A Patchwork Planet, by Anne Tyler

Barnaby works for "Rent-a-back", a company that hires out help to elderly folk who need help around the house. He's from a wealthy family, but got into trouble as a juvenile and ended up with a broken marriage, a daughter he only sees rarely, and a job with not much future. But one day, on the train, he meets a woman who he feels might mean something special to him.

I was a bit disappointed with this one, after having read some of Tyler's other books and been bowled over by them. This didn't really seem to go anywhere, and while there were a couple of nice sections where Barnaby talks about what it must be like to be old, the story didn't really click with me.

I was guessing it was a fairly early novel, but checking on Wikipedia I see it comes after Breathing Lessons, which I really rated. So maybe I just missed the point of this one.

Completed : 03-Mar-2010

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