The Accidental Tourist

by Anne Tyler

Book Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author--an irresistible novel exploring the slippery alchemy of attracting opposites, and the struggle to rebuild one's life after unspeakable tragedy

Travel writer Macon Leary hates travel, adventure, surprises, and anything outside of his routine. Immobilized by grief, Macon is becoming increasingly prickly and alone, anchored by his solitude...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345452003
• ISBN13: 9780345452009
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

wonderful book

PC culture has ruined people's appreciation of good books. Shocked by some of the poor reviews for this novel on other websites (goodreads, etc.). Yes, it is slow going, and no, it's not reducing OCD to a character trait, I believe Tyler envisioned all of her wonderful characters with absolute clarity and compassion. Macon Leary is a wonderful character and this book can be reread numerous times, it is a gem of humor and understated brilliance.

A True Masterpiece

Everything a book should be! You can truly connect with the characters and relate to their situations. I have read the book a few times now, and it seems like a new experience everytime.

Much better than the movie!

I reread THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST as part of a writing exercise, and guess what? It was better the second time around. The novel begins with Macon Leary and his wife Sarah in a car returning from a vacation that was supposed to help them deal with the murder of their son, Ethan. Macon doesn't want to talk about it because that would force him to deal with his feelings. Sarah asks for a divorce. The other main character in the novel shows up when Edward, Ethan's dog, begins to act up, assaulting Macon's boss, Julian. He calls in a dog trainer and this is where the novel really begins to heat up. She recognizes Macon as a possible catch and she's not the type of person to be denied. If you've seen the movie, she's nothing like Geena Davis. She's more of a trailer-park type who loves thrift stores. She has fly-away hair that refuses to take a comb. When Sarah decides she wants Macon back, the conflict becomes one of who will he choose, Sarah or the bohemian Muriel? Muriel shows her pluck when she follows Macon to Paris where he's working on an update of a guidebook for businessmen, hence the title, the ACCIDENTAL TOURIST. Macon hates Paris; he pretty much hates every place that isn't Baltimore. He thinks the people are rude and ethnocentric, but every single Parisian he encounters when in Muriel's company is a saint. She helps him see the City of Light through her eyes. She even finds a thrift shop in Paris. I was most impressed by the job Tyler did with her minor characters. Edward the dog holds the novel together. Without him, Macon would never have met Muriel. Every time the novel needs an addition boost, Edward provides it. Then there's Rose, Macon's spinster sister, whose marriage to Julian creates an additional complication for Macon. She's a female version of Macon who shares Macon's "geographic dyslexia" and wonders back to the home place shortly after her marriage. This novel is a real hoot and if you haven't read it because you've seen the movie, you're really missing out. As usual the book is much better than the movie.

A Tyler Gem

I had seen the movie "The Accidental Tourist" so many times that I never realized that I had not read the book! What a treat to find a Tyler book that I had not read.As usual, Tyler pulls us into the world of her characters and makes us part of their lives. How she does this, time after time, astounds me. The characters who populate her books are eccentric but nevertheless are endearing--and are always original.Here we have Macon Leary (which could have been spelled leery) a travel writer who really hates to leave home. He writes books for people who are just like him, who really just want all the comforts of their familiar home no matter where they are. They have no interest in exploring or seeing the sights of a new place. Macon is a man who is uncomfortable with his life, his surroundings, his work, his associates, and even his dog, Edward. Social interaction is not his forte, nor his family's, most of whom are as socially inept as he is. He dislikes any kind of change, is compulsive, and is stodgily set in his ways. The systems he devises to make life easier are hilarious, such as agitating his clothes underfoot while he takes a shower!But his usually sedate life takes many twists and turns in the course of this novel, during the year or two after his son's brutal murder. He is forced to examine his marriage and his relationship with the eccentric Muriel, the likes of whom he has never encountered--she is impulsive, messy, pushy, and talks his ear off.Muriel presents Macon with a very different way of living and he needs to decide if he can handle this. Tyler presents his struggle in the most charming way and makes these characters so real to the reader.Another Tyler gem!

Anne Tyler is amazing!

Having just finished reading it for the fourth time this week, I feel privileged to share my thoughts about the writing and the characters. In the film version of The Accidental Tourist, Tyler's descriptions and characteristics of the Leary family members and most of the other main characters seem custom created to be played by the actors featured. In both book and film, don't expect a thriller with complex plots and twists, but do expect a read you won't forget, some laughing with yourself, and possibly, a further understanding of human nature. Fresh, crisp prose races through the pages of Anne Tyler's novels. Appreciating any writer and their work on an individual and unbiased merit is tough, when natural instinct makes comparisions with the authors you love. In most instances, this habit is blatantly unfair to the work at hand, but Anne Tyler's style is equal to that of Pat Conroy, and higher praise is not possible in my opinion. While her characters may vary from charming and bright to lethargic and eccentric, they share several memorable traits. Tyler not only introduces and bonds you to her characters, she exposes their strengths and weaknesses with indelible humor. Macon Leary, fresh from the tragedy of losing his son finds his wife, Sarah, leaving him, citing that he doesn't care or allow himself to feel anything. While accusing and condemning Macon, she reveals her lack of understanding and withdrawal from the world. With Sarah essentially out of his life, except for occasional thoughts of her, Macon returns home to the house he grew up in with his siblings, and to older versions of his two brothers, Porter and Charles, and sister Rose. All three are amusing to know. Even while they are minor characters, their personalities and lives are open and easy to find kinship with, in one way or other, for most. Tyler further represses the Leary's with the family bottle cap manufacturing business. Droll and lifeless, the company and its product mirrors the entire family. Macon escapes the factory by chance when the editor of a small business publishing firm happens across an article he's written in a small paper. Becoming the Accidental Tourist, Macon loathes travelling, and reduces his necessary trips into as compact and detached publications as he can manage. Macon's listless and introspective existence is about to change though, and therein lies the tale. Anne Tyler's writing sparkles, and your mind will too, if you try The Accidental Tourist.

A beautiful book.

I love this book! I've read it dozens of times. At first glance, it's fetching and readable, but look beyond the surface - some passages are near masterpieces. Look for Macon fixing the sink with Alexander, and Macon shopping for clothes with Alexander. This book also gives a believable and touching description of a person changing. Just follow Macon's thoughts and see how they change with time. I think this is Tyler's best (and I've read them all).

This book may have saved my life.

It opened my eyes to interpersonal mess-ups in a new way and helped me understand the crucial difference between romance and love. It's also one of the few books I've ever read from cover to cover, without even skipping sentences. (Usually I skip whole chapters if nothing seems to be happening.) The funny thing is, it's not exactly action-packed, it just gives you a good look "under the hood" of this world. To me, the rave reviews are deserved and I want to add my own five stars. To the author: thank you for surviving whatever you had to go through to understand human nature so well!