Literature & Fiction : Authors, A-Z : T : Tyler, Anne

Algonquin Books, January 4, 1996 . Paperback. Very Good. 9.0 x 6.0 x 1.3 inches. Book Description\n\nBest-selling novelist Anne Tyler has selected twenty of her favorite stories from the ten volumes of Shannon Ravenel's annual anthology, NEW STORIES FROM THE SOUTH. It's a provocative collection that any serious fan of American short fiction will want to take home. She has made her choices from the 163 stories in the decade-old series and offers up a delectable menu of storytellers at all stages of reputation. At least half are writers admired and beloved for many years by connoisseurs of contemporary fiction. The other half are split between up-and-comers and just-discovereds. NEW STORIES FROM THE SOUTH has been called "must reading for devotees of Southern literature" (Atlanta Journal Constitution) and "maybe the best short story anthology around" (Kirkus Reviews). By inviting Anne Tyler to choose and introduce her favorites from NEW STORIES FROM THE SOUTH,1986-1995, the series celebrates its first decade with fanfare and colors flying--not to mention the literary fireworks of twenty great short stories. Selected and introduced by Anne Tyler. more information

Bookseller: Hornebook (United States)

New York: Knopf, April 14, 1998 1998. Hardcover. AN/VG. 1.2 x 6.2 x 9.2 inches. Barnaby Gaitlin is one of Anne Tyler's most promising unpromising characters. At 30, he has yet to graduate from college, is already divorced, and is used to defeat. His mother thrives on reminding him of his adolescent delinquency and debt to his family, and even his daughter is fed up with his fecklessness. Still, attuned as he is to "the normal quota for misfortune," Barney is one of the star employees of Baltimore's Rent-a-Back, Inc., which pays him an hourly wage to help old people (and one young agoraphobe) run errands and sort out their basements and attics. Anne Tyler makes you admire most of these mothball eccentrics (though they're far from idealized) and hope that they can stave off nursing homes and death. There is, for example, "the unstoppable little black grandma whose children phoned us on an emergency basis whenever she threatened to overdo." And then there's Barnaby's new girlfriend's aunt, who will eventually accuse him of theft--"Over her forearm she carried a Yorkshire terrier, neatly folded like a waiter's napkin. 'This is my doorbell,' she said, thrusting him toward me. 'I'd never have known you were out here if not for Tatters.'" These people are wonderful creations, but their lives are more brittle than cuddly, Barnaby knows better than to think of them as friends, because they'll only die on him. Yet his job offers at least glimpses of roots and affection. Helping an old lady set up her Christmas tree (on New Year's Eve!) gives him the chance to hang a singular ornament--a snowflake "pancake-sized, slightly crumpled, snipped from gift wrap so old that the Santas were smoking cigarettes." And Barnaby himself is sharp and impatient at painful--and painfully funny--family dinners, apparently unable to keep his finger off the auto-self-destruct button every time his life improves. As much as his superb creator, he is a poet of disappointment, resignation, and minute transformation. --Kerry Fried\n\n\nFrom Library Journal\n\nDavid Morse's reading in a calm, even tone reflects the unruffled attitude of the central character in this story. After getting into trouble early in his young adult life, and subsequently paying for his crime, Barney Gaitlin has achieved a level of fulfillment working with senior citizens. Unfortunately, he is perceived by most of his family and friends as a failure, not having attained a college education nor a high-paying position in a high-profile profession. In a relationship with Sophia Maynard, he tries to find a greater level of stability, partly to create a more suitable atmosphere in which to establish closer ties with his young daughter. more information

Bookseller: Hornebook (United States)