Dana-+Accidental+Tourist

=**__The Accidental Tourist__**= By: Anne Tyler code format="ocaml" Biography of Anne Tyler:

code Full Biography [] Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis Minnesota in 1941. Her family was often on the move and the only place they ever really settled was in Raleigh, North Carolina. She attended college at Duke University where she had intended to major in Russian. The first person to ever really influence her to write Reynolds Price, a teacher of hers and also a major author. Tyler however did not take writing seriously. She started work as an assistant librarian on at a college university. She soon began to take an interest in writing and her first book was published in 1964. She and her husband now live in Baltimore, which is the setting and influence for most of her recent novels. Anne Tyler is an honorary author and has been awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award and a even Pulitzer Prize.

//If Morning Ever Comes// (1964). //Earthly Possessions// (1977). //Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant// (1982). //Breathing Lessons// (1988). //The Amateur Marriage// (2003).
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=**__Plot Synopsis__**= __The Accidental Tourist__, tells the story of a middle aged man named Macon Leary, living in the city of Baltimore. For years Macon has been writing guide books from the perspective of a traveling business man. He travels to places that some people only dream of, but his books only capture the locations that feel close to home. The problem is that he leads an incredibly boring life and has to do everything by a pattern of systems. Day by day his life goes by and nothing ever changes. Even the smallest decisions take hours of contemplating and are almost impossible for him to figure out. His life heads into a downward spiral when he gets the news that his son Ethan has been killed while away at summer camp. Things go from bad to worse when his wife decides that she wants to leave him and moves out. Now faced with so many issues Macon must learn to accept change. By a weird twist of fate he ends up meeting Muriel, a crazy, opinionated, and sometimes reckless, dog obedience trainer. She is everything Macon always hated but once he starts to spend time with her she becomes everything he has ever wanted. She has the ability to open up his eyes to things he's never experienced before and he suddenly has a new perspective on life. But sometimes with change comes great responsibility. Macon's life has a new meaning, but letting go of the past too quickly has him rethinking where he wants to be. Will he continue his new life with Muriel? Or will he chose to go back and try to fix the things that went wrong in his old life? Read the book to find out more.

=__What Worked__= __The Accidental Tourist__ is a pretty easy read. Anne Tyler was very good at using correct dialog and making sure not to say to much or to little about the current situation she was describing. It was also very easy to picture the characters in mind because of the descriptive words that she uses to describe them. The same thing can also be said about the way that she describes the setting. She has great usage of emotionally charged words that draw the attention of the audience and also have the ability to make the reader feel like they are actually in the situation.

=__What Didn't Work__= Although Anne Tyler did do a great job of setting the current scene and describing the current characters, there were some things in the story that she neglected to mention. She did not really give a good explanation as to why the entire Leary family was so obsessed with systems and patterns. She also did not describe the life of the Leary children when they were growing up or why they were so connected to staying in the house of their Grandparents. Lastly it would have been nice to know a little bit more about their mother instead of just having her show up in the middle of the book.

=__Literary Information__= Book: The Accidental Tourist Author: Anne Tyler Genre: Fiction - Humor Publisher: Ballantine Books Point of View:Third Person Limited Setting: Baltimore, Maryland 1980's-1990's

=__Why is this Book Outstanding__= This book is outstanding because of the fact that it gives the reader hope for a better tomorrow. When we first meet Macon Leary it seems as though nothing ever goes right for him. A horrible string of events has been going on in his life and ultimately leaves him in a bad situation. With first his son dying, then his wife deciding to leave him and lastly with him breaking his leg and having to move back home with his brothers and sister. However little by little small things start going right and it seems as though everything is happening for a reason. He meets Muriel and his life starts going in a new direction. This book also opens up the readers mind and persuades them into trying to look at things from a different perspective and also to try new things.

=__Why Read it?__= __The Accidental Tourist__, is a "feel good" read. It is very easy to relate to and understand what is happening throughout. Everyone goes through parts in there life that seem a little rough but this book teaches the audience that sitting around and doing nothing is not the way to get over the problems. It teaches the reader to not be afraid to be different and to get out in the world and experience all that it has to offer.

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