The critics say that Anne Tyler writes novels with quirky characters. I say that we are all quirky characters. Certainly, I grew up with and am a member of a family of quirky characters. I find the characters in Anne Tyler's novels real, they are people one meets everyday. As I began to read this novel, I thought about days when I lived in the pages of Anne Tyler's novels. My trips to the library always took me to the same section, where I fingered the titles looking for favorite or unread novels. I wonder now why I neglected this section for so long! A Patchwork Planet is the story of a kind man, who does not seek the American Dream as a search for wealth or status. Instead, he seeks comfort, and those who share his priorities. As with all of Anne Tyler's work, the reader can remain at the surface level and enjoy a unique, but quite worthwhile young man finding his way. On the other hand, as always, one can ponder the comments on our society and the way we live. Indeed, most poignant to me is the "caught versus uncaught" in adolescent escapades. Why must the "uncaught" punish those "caught" long after they have paid their dues? Do we as a society punish the "caught" and feed the egos of the "uncaught", who forget very easily that they, too, participated in whatever offense the caught receives punishment? Do we instead realize that the "caught" have an opportunity to learn deeper values and to truly appreciate life's priorities more than the "uncaught" will ever appreciate?Also, essential questions are pondered regarding parent/child relationships and mutual respect. Again, do we punish those most like us for fear that they will be like us? Are we concerned when our child's perspective accepts with love, a view of ourselves that we would rather replace someone who they cannot give the same acceptance? Why can't we value ourselves for who we are, and appreciate our children similarly?Whether read as a surface level or pondering deeper questions, this novel, like all of Anne Tyler's work is worth adoring and reading again and again. It is easy to do so, as a page turner and a quick but highly impressionable, as well as enjoyable, read!
Barnaby Gaitlin is a loser - a charming, lovable loser, perhaps - but a loser nonetheless. As a teenager, he had a bad habit of breaking into other people's houses. Although, it was never about stealing like it was for his teenage cohorts; Barnaby just liked to read other people's mail, pore over their family photo albums, and appropriate a few of their precious mementos. He had been in trouble ever since adolescence, but now, at just short of thirty years old, he was attempting to get his life in order.For eleven years, he's been working steadily for Rent-a-Back, renting his back to old folks and shut-ins who need help moving their furniture or bringing Christmas trees down from the attic. At long last, his life seems to be on an even keel.Still the Gaitlins, of 'old' Baltimore, cannot forget the price they paid for buying off Barnaby's former victims. And his ex-wife would just as soon prefer that he never showed up to visit their little girl, Opal. Overall, Barnaby is still seen by everyone as the black sheep of a philanthropic family - who, instead of attending an Ivy League college and working for his family's charitable foundation - got sent to a reform school for wealthy boys as a teenager, and now works as a manual laborer. A distinct disappointment for the affluent and well-connected Gaitlin family of Baltimore.Barnaby has spent the majority of his adult life trying to live up to his family's high ideals, failing miserably to fully atone for his teenage sins in their estimation. Eventually, a woman enters Barnaby's life, a woman he views as his guardian angel. Her name is Sophia, and even though she seems to have designs on him, she still doesn't entirely trust him. However, Sophia will ultimately change Barnaby's life in ways no one, least of all Barnaby himself, could ever imagine.I truly appreciated reading this book. I will admit, the story was sort of humdrum with not much going on in the plot; but in my opinion, the book was certainly well-written and charming. I was thoroughly entertained and give this book an A!
What do You think about A Patchwork Planet (2001)?
I read this book many years ago and liked it, so when I saw it on tape at the library for $1 I picked it up to listen to it again. I didn't care for it so much this time. It is basically the story of a man who has been a disappointment to himself and his family trying to redeem himself and find a way to a happier life. There were some inappropriate things in it, but mostly this time I found the main character a little annoying! I don't want to disuade anyone from reading it- maybe I just didn't like it much this time because I'd already read it, and maybe my taste in books has changed. The writing was good, and the reader did a good enough job. I have also read Saint Maybe by the same author and remember liking it. I guess I won't read that one again- leave well enough alone! Anne Tyler won the Pulitzer for BREATHING LESSONS, which I have never read. Mom read her book, BACK WHEN WE WERE GROWN-UPS, and she really liked it alot. She told me I wasn't old enough to appreciate it yet. I wonder how long I should wait?!
—Bev
I’ve always liked Anne Tyler’s stories and this one started off well but it fell very flat in the end. She dedicated it to the loving memory of her husband so perhaps she lost heart towards the end. She has always written about people viewed as losers or really just view themselves as losers and then in the end find the life they had thought was mundane is pretty wonderful after all. I really liked ‘Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant’, but this one with Barnaby who works at Rent-a-Back and is considered the black sheep because of his juvenile arrests, is looking for an angel. His entire wealthy family run a charitable foundation and write essays about the single angel that comes into their lives, and even though Barnaby professes disbelief, he still seeks an angel. The middle of the book has some really good passages, but the ending just collapses. She even begins one part with “Here is how Pop-Pop happened to give me the stingray” and goes on to tell a story for which she didn’t reveal much foundation. And then she abruptly ends it. Stops flat, and left me cold.
—Em
I can't remember why I started reading Anne Tyler books years ago, maybe it was our shared name. But I've read at least a half dozen of them now and never been disappointed. If there are other authors who do as good a job at making ordinary people so endearing, I haven't come across them.A Patchwork Planet is the story of a sort of grown-up misfit who's trying to overcome his past. It's told in the first person, which I always enjoy. (Remember The Rainmaker by John Grisham? Great opening line: "My decision to become a lawyer was irrevocably sealed when I realized my father hated the legal profession.")There are no huge plot turns in this book, no life-or-death moments of suspense. But Tyler's characters always seem real. You feel with them, and you learn more about what it is to be a part of a patchwork planet where imperfect folks try to make sense of their pasts and improve their futures.
—Tyler
