Cover Image

The beginner's goodbye a novel

In this novel the author explores how a middle-aged man, ripped apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored by her frequent appearances in their house, on the roadway, in the markets. Only Dorothy's unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and to find some p...

Full description

Main Author: Tyler, Anne.
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, c2012.
Edition: 1st U.S. ed.
Subjects:
Middle-aged men > Fiction.
Wives > Death > Fiction.
Bereavement > Fiction.
Widowers > Fiction.
Family-owned business enterprises > Fiction.
Healing > Fiction.
Life change events > Fiction.
Grief > Fiction.
Loss (Psychology) > Fiction.
Families > Fiction.
Spirits > Fiction.
Accidents > Fiction.
Ghost stories.
Psychological fiction.
Online Access: Go to Downloadable eBook Here.
Summary: In this novel the author explores how a middle-aged man, ripped apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored by her frequent appearances in their house, on the roadway, in the markets. Only Dorothy's unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and to find some peace. Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron has spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, independent young woman, she is like a breath of fresh air. Unhesitatingly, he marries her, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy's unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and to find some peace. Gradually he discovers, as he works in the family's vanity publishing business, turning out titles that presume to guide beginners through the trials of life, that maybe for this beginner there is a way of saying goodbye. This book is a subtle exploration of loss and recovery, pierced throughout with the author's humor, wisdom, and always penetrating look at human foibles.
Physical Description: 197 p. ; 22 cm.
ISBN: 9780307957276 (hbk.)
0307957276 (hbk.)
Author Notes: Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 25, 1941. She graduated from Duke University at the age of 19 and completed graduate work in Russian studies at Columbia University. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a librarian and bibliographer.

Her first novel, If Morning Ever Comes, was published in 1964. Her other works include Saint Maybe, Back When We Were Grownups, Digging to America, Noah's Compass, The Beginner's Goodbye, A Spool of Blue Thread, and Vinegar Girl. She has won several awards including the PEN Faulkner Award in 1983 for Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, the 1985 National Book Critics Circle Award for The Accidental Tourist, and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Breathing Lessons. The Accidental Tourist was adapted into a 1988 movie starring William Hurt and Geena Davis. In 2018 her title, Clock Dance, made the bestsellers list.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Similar Items