More thoughts on Saint Maybe

This next chapter was probably my favorite chapter so far because so much happened. Tyler just seems to take what I would expect to happen, but adds a lot more to it so it’s almost different than what I thought. I can sympathize with Ian’s feelings of loneliness when his parents dropped him off at college between being a commuter and his grief over his brother. His roommate is named Winston Mills; who owns a hand-shaped chair, a bedspread made from an American flag, and constantly talks about comics and odd movies. Ian liked him because he’s different and didn’t talk about serious matters. His description reminded me of Tony Dinozzo from NCIS, especially when Tyler says that he has a movie poster in their room and talks about the plot of werewolf movies and Japanese westerns. And Tony’s my favorite character, so that part made me smile. During Lucy's funeral, I find it interesting how he thinks back to Danny's funeral and even his wedding. He mentions how little attention he usually pays in church until this moment. He realizes that he wants to be consoled and needs strength.

Saint Maybe

I read a brief summary of a lot of Anne Tyler's books to see which one I'd find most interesting. There were a couple that are definitely on my list to read when I eventually have the time to, but I decided to read Saint Maybe for class. It just seemed like a basic story with a good message. The first chapter is mostly from Ian Bedloe's viewpoint (the main character) and just gives some background information about how ideal his family his and what is expected of him.

From what I read about the other books, this kind of family is unusual for Tyler to be writing about so I thought that was interesting. Most of the people in her other books have quirky habits or are considered crazy. Something I like about this book is how it explores the different relationships between family members and the weight of loss. Having lost a family member recently, I really connected with how the characters felt. The whole family has to come together to pick up the mess, but sometimes individuals fall apart and need extra help.

I'm going to read chapter 3 next and I'm really excited. I really like Ian as a character, so I'm wondering how he's handling his brother's death. Even in the 2nd chapter, Tyler says that Ian seemed quieter and less energetic when he was playing with the kids than usual.

Totally off topic....

But this is the song that I mentioned in class when we were talking about the end of "Killing The Love" and how she was going out and living after the relationship, but was still kind of rememberig it too. It's called American Secrets by Parachute. The dancing image just made me think of the lyric "I'm still dancing alone with the way it was" and I just thought it fit really well. I know the song is really long, but that part is somewhere in the middle if you're interested. I recommend listening to the whole thing just because the lyrics are really amazing though! :)

First impressions of Anne Tyler

I picked Anne Tyler because the name sounded familiar to me for some reason. Plus, she just seemed interesting from what I had read about her. She's from Minnesota and I immediatly thought of my friend who is also from there.  From what I've read, a lot of her stories have eccentric characters and that's always fun to read. Of her novels, I'd like to read either Saint Maybe or The Tine Can Tree. Based on her upbringing in a Quaker community, she seems to bring a unique point of view to how families interact.