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Summary: Patchwork Planet: a story of little America
Review: I too read lots of books and have read several Anne Tylers in the past. This book seems typical of the kind of work one can expect from her. The writing style is deceptive in that it's easy to miss her point. One can easily get caught up in the character's lives and not see the forest for the trees, as several amazon reviewers seem to have done.
Barnaby Gaitlin seems to be a loser, a sort of lost child, the kind of kid who should have done better, a disappointment to his parents. He's struggling to overcome his childhood problems, while looking for his angel (all the Gaitlins have them). Meanwhile, he has worked for a company called Rent-a-Back for eleven years, helping senior citizens with small jobs. (Read between the lines here: isn't there something truly noble in the way Barnaby goes about this work?)
His family sees his work as nonsense, not in keeping with the family's station so they continue to treat him like their wayward child. This is the essence of the Patchwork Planet, that Barnaby must figure out what is truly important in life. Barnaby eventually does sort things out and grow into a man, and as he does, he gives us hope.
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Summary: Welcome to Anne Tyler's world!
Review: No one can create quirky, beguiling, harmless misfits as well as Anne Tyler, and in A Patchwork Planet, Barnaby Gaitland steps onto the page. He's the black sheep of an affluent family, living in a rented basement studio, divorced, wanting to be a better father to his daughter, working for Rent-a-Back, a service company that does household jobs its elderly clients can no longer manage. Along comes 'an angel,' and his life seems to take a major turn for the better. But niggling in the background of this too-perfect arrangement are hints of Barnaby's dissatisfaction - and he can't quite put his finger on what's wrong with the relationship till he's accused of theft. Then his REAL angel is revealed.
Wonderful plot structure, wonderful characters, wonderful conclusion.
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Summary: Enjoyable, quick read
Review: This is my fifth Anne Tyler book. While "Saint Maybe" remains my favorite, this one beats out "Celestial Navigation" which was my number two favorite. Barnaby is an interesting character because you read the story through his eyes yet you disagree with the way he views himself. He believes himself to be a bad person when he is anything but. He has made mistakes but is now doing the best he can to overcome them and be a positive influence on others lives. It is a frustrating book to read at times because we (the audience), Sophia, Mrs. Dibble, and all the clients of Rent-A-Back see Barnaby as a decent human but he refuses to see this side of himself until the end. When I finished this novel, I was happy to see that Barnaby had started to realize what a good person he really is. The only disappointment is the end. Do Sophia and Barnaby stay together? While it is a trite concern in the overall theme of the book, it is still an important issue...at least to me! :-)
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Summary: My First Anne Tyler, Too
Review: This was my first Anne Tyler book (if you don't count "Morgan's Crossing," which I couldn't finish). I enjoyed this book and the characters Anne developed. Probably what I liked most about the book was that I could not see what was coming in the end.
Bottom line: Great character development, funny, and definitely NOT predictable. I will read her again.
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Summary: My first Anne Tyler novel - not disappointing!
Review: This was my very first Anne Tyler novel - I picked it up after hearing so many great things about her writing. I was not disappointed in the least. I thought this was a very good book, well-written and touching. The story kept me involved, and was one where you wonder what the characters are doing even when you're not reading the book!There were several times when this book made me laugh out loud - and a time or two when I got tears in my eyes. I will miss Barnaby and Sophia and will always wonder what became of them...
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Summary: Another great Tyler read.
Review: Tyler always let's you wallow in the gray areas of the vivid characters she paints, which let's us all choose sides. For me, the protagonist Barnaby was too shady and weird to be as lovable as some readers have reported here in their reviews. I was rooting for Sophia to be free of him and not get hurt. And unlike a lot of other readers opinions, I liked Sophia, and found her to be someone I cared about in the story. Meanwhile, I thought his mother Margo-Mar gott, had every reason to be up in arms with his senseless behavior. Overall I loved the book, but I wish there was another chapter to resolve the love relationship issue. I'm not sure I got it? Or is that the point? Having said that, I've read (in many reviews) how others thought it ended perfectly. Interesting.
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