20. The Beginner's Goodbye

By Anne Tyler (198 pp)

I haven't read Anne Tyler in years. I loved Breathing Lessons. I think my copy is still around here somewhere. I was at the library and decided to grab one of her more recent books. One thing I always liked about Tyler was that her style is deceptively simple. I thought this book was just simple. I wonder if a first time novelist was trying to shop this around if s/he would get anywhere. It's about a sort-of sad sack kind of guy in a quirky marriage and the wife dies unexpectedly. (Not a spoiler, the death is mentioned on the first page.) The story is about him dealing with his grief. Did not work for me.