The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

 The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler


 

I have read Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler about a year ago and enjoyed it very much. Then I found The Accidental Tourist on the Guardian list of 1000 books to read, listed under best humor…

 

I did not find the book particularly funny, in fact there is the shadow of a dead boy hanging over it, at least for me. Then there is the issue of the movie, inspired by the book, which presented an old problem for me: seeing instead of the characters the actors playing them: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and I forgot who Muriel was…

 

There’s no denying the book is interesting and the passages on travel are sometimes fun to read: the way to cope with the unknown by going to familiar international chain restaurants (McDonalds?).

Macon has a dog that needs training and this is when Muriel comes into the picture. I find her obnoxious at times, even if this is just a “Blink” feeling. I felt compassion for the dog that has to go through training at the hands of a woman who had hated animals before deciding to start teaching them.

 

A final note: I have read much better books than this, Breathing Lessons by the same author was superior and the humor of A Catcher in the Rye comes to mind, I don’t know for what reason, other than it is way more entertaining and great.

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