by Anne Tyler, 1985
Excellent Book – could not put it down! Who and what would Macon choose? His wife, Sarah, who he adores but they just are not right for each other? Or Muriel Pritchett, the young, skinny, colorful, poor but oh so rich in spirit young lady who gently but definitely forces herself into his life through his dog, Edward, who is vicious after the death of Ethan, Macon and Sarah’s son, brutally murdered in a Burger Bonanza at the age of 12. And then there are Macon’s eccentric sister and 2 brothers. Macon breaks his leg and goes to live with them. They all live together in their grandparents house and they are very orderly and structured. The sister, Rose, takes care of her brothers, who work in the bottle cap factory their grandfather started. They are adorable people. Macon writes travel guides for businessmen called “The Accidental Tourist.” His boss, Julian, seems to totally adore Macon and his craziness and then he meets Rose, and falls in love with her. They get married and live for awhile in a posh apartment. Rose moves back home temporarily to take care of her brothers but doesn’t come back. Julian talks to Macon. He tells him to hire Rose to help put his office in order. Julian does. The next thing you know, Julian is living with Rose and her brothers. Happy! Cute! Muriel has a son, about 7, very sickly, premature baby, she loves and cares for him tenderly but over-protectively. When Macon moves in with Muriel, he becomes slowly like a Dad to Alexander, and Alexander blossoms.
The dog training episodes are fascinating. Edward (the dog) adores Muriel from the moment they meet. Muriel, Macon, and Edward bond while Muriel trains the dog and Macon. SWEET conversations. Muriel does all the talking. Macon blossoms with Muriel. His world opens up, becomes messy, but rich and colorful, and he opens up to the world.
Last paragraph and 1/2: “…The real adventure, he thought, is the flow of time; it’s as much adventure as anyone could wish. And if he pictured Ethan still part of that flow – in some other place, however unreachable – he believed he might be able to bear it after all.
“The taxi passed Macon’s hotel brown and tidy, strangely homelike. A man was just emerging with a small anxious dog on his arm. And there on the curb stood Muriel, surrounded by suitcases and string-handled shopping bags and cardboard cartons overflowing with red velvet. She was frantically waving down taxis-first one ahead, then Macon’s own. “Arretez!” Macon cried to the driver. The taxi lurched to a halt. A sudden flash of sunlight hit the windshield, and spangles flew across the glass. The spangles were old water spots, or maybe the markings of leaves, but for a moment Macon thought they were something else. They were so bright and festive, for a moment he thought they were confetti.”
Macon chooses Muriel! Hooray! She had followed him to Paris. The book is set in Baltimore where they all live but takes you to many cities where Macon has to go in order to update his “Accidental Tourist” guidebooks.
Great Book!