Amazon.com's Best of 2001
The first sentence of Anne Tyler's 15th novel sounds like something out of a fairy tale: "Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person." Alas, this discovery has less to do with magic than with a late-middle-age crisis, which is visited upon Rebecca Davitch in the opening pages of Back When We Were Grownups. At 53, this perpetually agreeable widow is "wide and soft and dimpled, with two short wings of dry, fair hair flaring almost horizontally from a center part." Given her role as the matriarch of a large family--and the proprietress of a party-and-catering concern, the Open Arms--Rebecca is both personally and professionally inclined toward jollity. But at an engagement bash for one of her multiple stepdaughters, she finds herself questioning everything about her life: "How on earth did I get like this? How? How did I ever become this person who's not really me?"
She spends the rest of the novel attempting to answer these questions--and trying to resurrect her older, extinguished self. Should she take up the research she began back in college on Robert E. Lee's motivation for joining the Confederacy? More to the point, should she take up with her college sweetheart, who's now divorced and living within easy striking range? None of these quick fixes pans out exactly as Rebecca imagines. What she emerges with is a kind of radiant resignation, best expressed by 100-year-old Poppy on his birthday: "There is no true life. Your true life is the one you end up with, whatever it may be." A tautology, perhaps, but Tyler's delicate, densely populated novel makes it stick.
Yes, Poppy. There are also characters named NoNo, Biddy, and Min Foo--the sort of saccharine roll call that might send many a reader scampering in the opposite direction. But Tyler knows exactly how to mingle the sweet with the sour, and in Back When We Were Grownups she manages this balancing act like the old pro she is. Even the familiar backdrop--shabby-genteel Baltimore, which resembles a virtual game preserve of Tylerian eccentrics--seems freshly observed. Can any human being really resist this novel? It is, to quote Rebecca, "a report on what it was like to be alive," and an appealingly accurate one to boot. --James Marcus
Book Description
“A WONDERFUL NOVEL . . . Tyler’s eye and ear for familial give and take is unerring, her humanity irresistible. You’ll want to turn back to the first chapter the moment you finish the last.”
–People (Page-Turner of the Week)
“STUNNING . . . ‘Once upon a time,’ the story begins, ‘there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.’ . . . With Rebecca Davitch, Tyler has created a character who is brave enough to look back on her life and to imagine herself making different kinds of choices. Brave enough to wonder what honesty looks like, whether there is ever really a single distillation of self that is unshakable and true. . . . Anne Tyler has a talent for spinning out characters . . . who go on living long after their stories end.”
–The Baltimore Sun
“Her characters endear themselves to the reader with their candor and their wit and their simple decency. . . . The charm of an Anne Tyler novel lies in the clarity of her prose and the wisdom of her observations.”
–The Washington Post Book World
“RESEMBLES JANE AUSTEN’S PERSUASION IN THAT IT’S A NOVEL ABOUT SECOND CHANCES . . . The tension that keeps the narrative alive is our desire for Rebecca to get the recognition and respect that we know she deserves from her family, and from herself. It’s always good to have a character to root for.”
–San Jose Mercury News
“Maybe there’s something glorious to be said, after all, for companionship, common cause, and sanctuary. And what there is to say, Anne Tyler has been saying for decades, with gravity and grace.”
–The New York Times Book Review
Download Description
When Joe Davitch first saw Rebecca, it was at a party at the Davitch home -- a crumbling 19th century row house in Baltimore where giving parties was the family business. Young Rebecca appeared to Joe as the girl having more fun than anyone in the room and he wanted some of that happiness to spill over onto him, a 33-year-old divorcee with three little girls. Swept away, Rebecca soon found herself mistress of "The Open Arms", embracing not only just this large spirited man and his extended family but expertly hosting endless parties in the ornate, high-ceilinged rooms where people paid to have their family celebrations in style. But now, years after she has lost her husband in an automobile accident, Beck (as she is known to the Davitch clan) asks herself whether she has turned into the wrong person. Is she really this natural-born celebrator, joyous and outgoing? Can she always be there for Poppy, her almost 100-year-old uncle-in-law who lives on the top floor, for stepdaughters -- Biddy and NoNo and Patch and the husbands, as they come and go, and their children -- and for her own daughter MinFoo, about to marry a stockbroker? Can one really recover the person one has left behind? With perfect pitch Anne Tyler explores these questions of love and loss, of identity and of family, making us both laugh and cry in a novel that we wish would never end.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing....a must read..........2007-08-14
I just picked this book up at a yard sale this weekend, and I thouroughly enjoyed it. From start to finish, I felt as if I personally knew Rebecca and her family. I, myself am a 46 yr old woman, who's been married for 25 years...I know what it's like to wonder what would have happened....very insightful book...will recommend it to many.
Trudging through family get togethers.......2007-08-08
If submitting yourself to incessant family get-togethers with irritating and self-centered family members sounds good to you, then this is the book for you! Let me add also the pleasure of listening to the whining of an obsessive people pleaser who never gets the guts to tell these people off and get on with her life. To be fair, it is not poorly written (have read some of her other books and enjoyed them) and there are some cute moments. But most definitely not worth the labour of having to read through.
No AMATEUR MARRIAGE..........2007-07-26
I loved the last novel I read by Anne Tyler and came to this one with high hopes. Rebecca is such a dreary character. It's hard to believe that she started life as someone introspective, shy, serious and intellectually engaged. Someone like that couldn't possibly be turned into the hectoringly cheerful, incurious and silly person she became in this book. Even her inner life, when she finally allows herself one, is flat and banal. I am going to finish this novel in a few pages, but spending time with Beck has been a drag. (And Poppy doesn't help one bit.)
Pointless, nasty, stupid people.......2007-07-15
Am I supposed to like these people, or find their lives even remotely interesting? Because if so, the author has failed miserably. No No and Min Foo and Wa Wa and Poo Poo were simply the most boring, obnoxious, wastes of space ever created. If this is women's literature, I would like to opt out of womenhood.
Not what you expect, good prermis but boring story & uninteresting characters........2007-06-29
After spending the first 2 chapters going over an entire family reunion of the most bizarre names and to make it even worse they are nicknames so you have to learn both for each person. The story sounded like it could be an interesting one but I don't feel that there was ever really a split in the road. Not a great divide that would have ultimately changed her life significantly. All 5 of us in our bookclub were bored by this one and had to struggle to get through it.
Product Description
Set of 3 standalone novels by Anne Tyler.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from International Fiction Review, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2007. The length of the article is 912 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Anne Tyler: Back When We Were Grownups.(Book review)
Author: Nora Foster Stovel
Publication:
International Fiction Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 34
Issue: 1-2
Page: 159(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
A young girl is murdered in a cemetery. And Wexford's doctor has prescribed no alcohol, no rich food and, above all, no police work. When a young girl's body is found in a London cemetery and the local police, under the command of Wexford's nephew, are baffled, Wexford decides to brave his doctor's wrath and the condescension of the London police by doing a little investigating of his own. A compelling story of mysterious identity and untimely death,
Murder Being Once Done is Rendell at her most sublime.
With her Inspector Wexford novels, Ruth Rendell, winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, has added layers of depth, realism and unease to the classic English mystery. For the canny, tireless, and unflappable policeman is an unblinking observer of human nature, whose study has taught him that under certain circumstances the most unlikely people are capable of the most appalling crimes.
Customer Reviews:
Muddled mystery with a far-fetched conclusion........2002-04-08
Ruth Rendell's "Murder Being Once Done," which was written in the seventies, is a flawed mystery with a few nice touches that redeem it slightly.
Inspector Wexford has not been feeling well, and he has been farmed out to his nephew's house to rest, eat right, and exercise. Wexford is supposed to avoid thinking about police work. However, there are two problems. One, Wexford is bored out of his mind. Two, his nephew is a police superintendent investigating a juicy murder. How can Wexford fail to get involved in the case?
The victim is a young woman who was found murdered in Kenbourne Vale Cemetery. Who is she and why was she killed? This woman, it turns out, was living quietly in poverty under a false name. No one knows where she came from. Wexford starts informally investigating on his own, interviewing anyone who may know something about the identity of the dead woman.
The investigation turns out to be a puzzle that challenges even Wexford's experienced and incisive mind, and he makes several wrong turns before reaching the correct conclusion. He experiences a period of self-doubt and shame when he realizes that his powers of detection may be waning somewhat. He even considers the possibility that it may be time to step aside and let the younger generation take over. Wexford is a wonderful character--intelligent, charming and compassionate. It is always a pleasure to be in his company.
Unfortunately, the mystery turns out to be less involving. While looking into the case, Wexford meets a variety of people, all of whom contribute to his understanding of what happened to the dead woman. Unfortunately, the characters are not fleshed out very well and the mystery itself turns out to be too convoluted and far-fetched to be completely satisfying. On the plus side, Rendell's description of settings is detailed and vivid and she beautifully captures Wexford's torment as he tries to deal with his mortality and his imperfections. "Murder Being Once Done" is not a great mystery, but it is a good study of an policeman who is desperately trying to prove that he still has what it takes to break a case.
Back to His Beef.......2001-04-15
As always, Reg Wexford, an older police Chief Inspector from rural England, will manage to take your breath away through his amazing ability to overcome weakness and always come out on top of the case at hand. Ruth Rendell is brilliant, introducing her readers to new characters while intertwining the old, steady ones. Inspector Wexford, one of Rendell's regulars, is visiting his nephew Howard, a Detective Superintendent in London, when a tragic murder case arises. While exploring the dark, dirty streets of London and avoiding the prestigious flower arrangements of his niece, Reg manages to overcome his illness. In the course of helping his nephew solve this murder mystery, Reg must contend with Howard's other inspectors and struggle to prove his knowledge and expertise in the field of character analysis. Filled with unwed mothers, poverty, and adoption, this novel is constantly twisting and turning through Reg's inner thoughts. Through all this, he is pulled between two opposing forces. His wife, Dora, pleads with him to rest, in accordance with the doctor's wishes. On the other hand is his burning desire to solve the young girl's murder. In the end, he manages to stay on top of the case but ignores his doctor's wishes for him to eat only bread and water. By the end of his stay in London, though, Reg is back to his beef. Once I picked this book up, I was unable to put it down. It is full of intriguing surprises and, mingled with the unpredictable new characters, comes the story of a cult with a long, uncertain past of family deceit and runaway brides. All in all, this book tickled me into giving it the rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
A great mystery - circa 1972 - for fans of Inspector Wexford.......2000-12-22
An interesting story, fun to read... This book is copyright 1972. I wish Amazon would tell you the year of a book's original publication in its data about a book. Sometimes you want to read a an author's work, or (especially) a series, in the order that the books appeared, and with re-issues, Amazon doesn't help you figure the order out... But I digress. Murder being once done: Reg Wexford is here, and he's great. It is hard to believe that this character has been around for so long. Dora is here, but plays a very minor role, and although the story says that they have been married for many years, there is no mention of their children... Anyway, this is a well-written police procedural mystery, interesting characters, lots of plot twists about babies, unwed mothers, and adoption, and an interesting side story about a cult. You can see a bit of 1972 in the story, but not much - it reads as if it were set in the present time. It is as good as any Inspector Wexford story, and I was delighted to find it - I keep thinking I have read them all. If you have read this far into this review, you must be a fan of Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford, and I assure you, you will like this book.
I love Robin Bailey's reading........1998-10-25
I'm only half-way through and it is very captivating, Wexford is delicious as read by Robin Bailey. Ruth Rendell's writing makes me laugh with joy, when Wexford sees 'an alarming flower arrangement', what a wonderful adjective for a flower arrangement!
Product Description
A mystery novel in the Inspector Wexford Series. This involves a contemporary murder case. The back of the cover quotes the book "The last place you would expect of find a corpse". The answer: In a burial value. This is a short sharp mystery with a lot of ironic twists.
Average customer rating:
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Wrath: A Prince's Piece
Annette Liem
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Action & Adventure
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0595464955 |
Book Description
Peter and I sure got a handful after we exited the middle school doors for the last time. Before we could even get home, a messenger from a second world, a fantasy world, came to get us, requesting our assistance! Then everything instantly changed. Our adventure in Drian, full of magical beings and supernatural occurrences, began.
With the help the shape-shifting pervert and three more unlikely allies, all six of us embarked on an adventure to defeat the racist Queen Eleyon in the country of Klanou. Not only are we fighting to prevent worldly destruction and save the suffering half-elf and human slaves, but something much more evil is plotting to destroy the world if we are unsuccessful in our mission! Join me and the rest of the half-dozen adolescents in our journey to defeat eternal sin! I will be waiting!
Book Description
Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers January 2001, this workbook is designed as a self-paced guide for mature adults with Asperger Syndrome. Through a complete review of three periods in the reader's work life, this guide assists the reader to compose his/her autobiographical work history based upon understanding the impact of Asperger Syndrome on their employment experiences.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Idea.......2006-01-29
I was excited about the workbook concept, because I hoped it would be more helpful than just reading other peoples advice, but because I am the sort of person who thinks about things quite a lot anyway I found that completing the workbook didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. However, if you want to be provided with a structure for sitting down and seriously thinking about your past experiences of work, this book may help you to understand yourself and find the direction that best suits your needs and abilities... just don't expect it to tell you. If you have no work experience, such as a school leaver, you could still use this book, but I wouldn't recommend it. You could end up focusing too much on the only past experience you have i.e. the education system, and I think you might find that limiting. The book also includes a section covering the issues involved, and is written by a man with Asperger syndrome himself.
If You Have Asperger's, This Book Will Work For You.......2004-12-19
This is the book adults on the autism/Asperger's (a/A) spectrum have been praying for. This book is every adult with Asperger's best friend in employment related matters.
This author has shared experiences and described behavior that is part of the a/A spectrum. The insights and explanations that are given help pave the way towards understanding and accomodating adults with Asperger's in the workplace. It is a meeting of the minds; the neurotypical (NT) and the a/A. This book will certainly close gaps and make for a neuroneutral meeting workplace that works for all.
Hats off to this book!
Good book for AS adults who are mid-career........2004-01-06
This book is excellent and very useful for adults with AS or professionals who work with them. I did not find it very helpful, however, for young adults who are just beginning to enter work. This book would be much more useful for adults who are already employed or have been employed for extended periods. For those people, I believe this book is excellent, helpful, easy to work through, and well-written. But if you are looking for something to help an adolescent or young adult with AS, this may contain a few tips, but it probably won't be very helpful.
A very good book for those with Asperger's.......2001-12-02
If you are someone who is, or know someone who is, suffering from Asperger's and you want to develop (better) job skills this is the book for you. The author has Asperger's, as is obvious from the structure, detail, and methodical nature of the book. Lots of forms - LOTS of forms. The book is designed to help the Asperger's person, their family, or a professional prepare for finding the Asperger's person the right job, get them through the interpersonal issues involved in interviewing, and deal with the demands of the job. The personal experiences of the author help color his presentation of the material and help illustrate for the reader that these things can be accomplished and the Asperger's person can thrive in the work environment with the right preparation and planning.
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- Beware of Pity (New York Review Books Classics)
- Blackberry Wine: A Novel
- Blake's Illustrations for the Book of Job
- Captiva
- Carnal Innocence
- Carry Me Across the Water: A Novel
- Citizen Vince: A Novel
- CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
- Come Away My Beloved
- Cruel and Unusual: A Kay Scarpetta Novel (Kay Scarpetta Mysteries)
Books Index
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Ladder of Years
