"The Accidental Tourist" by Anne Tyler.
Review to follow the Book Club meeting
Anne Tyler is a prolific American author having published 21 novels in a career spanning 58 years between 1964 (If Morning Ever comes) to 2022 (French Braid).
The Accidental Tourist was her 10th Novel and was published in 1985.
The book won the 1985 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, the 1986 Ambassador Book Award for Fiction, and was a finalist for the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
A film adaptation followed in 1988.
The central character, Macon, makes his living by writing Travel Guides for reluctant travellers and the plot focuses on his activities and relationships.
There is a dog that the author uses as a catalyst for other relationships, principally Muriel who looms large throughout the narrative.
The full plot is available via the Wikipedia link.
The book elicited a spectrum of reactions for Book Club Members.
Two members are Anne Tyler fans.
One member bought the book years ago and didn’t read it until it was chosen for the AA Book Club.
The book is now seen as a bit dated:
Personal Computer technology had started to spread and the cellphone had been invented but was not in widespread use.
Within a decade the dynamics of the relationships portrayed in the book would have been quite different.
The dog, Edward, is a character in the book; out of control he’s a menace but is used by the author to draw characters together.
Overall this was an easy read, thoroughly enjoyed by some members.
Doorly score: AABC rating: 3.7
PC. 15th March, 2023
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