Noah's Compass - Anne Tyler

Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler 

My attempt at reviewing a book.....hey at least it can only get better after this due to this being the first one! (i hope)

Ok....so admittedly bought as it was £4.99 when I was buying The Long Song by Andrea Levy (I'll tell you about that later) I noticed it at waterstones as I'd read Digging to America by the same author the year before. That was a heart warming story about two couples adopting different children and their upbringing so I thought I'd give this one a go.

Throughout the whole book I was not sure where this was going and it seems, like life.....it went nowhere. Initially reading about the main character being attacked in his sleep alone in bed (i live alone) I felt quite uneasy. Liam is a defunct, inept father who is in his 60's is kind of reflecting on his life and lack of it. Through the book you met the classic ex wife & hear the romanticised account of the first wife (ok her ending was in no way positive so now I feel awful about that comment).

Trying to find memories Liam actually picks up a young fuggley character who he forms a gradual attraction too. Their relationship is interesting and  realistic with no smooth happy ending where they run away to a fairytale castle.

The thing I most like about Liam is his realness. At 60yr he is dismissive of the idea of an `intimate` relationship with this young woman and it bring to my mind the notion of the different qualities we look for in the world of love as we age. The idea of dating in your late twenties when everyone is getting married and having babies is difficult to negotiate but poor Liam being thrust into it at his time of life is simply dismayed. Multi-generational characters (Jonah who insists on colouring biblical cartoons, Kitty attached to her ipod & always out, the sister Liam who brings Liam hot pots but just drops by to judge) all seem to just be making their way through life at a slow pace. Or maybe it just seems that way as the book is through Liam's retiring eyes.

 Again as standard books have a beginning, middle & end but I felt as if the book was a constant middle.

I think I will read Anne's other books to see what they hold...

(Note - alot of my books seem to be published by VINTAGE Books I noticed today.......I don't usually remember alot about books I read so maybe this Blog will help my memory as I don't have a Eunice to do it for me!)