations. People A Patchwork Planet , Pulitzer Prize-winning Anne Tylers 14th novel, finds the black-sheep son of an old Baltimore family attempting to get his life on track. Recalls Tylers early works, such as Celestial Navigation and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant , which are peopled by genuine eccentrics whose grip on the world is charmingly, but definitely, precarious Anne Tyler lovingly captures that world. The Cleveland Plain Dealer Writing with humor and pathos worthy of her previous works, Tyler continues to make distinctive observations about the quirks and peculiarities of domestic life and the struggle of some lost souls to be part of a world where everyone else seems focused on the beaten path. Publishers Weekly (starred review) I adore Anne Tyler. Its hard to imagine any other writer whom you can read with such unalloyed pleasure. San Jose Mercury News This is a wonderful noveldont miss it! A Patchwork Planet is like a crazy quilt with familiar fabrics which, when assembled, becomes unique. Chattanooga Press THIS IS A BOOK YOU CAN TRUST Tyler understands this modest world, both its frustrations and its rewards. With each funny, painful novel, she adds another square to her tapestry of redemption. The Christian Science Monitor Always entertaining Anne Tyler once again creates characters that are believable, funny and true. In Barnaby Gaitlin, Tyler has created a character who looks into the mirror of self-revelation and finds not only flaws but redeeming qualities as well. Hartford Courant A sophisticated, poignant and carefully crafted chart of the vicissitudes of trust. Time Out New York I dont know whether anyone has called Tyler a fin-de-sicle Jane Austen. I guess Ill do it here. Like Austens, Tylers books are full of lifes little lessons, closely observed and compassionately recounted A Patchwork Planet is filled with pleasure and pain. That the pleasure triumphs is [Tylers] final kindness to us, her readers. Ft. Worth Star-Telegram The novel is wise and funny. Not only a colorful snapshot of youth but a compassionate picture of old age With exquisite description and flawless dialogue, Tyler dignifies the lives of miraculously ordinary characters. New York Daily News Alternately comedic and tragic With A Patchwork Planet , Tyler has once again served up literary comfort food for the soul. BookPage

ALSO BY ANNE TYLER
If Morning Ever Comes The Tin Can Tree A Slipping-Down Life The Clock Winder Celestial Navigation Searching for Caleb Earthly Possessions Morgans Passing Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant The Accidental Tourist Breathing Lessons Saint Maybe Ladder of Years Back When We Were Grownups The Amateur Marriage Digging to America