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Summary: My favorite Anne Tyler book, and that's saying something!
Review: Anne Tyler is my favorite living author and one of less than a handful who produce books that I must rush out and buy immediately. In hardback, at full price - and I HATE paying full price! Novels like this are what made me fall in love with Anne Tyler. I do not understand other comments from readers. Apparently they want fictional characters to be inspirationally motivating role models that will save the world and enlighten us all. Well, sorry, but people are not like that in real life, either. They are exotic and boring and delightful and monstrously annoying, all at the same time, As are the Pecks. The story works brilliantly. While we are wondering if Caleb Peck will be found, we're learning about "black sheep" Justine and Duncan, how they met and married. Justine's story about the cousin who was such a bad influence on her, and what happened to him, is amusing, with a terrific ending line. I found all the Pecks delightful. I found neither Justine nor Duncan "weak" or "unpleasant," but flawed, and delightfully so. Perhaps other readers were made nervous by Justine's rootlessness; I don't know. I DO know that I have enjoyed all Tyler's books, and yet I constantly return to the Pecks - I love them! Anne Tyler has a great gift - that cannot be denied. Good writing like this is so hard to find, and needs to be treasured. I highly recommend this book - it's a gem!
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Summary: Mistress of Quirk
Review: Anne Tyler succeeds in the difficult art of making essentially boring, humdrum, quirky, flawed, annoying, bizarre, weirdo social misfits the fascinating and eminently readable subjects of her books. The Pecks are no exception, who set about searching for the missing Caleb. What a rare and unusual talent this lady from Baltimore has. In reading a bio of her, I discovered she was a 19yo senior at Duke University when I was a clueless 17yo freshman there. Damn! If I'd only known...
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Summary: Short student review of characters and Anne's talent
Review: For my honors English 11 class, I picked Ann Tyler as my American author for summer reading. I was referred to her for her comic and lyric way of writing, and I was not disappointed. Searching for Caleb was the first book I read this summer and I found the characters and plot enjoyable. I was shocked to see that the husband and wife main characters were, in fact, first cousins, however, I was happy to see they had each other. Duncan and Justine were the black sheep of the very controlling and traditional Peck family. Its amazing that these two individuals came out so differently than most of the greedy and blind people in the family. The Pecks had gone through a lot in there time, the family's trouble dates as far back as the early 1900s. I found it to be an entertaining novel that kept my interest and made me excited about reading more of Anne Tyler's works.
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Summary: ANNE TYLER DELIVERS
Review: I am an avid fan of Anne Tyler, marking her on my top ten list of female authors. Why? Because she has the amazing ability to take, quirky, eccentric, unusual characters, throw them into everyday life, and stir the mix into grand entertainment. As readers we come to appreciate oddity; not to fear it or judge it. Humor is paramount to her tales that flow with effortless dialogue and exquisite descriptions.The Peck family is a staple of Baltimore society; their homes are meticulous; their manners impeccable; their views staunch and unchanging; their style set in stone like the identical homes they reside in. BUT, Duncan and Justine, walking to the beat of different drummers, break away in search of spontaniety. Their idosyncratic attempts toward this end, make for a most insightful presentation. Don't be afraid. Meet the Pecks. You will come to accept and like them warts and all. This is quite a delightful read!
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Summary: The search will get you hooked
Review: I really enjoyed this novel. The characters are so well developed.
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Summary: A Compelling Addition
Review: Once again Anne Tyler outdoes herself with another intriguing novel, Searching For Caleb. The mix of irresistible details along with Tyler's ability to reach the irrational root of human nature absorbs and enchants the readers. Katha Pollitt, a reviewer of contemporary fiction, clearly states her opinion in a 1975 review, "Reading `Searching for Caleb,' one is constantly being startled by such moments: gestures, words, wrinkles of thought and feeling that are at once revelatory and exactly right." In Searching For Caleb, Anne Tyler creates and leads us to understand the Peck family of Baltimore. As a reserved, wealthy family, the Pecks are concerned with and only with the well being of their family, choosing to ignore the world outside of the secluded suburbia that several generations have called home. The presiding figure over the many generations is the aging grandfather, Daniel. Daniel's every thought is fixated on the mysterious disappearance of his musical brother, Caleb, which occurred over 60 years ago. Ironically, Daniel's grandson, Duncan, an untamed boy consumed by an infatuation with danger, also rebels against the Pecks. Justine, previously a fervent member of the Peck family and an amateur fortune-teller, marries her cousin, Duncan. The couple races through small New England towns and life trying to make a living with Duncan restlessly changing his profession and Justine's predictions. When Justine decides to join her grandfather, Daniel, in an effort to find his long, lost brother Caleb, she is also searching for much more. She is looking for an answer to love, life, and to the ever-changing directions of her unsettled husband, Duncan. Searching For Caleb is a "must-read" for any die-hard Anne Tyler enthusiasts. A twisting plot and an accelerated emotional roller coaster make this novel a classic and a compelling addition to Tyler's collection of heart-warming novels.
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Summary: Searching for Caleb
Review: One of, if not THE BEST, of Anne Tyler's wonderful novels. After reading this book, I had a new understanding of Fortune tellers and more importantly of families and family interaction. The relationship between Justine and her daughter and Justine and her husband and Justine and her grandfather are all beautifully and memorably drawn.
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Summary: Not impressed
Review: Searching For Caleb had a new setting every five pages, family members who walked out and wouldn't have come back until they were "kidnapped", and chaotic events that led to a suicide, all of which made this book interesting in an unusual way.
This book is first set on a train going to New York City in the year of 1972. Then the scene changes to Cairo Mill, Maryland. Suddenly it changes to Baltimore, Maryland in the 1800's. A bit later it changes to Baltimore in 1980. Anne Tyler told most of the story in Maryland, but at the end, she changes to Louisiana. The story was about the Peck family, which was a very sophisticated family. Wealthy, respectable, self-involved, they always wore hats. Even the little girls never went out of the house without a hat on. Basically the story was about Daniel Peck's search for his brother, Caleb, who walked off in 1912. It was also about his granddaughter Justine Peck's realization that she will never be the Peck that she always dreamed to be. The concept of this book, then, is finding oneself.
Daniel Peck's main conflict was evident in his search for Caleb. When Caleb was in his twenties he just walked out on the family and didn't return or make contact with any family member. The search started when Daniel moved in with Duncan and Justine Peck. Daniel spent years researching and visiting people who might have known Caleb. He would visit people that were Caleb's friends or appeared in pictures with Caleb. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no luck. So when Daniel's birthday came, his oldest son "Two" hired him a private investigator to search for Caleb. The private investigator headed straight to work asking questions. He found out that when Caleb was younger all one would have to do to find Caleb was "Hold still a minute and listen." He found out how Caleb loved music. He also went searching to Caleb's home in Baltimore. Then the private investigator learned where Caleb was just outside of New Orleans, Louisiana. The private investigator told the Pecks this but before Daniel could meet Caleb, Daniel died of a heart attack.
This book was draining yet funny; mostly draining. The hardest part was keeping track of what part the story was in, whether the past or the present. Also the Peck family was absolutely insane. Actually two cousins ended up married to each other. That caused so much chaos that a separation, a disowning and a suicide happened over the event. Then Justine and Duncan were constantly moving because Duncan would become restless and wanted a change. Justine just went along very easily but Meg, their daughter, hated moving. She locked herself in the bathroom a few times. Daniel did not begin looking for his brother for practically 30 years after Caleb walked out. The comical parts were the best. For instance, all the time that Daniel was searching for Caleb his old maid knew right where Caleb was. When Caleb left, he had told her where he was going. Yet she never told anyone because no one ever asked her. In addition, Duncan would cut out newspaper clippings and stick them to things. To the old Ford that the door was torn off he stuck a clipping that said "Wouldn't you rather have a Buick?". When Meg bought an expensive dress, his cut out was "Have you ever had a bad time in Levi's?" One of Justine's neighbor was divorced and the father of her child who had no visiting rights would come and take the daughter. The mother would scream and shout about her daughter being kidnapped, yet every night the father brought the child home safe and sound.
This book was very interesting, but a strange kind of interesting. It never really caught my attention; rather it often put me to sleep. It was summer reading, the kind you get on a book list. I would suggest it to people if they didn't really have anything else to read. But some will like it. I found it too scattered in place and time and too slow moving.
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Summary: Classic Tyler
Review: Searching for Caleb is quintessential Tyler -- quirky and bittersweet with characters you'll remember for a long time after you read the book. If you are an Anne Tyler fan, you will enjoy this one -- I couldn't put it down.
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Summary: Weak women -- an Anne Tyler speciality
Review: This is only the second Anne Tyler book I've read and I'm not impressed. The book was depressing. I had hope as the book progressed that the main character would "triumph" over her circumstances but instead she subsumed her own dreams for her husband's wants and needs. Anne Tyler implies that this is a noble sacrifice but I thought it was weak. She should have left her loser husband!
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