Searching for Caleb

A friend gave me a Anne Tyler omnibus that included Accidental Tourist, Breathing Lessons and Searching for Caleb. Searching for Caleb, the last novel in the book, was my least favorite of the three. Tyler is a gifted writer with a clean style, writing with humor and insight, and features characters that are rounded, real and very strikingly individual, from minor secondary characters to the major ones, like Daniel, and his grandchildren, cousins married to each other, Duncan and Justine Peck.

Daniel is an old-fashioned gentleman who last saw his brother Caleb sixty years ago in 1912. He periodically goes on trips with Justine searching for his brother, and you get the feeling the journey is more important than the goal for both. Daniel is the most appealing character in the book, despite his at times strict and stiff ways. Justine and Duncan, on the other hand, I didn't care for much--which may be why this book dragged for me. Justine "endures" and "adapts," and puts up with far too much from Duncan--and Duncan is hard to take. He's not abusive--he's just completely thoughtless, flaky, flighty and feckless. Growing bored just when it seems he might succeed at a new endeavor, he sabotages himself, then uproots his wife and daughter to a new town. At times I found I hated him with the heat of a thousand suns, and I found the entire cycle repeated in the book depressing. It seemed the farther I got into the book, the slower, tougher going I found each page. If this weren't a relatively short novel, I probably would have given up--but having gotten two-thirds through, I grimly pushed through.

The last two pages made it--almost--worth it. But not quite. I can't say I recommend it to anyone but a diehard Tyler fan. ( )

Amateur fortune teller Justine Peck is a typically quirky and interesting Anne Tyler heroine. I found myself rooting for her despite her slightly unseemly marriage to her cousin Duncan, a feckless drifter who subjects his family to a rootless, uncertain existence in a succession of small towns. I was more interested by Justine's efforts to help her grandfather Daniel locate his long-disappeared brother, which offer moments of both humour and pathos. An enjoyable read. ( )

Tyler's writing is always excellent, but this wasn't all that satisfying story-wise. ( )

excellent ( )

I tried this one, having found 'A Patchwork Planet' quite enjoyable. Didn't like this one at all, unfortunately. The plot was vague and the characters not as engaging. By the end I didn't really care whether they found Caleb or not. ( )