Product Description

When eighteen year old Ian Bedloe pricks the bubble of his family's optimistic self-deception, his brother Danny drives into a wall, his sister-in-law falls apart, and his parents age before his eyes. Consumed by guilt Ian finds the hope of forgiveness at the Church of the Second Chance, and leaves college to cope with the three children he has inherited and his own embarrassing religion. Twenty years on, Ian's prospects of a second chance are receding fast when, out of the heart of the domesticity that has engulfed him, strides a new figure who will bring him new life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12390 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

From the Back Cover
From the Pulitzer prize-winning author of Breathing Lessons and The Accidental Tourist

When eighteen-year-old Ian Bedloe pricks the bubble of his family’s optimistic self-deception, his brother Danny drives into a wall, his sister-in-law falls apart, his parents age before his eyes. Consumed by guilt Ian finds the hope of forgiveness at the Church of the Second Chance, and leaves college to cope with the three children he has inherited and his own embarrassing new religion.

Twenty years on, Ian’s prospects of a second chance are receding fast when, out of the heart of domesticity that has engulfed him, strides a figure who will bring him new life.

‘Saint Maybe shows Anne Tyler at the peak of her power – a real slice of middle America, blessed with equal amounts of humour, pathos and compassion that will ensure heartfelt devotion from all her readers’ Time Out

‘A brilliant writer of emotionally sophisticated novels, funny, tragic, wise’ Lynne truss

‘One of the truest writers alive’ Sunday Times

About the Author
Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her 11th novel Breathing Lessons, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and her latest novel Digging to America was nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

brilliant
Anne Tyler always manages to make ordinary people's messy lives seem exceptional. There is tragedy and humour in this book,as Ian grows from a naive youth to a wise man. This is my favourite book of hers so far. In contrast to other reviewers, I couldn't put it down.

Worshipping at the alter of Anne Tyler
Written in 1991 this is vintage Anne Tyler and one of my favourites from among her many novels. It's the story of the Bledoe family from Baltimore (where else?) and in particular their son Ian. Often in her books there are some really unexpected plot twists and in this one there is a really big bombshell really early on in the story which completely changes the perceived direction of the book. We see Ian and the family trying to come to terms with two tragedies, coping with guilt and finally picking up the pieces and realising that life must go on. This is all done through Anne Tyler's usual examination of the minutiae of daily family life and, despite some of the scenes being very emotional and involving young children, she handles it very well, without being too sentimental - although it will definitely have you both laughing and crying. In addition to the well-drawn characters in the family we are also introduced to some of Tyler's wonderful, eccentric minor characters both in the Church of the Second Chance and in the neighbourhood. The scope of Anne Tyler's books is always very narrow - usually family sagas in suburban Baltimore - but this narrow world is perfectly peopled and narrated and it's always a real pleasure to enter her world.

My all-time favourite book
... this book is completely absorbing, humerous and if I ever in my life read a better book, I'll be glad. I'm not going to write one of those clever reviews analysing the writing style and meaning of the book but please read this.