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    The Beginner's Goodbye: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Beginner's Goodbye: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Beginner's Goodbye: A Novel
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Beginner's Goodbye: A Novel

    Written by Anne Tyler

    Narrated by Kirby Heyborne

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Anne Tyler gives us a wise, haunting, and deeply moving new novel in which she 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 market.

    Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, self-dependent 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.

    A beautiful, subtle exploration of loss and recovery, pierced throughout with Anne Tyler's humor, wisdom, and always penetrating look at human foibles.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 3, 2012
    ISBN9780307969156
    Unavailable
    The Beginner's Goodbye: A Novel

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    Reviews for The Beginner's Goodbye

    3.5/5

    479 ratings63 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This was an okay book. Isn't what I normally read. When I first started reading I thought about quitting wondering why I was even bothering with it. But then it got better. I had a hard time with the age of the main character. I think he was in his 30s but he seemed like he was in his 60s. Maybe it was depression that was coming off him but not mentioned. Or maybe just the way he treated people. The book is mainly about someone going through grief of the loss of a spouse and the subtle way he copes with it. People cope in different ways and this is the way he coped. Might not have been what I wanted to read at the time but since I got it from the library I needed to finish it.
    • 3/5
      3.8 I always like Anne Tyler's books with her quirky imperfect characters. This is not one of her best, but I'd still recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Aaron Walcott narrates the unusual beginning of the novel where he has lost his wife when an oak tree fell onto their house. But she seems to have come back and accompanies him as he walks around the town that he knows so well, Baltimore. Of course it's Baltimore and of course we continue to read about this slightly disabled man who fell in love with a quirky bulldog of a wife named Dorothy. Of course because this is Anne Tyler. Whenever I am unsure of what to read, needing to get back to something I know I will like, she is a sure bet. Aaron doesn't quite know how to react to the tragedy of his wife's death and for awhile as he attempts to remain in the broken house, I think he is going to be a recreation of Macon from Accidental Tourist. He does however move in with his sister Nandina and hires Gil the local contractor to begin the repair. It's unusual that he never gets over to look at their progress on his house and he remains in a bit of a daze as he continues going about his publishing business, a business that specializes in writing beginner books to help people through the various stages of their lives. When he finally does go back to see his house, he runs into Dorothy and the two both act as if this is the most natural thing in the world. As Gil rebuilds his home, Aaron continues to periodically have Dorothy appear next to him, maybe to help him be able to write another beginners book. A Beginner's Goodbye. I would recommend many of Tyler's books, starting with Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Accidental Tourist, the Ladder Years, and recently a Spool of Blue Thread.Very true observation:Embarking on an Anne Tyler novel is like heading off on vacation to a favorite destination: You're filled with anticipation of pleasure, even though you know the place is likely to have changed since your last visit. (NPR)
    • 5/5
      Aaron sees his wife, who lost her life in an accident, at random intervals as he makes his way through grieving.The Beginner's Goodbye is a marvelous little book about all the best stuff (love, life and death). Tyler achieves a wistful tone, making the book rather more readable than it would be if it were unremittingly sad.
    • 4/5
      Quick read yet interesting. Aaron is grieving the recent loss of his wife and we get up share it with him with him or and pathos. We all can learn from this book a bit on how not to deal with a grieving person. Yet this isn’t a sad book.
    • 3/5
      Anne Tyler is such a superb writer. She ably expresses the thought and emotions of the "every day"person.
    • 3/5
      A lack-luster novel for Anne Tyler. Very disappointing.
    • 4/5
      I have been a life-long fan of Anne Tyler and this book continues the tradition of presenting us with a character we have to love because he reminds us that we are all just so human.
    • 4/5
      Typical Ann Tyler quirky and fun!
    • 3/5
      Sad, slow story. Once I got past the slow start, it was pretty good.
    • 3/5
      Not my favorite of her books, but still really good. Something about the ending wasn't quite as satisfying as other Anne Tyler books, but the characters were just as rich and real. Well worth it.
    • 5/5
      So, so good! So good! I couldn't put this book down and read it in just a few hours.Tyler has this ability to say very little, yet to say it beautifully and wisely. She hits the nail right on the head - whether conveying an emotion, conjuring a memory, setting a scene or calling up the minutiae of day-to-day life. It's spot-on. I admire this talent of hers so much. She's rather oracle-like in her storytelling and I have definitely gulped up her wisdom over the years.
    • 3/5
      Big things happen even in small lives, and when the old tree falls onto their house, the main character is left without a wife. He gets to terms with his loss and life in general in a surprisingly short time and without messy emotional crises, quietly and neatly, with a little help from his imaginary friend (wife). Sadly, a mediocre effort which is easily forgotten.
    • 4/5
      A subtle, nuanced story of love and loss in true Anne Tyler style.
    • 3/5
      The story of Aaron and the unexpected loss of his wife is hauntingly (forgive the pun) sad yet the book is far from that. Dorothy, the deceased wife of Aaron, appears to him not in a foggy, mysterious way but seemingly is just there as she lived. Both characters are understated and rather plain which is Anne Tyler's style and which is rather endearing. I'm glad I read it. My three star rating is based on so many details I would have liked Ms Tyler to develop like Dorothy's background and the introverted lives she and Aaron lived.
    • 5/5
      I love Anne Tyler and have read every one of her novels. In this story, Aaron Woolcott has just lost his wife and we experience his process of grieving and dealing with his loss. In typical Anne Tyler fashion, Aaron and other main characters are slightly off-beat, but presented as entirely mainstream. I found this story reminiscent of some of her earlier books and completely enjoyed it.To contradict some of the other reviewers: I would not say that this book features magical realism or supernatural events. What we have is Aaron's conscious and subconscious mind (and his heart) dealing with his loss.
    • 4/5
      If you ever read Tyler's Accidental Tourist, this will probably remind you of it in some ways. A rather inept thirty-something man loses his older mate when a tree crashes through the roof of their house, and she is crushed by falling debris. She returns as a ghost at the beginning of the book before the tree scene even occurs. Then she does not appear again until almost the end. The rest of the book details Dorothy's life with her husband Aaron. Theirs was a rather unlikely match, and as he reflects on their time together he gradually becomes aware of this fact. It's almost a coming-of-age tale in reverse. The book has a somewhat unexpected ending, and it's a fun read that will have the reader chuckling at numerous points along the way. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      Lightly written, not entirely believable, beautifully structured, acharacters one cares about.I noticed especially AT's skill in naming the characters - only those that mattered, and then each name so individual and noteworthy.
    • 4/5
      Classic Tyler, passivity, sibling relationships and Baltimore. What's different is the element of magical realism in the form of Dorothy's ghost. There are some passages which bring up what passion exists in Aaron and a classic verbatim of an
    • 4/5
      Always a pleasure to read a new Anne Tyler book. In this one, the central character is Aaron, middle-aged, partly crippled, adept since childhood at putting up walls from the world, until plain and plain-spoken Dorothy came into his life, and he married her. One day a tree crashes into their house, killing her, and Aaron's world is shattered, until she starts re-appearing to him at odd moments. With the help of these puzzling and silent ghostly appearances, Aaron gradually pieces together a way of saying goodbye, and opening himself up for whatever (or whoever) may be waiting for him. Aaron is like many of Tyler's main characters: wounded (in this case, literally as well as emotionally), hesitant and reserved, afraid to open up to life's offerings. Sometimes her characters never grow past this; I enjoy her books more when we see that they can, and do.
    • 3/5
      This isn't one of my favorite Anne Tyler books, but it was still good. I love her quirky characters and always look forward to each and every one of her books.
    • 4/5
      A bittersweet look at marriage and grief. Populated with the typical oddball Anne Tyler characters we watch as a young widower rebuilds his life after the unexpected death of his wife. The descriptions of his wife, coworkers and especially his annoying but beloved sister are delightful. If you like Anne Tyler, you'll enjoy this lovely novel.
    • 4/5
      Written from the viewpoint of a man whose wife was killed suddenly in an accident. Interesting. One major flaw I felt was that her key characters (the husband and wife) seemed like old codgers rather than someone in their 30s--nothing youthful about either one of them. The husband seemed like someone in his 70s and the wife older!
    • 4/5
      Loved this book. Appearances of Dorothy to Aaron after her death are beautifully described. Glorious mix of mundane and sublime. Amplifies questions about afterlife and meaning/purpose of life. Great ending: 'But i'm not so sure anymore that those who showed no surprise had forgotten she had died. maybe they remembered perfectly well. aybe they were just thinking, Of course. We go around and around in this world, and here we go again.
    • 4/5
      Excellent book. Maybe not the best Anne Tyler but at least it story was interesting and from a man's perspective.
    • 4/5
      No one writes married couples better than Anne Tyler and she's back in great form with The Beginner's Goodbye. Aaron is an editor of a "Beginner's" series of books, grieving his wife so much that he starts to see (and speak to) her. While repairmen fix the damage done to his house by the falling tree that killed Dorothy, Aaron is at a loss how to move on without her. The marriage was quirky - Aaron with his physical handicaps and Dorothy with her emotional handicaps - but they loved each other. As the house is put whole, though, Aaron starts to appreciate the reality of his relationship with Dorothy and begins to find a way to say goodbye. Tyler manages to lace a husband's grief with a good deal of quiet humor for a thoroughly enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      An introspective look at the various ways we grieve, the things that go into making us the person we become, and the assumption we make about our roles in a marriage and family. The main character, Aaron, quickly grew on me and I just loved the way he changed throughout the course of this relatively short book. In the beginning I thought this book was only so so but by the end I liked it quite a bit.
    • 2/5
      Can't say that this is a novel that's going to start any sparks in the literary community. Ann Tyler has certainly pleased many readers in her time. But this story is rather ordinary. She deals with grief...a subject quite fitting for a novel. But it's been done better. (Take note of Christopher Coakes's June release YOU CAME BACK.) And I didn't care much for any of the characters. Too bad. I really wanted to like it.
    • 5/5
      A thoughtful book built around the story of a man’s wife returning after accidental death for him to see and talk to. Gradually he reviews their relationship. Towards the end, when he’s admitted that they were unhappy in spite of their love, he can have a serious conversation with her which uncovers his inadequacies to him. Such insight that the issue of plausibility drops out of view.
    • 4/5
      A cozy sort of read about a man (a rather bewildered man, as is often the case with Tyler) learning to cope with his wife's death. Tyler understands ordinary people and their feelings so well, and portrays them with so little drama that some readers find her boring. I get that, but for me, reading her books is almost always like slipping into comfortable shoes and taking a leisurely walk through familiar grounds. So if you like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing you'll like.