Items related to Noah's Compass
With the humour and poignancy of her classic The Accidental Tourist (though with a protagonist who doesn't venture far from home) Anne Tyler's brilliant new novel tells the story of a year in the life of Liam Pennywell, a man in his 61st year. A classical pedant, he's just been 'let go' from his schoolteaching job and downsizes to a tiny little out of town apartment, where he goes to bed early and alone on the first night, tucking himself in tightly... and wakes up in hospital unable to recall how he got there.
Widowed, re-married, divorced and the father of three daughters, Liam is a man who is proud of his recall but has learned to dodge issues and skirt adventure. Obsessed with the gap in his memory, however, he sets out to uncover what happened to him, and finds instead an unusual woman with secrets of her own. His ex-wife, sensible Barbara, and his daughters worry about him but Liam blunders on.
This is a novel about memory and memory loss, about incidents and relationships which open up sight lines into a painful past long dead for a man who becomes aware that he hasn't really been present in his own life... There's late-flowering love, but that brings its own thorny problems.
The title is the metaphor for Liam's life. One of Liam's three daughters is a born-again Christian (much to Liam's sceptical bewilderment) and her son, Jonah, colours in Bible stories. His grandson asks Liam if Noah had a gas-driven boat or a sailboat. Neither, replies Liam, he wasn't going anywhere, so he didn't need a compass either: he was just bobbing up and down, staying afloat, because the whole world was covered in water....
Widowed, re-married, divorced and the father of three daughters, Liam is a man who is proud of his recall but has learned to dodge issues and skirt adventure. Obsessed with the gap in his memory, however, he sets out to uncover what happened to him, and finds instead an unusual woman with secrets of her own. His ex-wife, sensible Barbara, and his daughters worry about him but Liam blunders on.
This is a novel about memory and memory loss, about incidents and relationships which open up sight lines into a painful past long dead for a man who becomes aware that he hasn't really been present in his own life... There's late-flowering love, but that brings its own thorny problems.
The title is the metaphor for Liam's life. One of Liam's three daughters is a born-again Christian (much to Liam's sceptical bewilderment) and her son, Jonah, colours in Bible stories. His grandson asks Liam if Noah had a gas-driven boat or a sailboat. Neither, replies Liam, he wasn't going anywhere, so he didn't need a compass either: he was just bobbing up and down, staying afloat, because the whole world was covered in water....
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
‘her novels have a grace and an emotional depth that few romances can match’ - Sunday Times, Nick Rennison
‘Compassionate and funny dissection of the workings of the human heart’ - Woman & Home, Fanny Blake
Book Description:
‘Compassionate and funny dissection of the workings of the human heart’ - Woman & Home, Fanny Blake
Quintessential Tyler - a perfectly pitched, enchanting, quirky and affecting novel about a 61-year-old adrift in his own life... Sull of sruprises, a novel which chimes subtly, heartbreakingly with our times.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherUlverscroft Ltd
- Publication date2010
- ISBN 10 1444802011
- ISBN 13 9781444802016
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages304
- Rating
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
Noah's Compass
Published by
Ulverscroft Ltd
(2010)
ISBN 10: 1444802011
ISBN 13: 9781444802016
Used
Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. Slightly warped Sticker on spine Minor bumped corners No.1 BESTSELLERS - great prices, friendly customer service â " all orders are dispatched next working day. Seller Inventory # mon0000712704
Buy Used
£ 19
Convert currency