He began to think that who you are when you're with somebody may matter more than whether you love her.

The Accidental Tourist  by Anne Tyler
First published in 1985

Spoiler Alert: Plot Summary
The Accidental Tourist is about a man in Baltimore who loses everything, only to find that he has everything to gain. The story centers on Macon Leary, just after his wife leaves him. Their son, Ethan, who was twelve at the time, was killed in a freak crime about a year prior, and for reasons somewhat related to that (and somewhat not), they separate. Macon downsizes his life and tries to take up as little space as possible, but still secretly hopes that Sarah will come back and things will return to normal. Macon's day job is to write guidebooks for the businessman (and later, woman) traveling abroad - thus, The 'Accidental' Tourist. Macon's efficiencies eventually cause him trouble, though, and he breaks his leg during a series of very complicated chores at home. He moves to his familial home to live with his sister, Rose, and his two grown brothers, Charles and Porter. He brings his cat and his troublesome, mostly untrained dog, Edward. He spends several weeks essentially hiding from the world, but eventually his boss (Julian) and his wife (Sarah) locate him. He begins an unexpected relationship with a woman who works at a doggy day-care (the Meow-Bow), Muriel, who is, in many ways, the exact opposite of Macon. She has a young son, Alexander, a bit younger than Macon's son Ethan was when he died. We spend the second half of the book in a bit of a tug of war, watching Macon decide whether he really does want his old life (and his wife) back, or whether he is happier with Muriel and Alexander. In the end, Macon realizes that while things seemed good with his life before Ethan died, he has found a new kind of happiness with Muriel and Alexander. So though his wife has taken him back, he rejects her, and heads home (they're in Paris for one of his trips) with Muriel.
Spoiler Over: Continue Here

Dear blobbists, 
  I really liked this one. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend. I know it may sound a little off-putting, or depressing, at first, but it doesn't read like that at all, in my opinion. Elizabeth, one of this blob's fearless readers, is also reading The Accidental Tourist, and we'll share her thoughts when she's finished her read! Hooray for reading buddies. :0)

In the mean time, here are mine.

Because the characters really make this novel, in my opinion, I'm going to paint you a portrait of some of the main ones.

Macon, our protagonist - writer of guidebooks, unwilling decider, efficiency addict
In the beginning, we watch Macon sort of un-become a person when his wife leaves. Ostensibly, there's a clear logic to each of his adjustments to his daily life. But when you hear them all together, they sound admittedly pretty bonkers. Here are a few snippets to walk you through this. 

• He would start the shower running and spread his clothes in the tub. At times he thought of skipping this part, except there was such a danger in falling behind with your system. If you shower on top of your clothes, who needs to do the laundry? 

• At moments - while he was skidding on the mangled clothes in the bathtub or struggling into his body bag on the naked, rust-stained mattress - he realized that he might be carrying things too far. Lol. His 'body-bag' is a kind of sheet sack that he makes so he can use as few linens as possible. 

• He didn't eat real meals anymore. When he was hungry he drank a glass of milk, or he spooned a bit of ice cream directly from the carton. I love that Macon starts eating popcorn for breakfast because he wants to be able to have it ready in the morning and sit out over night (not so kosher with eggs, his first choice). 

Macon as a traveler
Okay, so while some people probably read Macon as a misanthrope, or a strange hyper-introvert, I saw a TON of similarities between Macon and myself, which might be why I found this book so pleasing. I'm especially glad that I read it after this most recent job of mine, because I've had to travel for work much more than I ever did before, and I saw a lot of kinship between me as a traveler and Macon as a traveler. 

• Macon stared down at the little machine and wondered if he should buy one. Not for the music, heaven knows - there was far too much noise in the world already - but for insulation. He could plug himself into it and no one would disturb him. He could play a blank tape: thirty full minutes of silence. Turn the tape over and play thirty minutes more.  Macon would LOVE noise-cancelling headphones. I was at the gym the other day trying to read over the radio that was playing and I thought, man, what I wouldn't give for some nice silence to play in my earbuds. 

• He spent the rest of the week huddled in his room watching TV, chewing a knuckle, subsisting on nonperishable groceries and lukewarm soft drinks because he couldn't face another restaurant. I don't know what it is about traveling, but especially when I'm alone (as Macon generally is on his trips) restaurants feel like the WORST to me. I often end up getting take out or collecting items from the grocery store and huddling, Macon-style in my bed. 

• I love this exchange with a hotel maître d': 

'Well! This is a real honor, then. We keep your books in the lobby for our guests. But I don't know, I somehow pictured you looking a little different.'

'How did you think I would look?' Macon asked.  

'Well maybe not quite so tall. Maybe a bit, well, heavier. More...upholstered." lololol. This made me think of Slughorn in Harry Potter, when he disguises himself as an armchair.

• Macon: 'To tell the truth, I've always thought a hotel ought to offer optional small animals.'

Hotel worker: 'Animals?' 

Macon: 'I mean a cat to sleep on your bed at night, or a dog of some kind to act pleased when you come in. You ever notice how a hotel feels so lifeless?' I would LOVE if hotels offered small animals. Even if they were stuffed animals that they washed in the machine every night! Just something to make the places feel more alive.  

Macon, on feeling special

One of the things that Macon really likes about hanging out with Muriel and Alexander is that they make him feel special. I loved this line: 

• It had been a long, long time since anyone had made such an event of his arrival. Because it reminded me of every time I arrive at my sister's house and my nephew comes flying across the apartment yelling Aunt MaYUHnUSS is here! It makes me feel so deLightfully important. :)

Julian, guidebook salesman, boss to Macon, later (much to Macon's horror) Rose's husband
I love that Macon is gainfully employed throughout this book, in part because it seems so highly improbable that he will continue to stay employed. It's sort of like watching a slow motion train wreck, waiting to see how disagreeable Macon can be and still keep his job. Here are some of their exchanges: 

Julian: 'So anyway, can I expect it [the manuscript] by the end of the month?'
'No,' Macon said.
Julian: 'Why not?'
'I'm not organized.' LOLOL. Oh, ok. 

Julian: 'Why don't I step outside and wait with you.'
'I'd really rather you didn't,' Macon said. LOL. I died. 

Sarah, wife of Macon when the book just begins, mother to Ethan, self-proclaimed free spirit
One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Sarah and Macon end up back in their house (he's been living at Muriel's for some time, and she had her own apartment, and briefly her own lover) and she sees all the strange remnants of Macon's lifestyle after she left. 

Sarah: 'Why are some of the sheets sewn in half? And the popcorn popper's in the bedroom. Were you eating popcorn in the bedroom?'
Macon: 'I guess I must have been,' he said. LOLOLOLOLZ.

Rose, sister to Macon (and Charles and Porter), homemaker, organizer extraordinaire
Rose is a spectacularly drawn character, in my opinion. I think the Leary family as a whole is a huge part of what makes this book great. At some point, they stop answering the phone (in part, I think, because Macon is hiding from Julian and Sarah and the world). Macon questions this behavior at first:

Macon: 'What if that's some kind of emergency?'
Rose: 'Hmm? Who would call us for an emergency?' lolololz. 

Muriel, worker at the Meow-Bow (for a while, at least), trainer to Edward, lover to Macon, mother to Alexander

Muriel was probably my favorite character after Macon and the general Leary bunch. I love that she's set up as this sort of improbable love interest for Macon, and that it seems like he's not going to do right by her, so to speak, but she keeps holding him accountable in marvelous ways to being a real human. 

This is one of their first exchanges: 

'Why, you must get to travel all kinds of places!'
'Oh, well, travel,' Macon said.
'I'd love to travel.'
'It's just red tape, mostly,' Macon said. Lololol. This reminded me of Marvin in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (What's up? I don't know, I've never been there.)

And probably my favorite part of the whole book, when Muriel tries desperately to get Macon to take her to France with him on his trip:

Over the next few days she kept bringing up France again and again. She sent him an anonymous letter pasted together from the magazine print: Don't FoRget tO BUY plANe Ticket for MuRiel. (And the telltale magazine - with little blocks clipped out of its pages - still lay on the kitchen table.) She asked him to get her her keys from her purse and when he opened her purse he found photographs, two slick colored squares on thin paper showing Muriel's eyes at half mast. Passport photos, plainly.

He doesn't end up taking her (because, in fact, he breaks up with her and returns to Sarah; not cool, man) but she rolls on to the airplane anyway and buys her own ticket. He's all, what are you doing here? And she's like, OH I'M SORRY, DO YOU OWN THE AIRPLANE? It's such a great Muriel moment. 

Alexander, son of Muriel, allergic to most everything, eventually grows on you but it takes a while

Here's one of Alexander and Macon's first interactions, when Macon brings a 'loaded' pizza:

Alexander: 'I'm allergic to pizza.'
Macon: 'What part of it?'
Alexander: 'Huh?'
Macon: 'What part are you allergic to? The pepperoni? Sausage? Mushrooms? We could take those off.'
Alexander: 'All of it.'
Macon: 'You can't be allergic to all of it.'
Alexander: 'Well, I am.'

Edward, ill-behaved, erratic dog of Sarah and Macon, but then just Macon, and sometimes Rose and sometimes Muriel

Edward causes all KINDS of problems for Macon, but he's also kind of endearing. One of my other favorite scenes is when Macon calls the Leary home, freaking out because he's traveled to New York for work and he's at the top of this very high skyscraper having dinner and he has a panic attack. He gets Charles, and he tells him he has to help him to get out. 

Charles: 'You out! What are you talking about? You've got to get me out!'
Macon: 'Pardon?'
Charles: 'I'm shut in the pantry; your dog has me cornered.' LOL. The plan was to put Edward in the pantry when guests came, but Edward snarled and got off his leash so then Charles locks himself in the pantry. Amusingly, Macon thinks longingly of the pantry and how comforting it is, and wishes he were there instead. Charles threatens to shoot Edward (or have him shot), but Muriel saves the day (and Edward).

The Learys
Like I said, the Learys are a weird bunch, but I felt like Anne Tyler had a way of making you want to be a part of the weird bunch. They also reminded me of a family in a Shirley Jackson novel; kind of dysfunctional, somewhat ill-adjusted, mostly oblivious to the external world, or the Berry family in Hotel New Hampshire; insular, in ways that were sometimes marvelous and sometimes problematic.

I loved this line: 'No one else's dressing tasted as good as Macon's.' about how Macon had to make the salad dressing every night, because I feel this way about my mom's dressing, and also my Aunt Amy's dressing. No matter how hard I try, it doesn't taste just like theirs. 

Here's a depiction of the 'rules' of Vaccination, a card game that the Learys like to play nightly (but have also made up), when Sarah was trying to learn it. 

'I thought you said aces were high.'
'They are.'
'So that means -'
'But not when they're drawn from the deck.'
'Aha! Then why was the one that Rose drew counted high?'
'Well, she did draw it after a deuce, Sarah.'
'Aces drawn after a deuce are high?'
'No, aces drawn after a number that's been drawn two times in a row just before that.' Lolololol. It reminded me of True American on New Girl, and how the rules seem to be constantly evolving. JFK! FDR! Lava floor!

When you hear the tone, the time will be . . . Seven thirty three and a half.
There's a line from when Muriel and Macon are just meeting where she talks about how she gets so lonely some times at night that she calls the 'time lady' just to hear her voice, and lets her tell her, over and over again, exactly what time it is. I do vaguely recall there being a time when you could do this (and perhaps you still can!) but it also reminded me of Bringing Up Baby, and the hilarious hijinx having to do with this same 'time lady'. 

Lines I Liked

• She believed in change as if it were a religion.

• He was impressed that someone so old still wanted so fiercely to live. 

Words that were new to me

deckle - a device in a papermaking machine for limiting the size of the sheet, consisting of a continuous belt on either side of the wire; a frame on the mold used to shape the pulp when making paper by hand (I must have know this once, because we made paper a bunch as kids!)

windle - a machine or device for winding thread or yarn (Again, feel like I should know that. Now I do!)

Well, blobbists, believe it or not, I also read The Hunchback of Notre-Dame this weekend (I know, it was a real readingpalooza!) so I'll be blobbing on that next. In the mean time, here's one of my favorite lines, a realization that Macon makes near the end of the book: 

The real adventure, he thought, is the flow of time; it's as much adventure as anyone could wish.

Wishing you all adventures, whether they're at home or abroad, real or imagined, and don't forget to spring forward, if that applies in your time zone! Keep safe, keep faith, and see you soon!