A Patchwork Planet

Tyler, Anne

ISBN 10: 0375403086 ISBN 13: 9780375403088

Publisher: Random House Audio, 1998

Synopsis

4 cassettes / 5 hours
Read by David Morse

In this, her fourteenth novel--and one of her most endearing--Anne Tyler tells the story of a lovable loser who's trying to get his life in order.
        Barnaby Gaitlin has been in trouble ever since adolescence. He had this habit of breaking into other people's houses. It wasn't the big loot he was after, like his teenage cohorts. It was just that he liked to read other people's mail, pore over their family photo albums, and appropriate a few of their precious mementos.
        But for eleven years now, he's been working steadily for Rent-a-Back, renting his back to old folks and shut-ins who can't move their own porch furniture or bring the Christmas tree down from the attic. At last, his life seems to be on an even keel.
        Still, the Gaitlins (of "old" Baltimore) cannot forget the price they paid for buying off Barnaby's former victims. And his ex-wife would just as soon he didn't show up ever to visit their little girl, Opal. Even the nice, steady woman (his guardian angel?) who seems to have designs on him doesn't fully trust him, it develops, when the chips are down, and it looks as though his world may fall apart again.
        There is no one like Anne Tyler, with her sharp, funny, tender perceptions about how human beings navigate on a puzzling planet, and she keeps us enthralled from start to finish in this delicious new novel.

About this title

About the Author

Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis in 1941 but grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She graduated at nineteen from Duke University, and went on to do graduate work in Russian studies at Columbia University. Her eleventh novel, Breathing Lessons, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. Tyler is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Baltimore.

From the Back Cover

"In one of her best novels to date, Anne Tyler's keen and compassionate
insight into the struggle for personal identity shines through. David Morse brings
[Barnaby] Gaitlin's emotions to life through his seamless performance. The
effect is that the listeners hears Gaitlin telling his story, not an actor reading the part."
-- Billboard

Reviews

Anne Tyler's latest novel takes a detailed, funny and tender look at how human beings live in an oftentimes difficult modern world. David Morse is a wonderful narrator, taking us in and out and through the experiences of Barnaby Gaitlin, a young man who feels the world is against him. There's a fine line between tragedy and comedy; Morse seems to know instinctively which way to tweak Tyler's text for the maximum effect. The result is a touching and sometimes painfully funny audiobook that, at times, sounds more like a memoir than a novel. R.A.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

David 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. Tyler's (The Ladder of Years, Audio Reviews, LJ 8/96) characters are real people recognizable in one's own circle of acquaintances. The bonds and tensions arising among family members are readily understandable. A definite recommendation for academic and public library fiction collections.?Catherine Swenson, Norwich Univ., VT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Audio
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0375403086
• ISBN 13: 9780375403088
• Binding: Audio Cassette