Noah's Compass in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 08, 2024 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: library, 2024, library-request, libby, lib-has-audio

Nobody writes quite like Anne Tyler. I love that she lives in Baltimore and mentions neighborhoods, street names, even neighboring counties, etc., that are familiar. To a great extent, it’s like going back in time, reading her books. (The action takes place mostly in an apartment near a shopping mall and the beltway, which reminds me of my first place, etc.)

Liam is 60 and has just been let go from his teaching job. He moves to a smaller apartment, something happens that I don’t want to spoil, a ...more

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Dec 07, 2009 Judy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a very short novel, really more of a novella - I read the whole thing on a two-hour train journey, and I'm not someone who whizzes through books. But not a word is wasted and I think Anne Tyler still manages to create compelling characters and the sort of moral dilemmas which will leave you going round and round in circles. The central character, a reserved teacher called Liam who has just been made redundant, rather reminds me of the hero of 'The Accidental Tourist', and I think perhaps ...more

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Jun 01, 2014 Bogdan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: new-world

Existential question keep circle my mind after I completed this novel. Disguised under what can be categorized as plain, every day facts, there are many important themes valid for any modern human being. These are fulfillment in life, relationship between memory and identity or relationship with your family when as you are getting older.

With these important themes that make up the premise, this novel is comparable with literary classics. It is important to mention that the author does not resolv Existential question keep circle my mind after I completed this novel. Disguised under what can be categorized as plain, every day facts, there are many important themes valid for any modern human being. These are fulfillment in life, relationship between memory and identity or relationship with your family when as you are getting older.

With these important themes that make up the premise, this novel is comparable with literary classics. It is important to mention that the author does not resolves the questions raised, thus avoiding to present ready-made recipes. It is up to each of us to decide the answer to these questions for our own lives and the ones that already have the answers can consider themselves fortunate. This is exactly why I will give it a 5.

Regarding the form, Anne preferred to use a specific form, where these important questions are somehow masked behind the events that make up the main story. Maybe making them more evident would help. I will rate it with 4 for form.

In terms of originality, obviously she is not the first writer to make a novel about these topics. But she brings out a particular touch regarding the problems of the people over 60 years that may feel the world has ended after they are not needed at their job and their work is terminated. I liked that very much and this is why I will give it a 4 for the level of originality.

In terms of characters, I sensed that most of them are inspired by real characters and they tend to develop as the story advances. I am not sure if I am right, but if there are fully invented characters, then Anne is a great writer. So I will rate it with a 5.

Regarding the complexity and difficulty, I must acknowledge that the way it is structured, it is a complex novel. From difficulty perspective, it is hard for me to estimate it. It seems as if it required no effort to write it, but this is usually an indication of just the opposite. So I will rate it with a 5 for complexity and difficulty.

In terms of credibility, I think it is a story that so often we can see around us in several similar ways. So my rating for credibility cannot be nothing less than another 5.

The last criteria is edition. I had difficulties relating the cover with the content, but this is the only issue I can found with this edition. A very good proof reading, great paper and good fonts make up the good points. Maybe the editorial team should market it better as I did not see it topping the sales, not even at the publishing date. Due to all this, I will rate it with a 4.

To summarize, I enjoyed this novel very much, especially that it makes you think out about important things in life. All in all, my final rating for the novel is 4.57, which I will round it to a 5 on Goodreads system.


+--------------------------+-----------------+
| Criteria | Rating |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Premise | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Form | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Originality | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Characters | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Difficulty/Complexity | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Credibility | 5 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Edition | 4 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+
|Total | 4.57 |
+--------------------------+-----------------+

For more details on how I rated and reviewed this novel, please read these guidelines. ...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Nancy H rated it really liked it

This was a very interesting book that grabbed me from the beginning. It is the story of a fifth grade teacher who loses his job at age 61, moves to a smaller apartment, and his first night there, goes to bed....only to wake up in the hospital having no idea of what happened to him to get him there. As the story unfolds, there is a lot more going on with his family and with a younger woman he meets. I must admit, though, that I was hoping for a better ending.

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Apr 29, 2010 Agatha Donkar Lund rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, 2010

Ann Tyler is always enjoyable and rarely extraordinary.

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Feb 13, 2010 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it liked it

Shelves: relationships, women-s-fiction, learning

The day will come one day when there will be no more new Anne Tyler and the world will be a sadder place for it. But for now, we have Noah’s Compass, Tyler’s latest. Noah’s Compass tells the story of Liam Pennywell, a man who has been asked to retire from teaching, divorced, widowed, somewhat estranged from his children, a man who goes through the motions and can’t figure out any other way to live.

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Jul 28, 2011 Kelli rated it really liked it

Shelves: lite-romance-reads, quirky-characters, ann-tyler

I enjoyed this book. I found the story to be true to Ann Tyler’s style of storytelling. Ann Tyler gives you a glimpse of the thoughts and lives of ordinary people and reminds you that each person is extraordinary in their unique way. Somehow she writes about common people in relatively ordinary circumstances in a way that results in a “can’t put it down” experience for me. I think she is remarkable.

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