The Accidental Tourist

by Anne Tyler

book data

6,860 ratings, 3.71 average rating, 461 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		20%
4		39%
3		30%
2		7%
1		1%

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published

April 9th 2002 by Ballantine Books (first published 1985)

details

Paperback, 352 pages

literary awards

National Book Critics' Circle Award (1985)

isbn

0345452003 (isbn13: 9780345452009)

description

“POIGNANT . . . FUNNY . . . THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST IS ONE OF HER BEST. . . . [TYLER] HAS NEVER BEEN STRONGER.”
–The New York Times

Macon Leary is …more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 8,362)

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Jul 07, 2008

Maureen rated it:

Read in July, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This books was so interesting to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, especially the Leary family (they over intellectualize everything, correct grammar, and have major OCD and I felt like I could relate to them so well). Ann Tyler has a unique style of writing a novel, which left me always wanting to know more. Everything she wants to say is there...but it may be hidden in symbolism, in conversations, in small actions. It reads almost like a play, in stage directions (Macon chooses a ti...more This books was so interesting to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, especially the Leary family (they over intellectualize everything, correct grammar, and have major OCD and I felt like I could relate to them so well). Ann Tyler has a unique style of writing a novel, which left me always wanting to know more. Everything she wants to say is there...but it may be hidden in symbolism, in conversations, in small actions. It reads almost like a play, in stage directions (Macon chooses a tie) and conversation. You have to read a little between the lines to catch the wealth of story that Tyler is offering.

I found myself very pleased with the end of the novel, which surprised me. I like Ann Tyler's way of sneaking up on you through an interesting story and then revealing to you at the end that what you believed were absolutes are actually gray areas (Barbara Kingsolver does this to me too).

From my standpoint, the (morally) right thing, the thing Macon should have done, was to try to stay with his wife. But, they weren't a good match, they no longer had children together, Muriel was so much better for him...and so I felt like he made the right choice, despite all I personally believe(d?) to the contrary. Which left me feeling...uncomfortable. Because more black and whites have just been proven grays after all...

But I realized that the book is not about deciding to leave a marriage or make it work. Macon and Sarah's marriage is really meant to illustrate people (like Macon) who lead "accidental" lives, who never "take steps." Tyler shows us that people who are trapped in their grooves, like the entire Leary clan, can "take steps" and can change and let new things and new experiences into their lives. Macon is a man who has always done things the same way, because it has been a way that has worked for him. After his son's death, however, it no longer became an adequate method for coping with life. To me this story is so hopeful and happy because Macon does find a new way of life and he realizes that there is not one right way to live, there can be many, and that is what makes life so full.(less)

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Jul 02, 2008

Steve Gallup rated it:

Read in January, 1987

I’ve read and enjoyed most of Anne Tyler’s novels (starting with Searching for Caleb, which author Don Barthelme recommended to me years ago). A character from one of her first books (I think it was If Morning Ever Comes) provided the name I later gave to my daughter. The Accidental Tourist strikes closest to home with its theme of coping with a profound loss and then the ultimate redemption that comes from such an unexpected direction. It was while reading this book in about 1987 that I fir...more

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Dec 13, 2007

Rachel rated it:

Read in December, 2007

Things I liked about the book: humorous details, the symbolism (the house, the dog), driving plot

Things I am not sure that I like: the guy's wife leaves him and he "takes up" with a vibrant young woman who has a kid and a hard life. The wife comes back. I don't know who I want him to be with, since his life has somewhat changed for the better with the younger woman, and she saves him from his bitter, OCD life, but he does still love his wife and to me marriage is a sacred...more

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Oct 05, 2007

Ellen rated it:

Read in August, 2007

It looks like I'm in the minority here, but I really did not enjoy this book. I couldn't sympathize with any of the characters. I thought Macon was whiny and indecisive. I couldn't be compelled to care about what he wanted, mostly because it was never made clear to me exactly what that was. He just seemed to bump along with whatever happened.

More than anything else, my problem with this book is that nothing happened. I kept thinking that possibly in the next chapter Macon woul...more

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Jan 10, 2008

Cindy rated it:

Read in January, 2000

If you're interested in reading a book that will challenge every single emotion you thought was possible.....this one will not disappoint. I was able to step inside the psyche of every single character and understand to the fullest extent their feelings of loss, fear, sadness,desperation and frustration.....simply because I have been there myself.
This story will reveal what really happens when someone loses a child.
Best have your Kleenex closeby.

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Sep 14, 2008

Kristie rated it:

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Kristie by: no one
recommends it for: anyone

I finished this book a few days ago and have had to wait a few days to be able to write a review. I still am in awe of how such a slow story without any real standout events could make me miss it while I was at work and hate to turn to page and be one more closer to the end. I didn't particulary care for any of the characters until the end(except for the brash and tacky Muriel whom I loved all along). You will love Macon's transformation and watching him learn to live, not again, but for the...more

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7 comments

Apr 11, 2009

Janette Currie rated it:

bookshelves: favourite-books

Read in January, 1988

First book by Anne Tyler I read - and was immediately hooked and had to seek out all her other books.
Unusually, there's a lot of humour in this book and it's probably all the better for it. Tyler paces the pathos with the humour really well so that it fits naturally into the narrative.
I'n not sure how to describe this book - it's about a travel-witer who has no sense of direction. Within the first few chapters we learn his son has died and his wife asks for a divorce. From then on ...more

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Aug 14, 2008

Bonnie rated it:

bookshelves: reviewed-books

No wonder this was made into a movie. But if you only saw the movie, read the book; this is her funniest, I think.

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Jun 04, 2007

Phyl rated it:

(review of isbn 0582416353)

Read in January, 1988

recommends it for: Everyone

I guess this will always be one of my all time favourite books. For me, it worked on all levels, I loved the story, characters and the routine absurdities that form part and parecel of everyday life. There is tragedy, humour and romance. I think this is the best book Anne Tylor has written and I've read all of them. Nowhere else does she captures the nuances of relationships so well. On a personal level, this book will always mean a lot to me, introducing a kind of anal retentive anti hero ...more

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Dec 29, 2007

Sunnybrook rated it:

Read in January, 1986

Really loved this book when I read it.. and I can still remember so much from it. The husband who travels all over the world and always stays at Holiday Inn (in fact he might be a Travel Writer who specializes in this kind of travel).

And I think this is the book where the child is in an elite boarding school in the northeast. They sent him there so he would be safe from so many of the dangers of the world. And one night after a game, his team stops at McDonalds. The McDonalds i...more

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Apr 23, 2009

Mike rated it:

Read in January, 2003

Ann Tyler is so polished at the story of common people faced with emotional detours in life. Macon Leary is a writer of colorless business travel guides (for the "accidental tourist"), whose marriage has failed after he and Sarah are rocked by the tragic loss of their 12yr old son Ethan. Sarah moves out and Macon hides a bit in his work, which takes him frequently to Europe. He reluctantly reconnects with some rather staid (and humorously wrought) nearby family members, which only co...more

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Mar 26, 2009

Kara rated it:

Read in March, 2009

I didn't know this was an old book until I began reading it and noticed some references that dated the book. I also didn't know it had been made into a movie! Neither of these facts influenced my mixed opinion of the book.

I enjoyed the author's writing style and ability to illustrate the way seemingly tedious events influence the path of one's life as much as big events do. The author also did a wonderful job of demonstrating how difficult it is to break away from one's comfort zone ...more

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Nov 02, 2009

Sierra rated it:

Read in November, 2009

I read this because I'd never read Anne Tyler before and because I wanted to observe how she melds humor with seriousness. The book was good--Tyler deals nicely with a tragedy as the external conflict, but there were a few plot holes that bothered me a lot. One was the way Macon left Muriel's son Alexander without a single word goodbye. To me that was too cold even for Macon. Then, he treated Muriel pretty badly after he left her, and in Paris too. And yet, after he has ONE epiphany as opposed t...more

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Sep 17, 2009

Autumn Doughton rated it:

I had actually forgotten that I read this book about 9 years ago and then something came up today that reminded me of a scene from the novel. I love that when a story lies dormant in me and then resurfaces years later and can still affect my thoughts.
I picked up the book because my mom and I had seen the movie a few years earlier and I remembered Geena Davis' character being sort of quirky and amusing. The plot is slow and focuses on internal rather then external forces, but this doesn...more

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Feb 14, 2010

Christy rated it:

Read in February, 2010

My favorite Anne Tyler book! But I think you have to be at least forty to like it, or married at least twenty years. If you’re still young and starry-eyed, it’s not for you. I like the weird perspective on why people match up the way they do, and why “strange” couples are often very happy together. Towards the end, there’s some good philosophizing. One of my favorites is Macon Leary saying that who you are when you’re with somebody might be more important than whether or not you...more

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Jan 24, 2009

Nikki rated it:

(review of isbn 039454689X)

bookshelves: book-club-selections, fiction-literature

Read in February, 2009

recommended to Nikki by: Book club

The Accidental Tourist is the story of Macon Leary, a man who writes travel guides for business men who would rather not be traveling. As the novel opens, Macon and his wife Sarah are dealing with the loss of their son who was murdered a year prior. The primary focus of the novel is on Macon and how he has changed and not changed as a result of his family tragedy.

For whatever reason, books I strongly dislike stick with me more than the ones I enjoy, and because of this, I cannot g...more The Accidental Tourist is the story of Macon Leary, a man who writes travel guides for business men who would rather not be traveling. As the novel opens, Macon and his wife Sarah are dealing with the loss of their son who was murdered a year prior. The primary focus of the novel is on Macon and how he has changed and not changed as a result of his family tragedy.

For whatever reason, books I strongly dislike stick with me more than the ones I enjoy, and because of this, I cannot get The Shack out of my head. The main character in that book is also dealing with the murder of a child, but the whole scenario and entire novel seems contrived. Rather than show how real people deal with a tragic loss, it is a vehicle for the author, William Young, to tout his religious beliefs. I have nothing against religious beliefs; I hold quite few of them myself, but I find a novel where the author really explores how parents cope psychologically with the loss of their child much more compelling and real. Even if the reader can’t necessarily relate to their eccentricities, Anne Tyler’s characters come across as believable. Even if we see the flaws in their decisions, their actions and motivations make sense.

Personally, I’m a tad bit old-fashioned, and I would have preferred the novel had a different ending, but I’m also objective enough to realize had the book ended the way I desired, it probably would not have rung true. As it stands, I’m not sure the ending rings true anyway, but the main character addresses this in his thoughts somewhere mid-novel. I don’t remember exact wording, but I do remember Macon thinking about how real life doesn’t conclude as neatly or as satisfactorily as a movie or a book. In this respect, Anne Tyler has carried reality to the end.

As a side note, I’m looking forward to discussing this book with my book club next week. I just hope the crazy older lady with the outlandish clothes, fake blonde hair, and painted-on make-up doesn’t dominate the conversation again, although it might be interesting to see how she relates to the character of Muriel. =)
(less)

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Jul 18, 2009

Mcwaguespack Waguespack rated it:

As the _Washington Post_ said, "A beautiful, incandescent, heartbreaking, exhilarating book . . . One cannot expect fiction to be much better than this." From the book's back cover: "Meet Macon Leary--a travel writer who hates both travel and strangeness. Grounded by loneliness, comfort, and a somewhat odd domestic life, Macon is about to embark on a surprising new journey. It's called love--and it arrives in the unlikely shape of a fuzzy-haired dog obedience trainer who promi...more

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Apr 03, 2009

Jeffrey Saraceno rated it:

(review of isbn 0425161617)

This is only the second Anne Tyler book I have read (the first was Morgan's Passing) but I was struck by the similarities between the two texts. In The Accidental Tourist, which I loved, the main character is a man, an extremely eccentric man. In Morgan's Passing, the title character is also extremely eccentric, though in different ways. Both novels deal with struggling relationships ultimately leading to divorce. I would recommend either book to anyone, as they are both enjoyable reads. What I ...more

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Jan 15, 2010

Mandy rated it:

I almost gave it four stars. I really like Anne Tyler's style of writing. I end up loving her characters. They are eccentric but real. Maybe that is part of what makes them real. I love the inner dialogue of her characters. She writes their thoughts in the way people really think, jumping from topic to topic, circling back. It is entertaining and insightful. I would have given it four stars if the story was a little happier. The story line is not my favorite, but I definately liked the ...more

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Apr 06, 2009

Kenny rated it:

bookshelves: fiction

Read in January, 1996

A nearly perfect novel about human beings. Don't laugh, it's amazing how few authors are actually conversant with their own species, but Tyler certainly is, and that in spades! This book is so wonderful, so tight, so revealing, and ultimately so hopeful, that it is used as an example of an extraordinary work of art by Robert Ray in his excellent "The Weekend Novelist," which I followed religiously when I wrote my first novel "I Hated Heaven." Many thousands of book sales late...more

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quotes from this book

"I'm beginning to think that maybe it's not just how much you love someone. Maybe what matters is who you are when you're with them." — 14 people liked it

"seven. seven was when ethan had learned to ride a bicycle. macon was visited by one of those memories that dent the skin, that strain the muscles. he felt the seat of ethan's bike pressing into his hand--the curled-under edge at the rear that you hold onto when you're trying to keep a bicycle upright. he felt the sidewalk slapping against his soles as he ran. he felt himself let go, slow to a walk, stop with his hands on his hips to call out, "you've got her now! you've got her!" and ethan rode away from him, strong and proud and straight-backed, his hair picking up the light till he passed beneath and oak tree. " — 1 person liked it

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