Anne Tyler Books

The story of Tumble Tower is hardly throw-away - Princess Molly the Messy is almost despised by her family: King Clement the Clean, Queen Nellie the Neat, and Prince Thomas the Tidy. Molly lives in the castle tower, where her room is beyond what most would considered "a bit cluttered." However, as we soon discover after the rest of the castle is flooded, even the messiest of rooms can be considered a safe, even comfortable haven. Seeing life through Molly's eyes gives the rest of her family a sense of understanding, perhaps even empathy.

While Anne Tyler's story is very nice, I found the illustrations to be far more engaging. There are hidden surprises in almost every page, and the characters are wittily, handsomely, and endearingly brought to life in a style that almost resembles the Saturday morning series "Angela Anaconda."

The kids will love having this book read to them again and again, and there's enough treasures spread throughout to make the parents most happy to oblige.

I am an adult who never liked picture books as a child (I fell in love with reading in fourth grade, when I finally had the vocabulary and comprehension skills to read the more appealing "Chapter" books). I came to this book because Tyler is one of my favorite contemporary novelists, and even though I love tons of other novelists both present and past, sometimes I just can't wait for Tyler's latest to hit the stores. So, I read her children's book, and I was enchanted. The story is great, the pictures are charming, but what I liked best was the book's "Child is father of man" philosophy. Modarressi, who happens to be Tyler's daughter, has written and illustrated a number of other books: don't miss "Yard Sale!" and "The Parent Thief" and even the weaker "The Dream Pillow" is worth a look-see.

Although an avid Anne Tyler fan, I just discovered this book she wrote for children and I now number it among my favorites. I find it perfectly charming to see childhood "messiness" vindicated. My grandchildren (ages 8 to 13) thoroughly enjoy the book, too. I can tell they relate to "Messy Molly," although maintaining that their own bedrooms are never as messy as the wonderful two-page spread of Molly's room.

Can you imagine a children's book about messiness which does not end with the character discovering the error of her ways and (literally and figuratively) straightening up? Instead, Molly's free-spirited approach to storing her personal possessions is celebrated. Molly, her friends, and the family pets revel in the glorious mess, and even her uptight parents and little brother come to see the advantages of disorder. A highlight is a wordless double-page spread showing Molly's room in all its splendour. Ask your child to locate different objects, a la the "I Spy" books.

This book is the perfect vidication for those of us who are hopelessly sloppy. How can we contend with the celebrated neatness of this person or that person? How can we explain that there is indeed a method to our madness? We are messy for a reason! Anne Tyler does a wonderful job championing our cause and Mitra Modarressi's illustrations are perfect to keep children rivited. I read this to my friend's 7-year old, and I finally had a valid explanation for why there are "so many things on my bedroom floor."

I bought Best of the South a few years ago and have returned to it for rereads many times. Writers from the American south really do seem to have a corner on the market when it comes to character development. Anne Tyler does an extraordinary job of picking the stories for this volume. You won't be disappointed. My favorite is the lively, poignant story by Mark Richards entitled "The Birds for Christmas". "Heart" by Marly Swick is another sketch from a child's point of view that packs a punch. All the stories are excellent, but for me the anthology is worth the price just to be able to read about the two boys in the hospital who want to see "The Birds" on Christmas Eve on the ward's old rickety TV set, to the horror of the nurses. This anthology is filled with literary excellence, characters that jump off the page and into one's heart, and profound, painful moments that hold an unexpected mirror up before the reader, all told in the unforgettable flavor of the American south.

The very first story in the collection by Leon Driskell was delicious and perfect. As I read on I could not believe that, one after another, the choices that make this book are equal to the first one. As a regular reader of the Houghton-Mifflin Best American Short Stories annual, I have come to accept that what makes a great collection is a great editor. If you want to see what I mean, look at Anne Beattie's volume, or John Updike's, or John Gardner's; these editors know what makes a story great. The same is true of Anne Tyler, and in each of these stories we see what makes her writing remarkable: development of engaging characters. The primary focus in all of these stories is on character, but you will also find that these stories appeal to us on a human interest level and as lovers of writing. If you are interested in reading and/or writing good fiction, this is a book to read.

I love this book and I find myself dipping back into it over and over for some favorites ("Charlotte" by Tony Earley is a classic). I took the book on my honeymoon and it is part of the reason why I remember that as such a wonderful time. There really is something here for everybody: memorable characters, quiet and not-so-quiet human drama, and -- that gorgeous language! A must-have for fans of Southern fiction.

This is the best collection of short stories I've read in recent memory. Two favorites are "The Birds for Christmas," by Mark Richard and "The Rain of Terror" by Frank Manley, but almost all typify the finest in short story writing today.

These are two of the best.I love these movies.They are both movies that make you feel good.I will watch them again and again.Nothing is better than watching a great romantic movie.

Great Price on these two Love Story classics. Jennifer Lopez is superb !!!

I thoroughly enjoyed both movies, I had seen Fools Rush in many years ago, but had never seen Maid in America. I would highly recommend this combo to anyone, both movies are very good in my opinion.

MAID IN MANHATTAN ***

This is a relatively pleasant, though eminently forgettable, once-upon- a-time romantic comedy. Not even its excellent supporting cast can make this tepid movie better than it should be. Ralph Fiennes, with his sometimes British, sometimes American accent, and Jennifer Lopez, with her beauty marred the minute she opens her mouth, are the would be mis-matched lovers.

Fiennes plays Chris Marshall, a wealthy, to the manor born, silver spoon, political candidate. Lopez plays Marissa Ventura, a working class woman and single parent with an adorable, precocious, ten year old son named Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey). Marissa works as a maid in the posh hotel in which Marshall is a guest. When her son accompanies her to work one day, he runs into Chris Marshall and recognizes him. They start up a conversation and before you know it they are going to go off for a walk together, only Ty has to ask his mom. They go to the suite in which she is cleaning, only thing is that she has tried one of the haute couture outfits belonging to a wealthy businesswoman named Caroline who is staying in the suite.

Naturally, Marissa looks gorgeous in this outfit and is wearing it when Ty and Chris enter the suite. Chris is smitten, and all three go for a walk in the park. Chris does not know, and Marissa does not disclose, that she is one of the maids in the hotel. Don't ask. Don't tell.

When Chris, thinking that his dream woman's name is Caroline, forwards an invitation for lunch to her ostensible suite, the real Caroline (Natasha Richardson) responds. Let the games begin! Marissa spends quite a bit if time avoiding running into Chris in her work clothes. When she finally runs into him in the street, Chris instructs his aide to find her and invite her to a glittering soiree. She gets the invitation via the hotel butler (Bob Hoskins), along with some advice, and decides to go for the gold. With her fellow employees at the hotel acting as collective fairy godmothers, she gets the proverbial ball gown, diamonds, makeover, and emerges a princess, making a dramatic entrance at the ball, further entrancing Chris. When she runs off before the ball is over, he pursues her, and what then follows is a night to remember.

Of course, Natasha, who is also at the ball, sees Marissa and Chris together and realizes that she looks familiar. Consumed by the green eyed monster, she contacts the hotel authorities when the morning after the ball she sees Marissa, exiting the suite occupied by Chris and still wearing the diamond necklace she wore at the ball. A review of security tapes leads to her identification of Marissa and a host of other things. Chris is now faced with a choice, as is Marissa.

The film is pretty formulaic in that it is filmed as a fairy tale. Of course it has the proverbial happy ending. The film is saved by the very funny performance of Natasha Richardson and her pre-menopausal, obnoxious friend played with relish and delicious abandon by Amy Sedaris. Stanley Tucci is excellent as Jerry, Chris Marshall's campaign manager. Bob Hoskins is very good as the prim and proper hotel butler, though the film strikes a false note towards the end when he gives Marissa a final speech that is ridiculous. Tyler Garcia Posey is a totally adorable child actor who gives a very natural and engaging performance.

Ralph Fiennes gives a decent performance but has difficulty maintaining an American accent. Jennifer Lopez gives a better performance than she usually does but that is not saying a lot. It is unfortunate that to date she has been unable to replicate the level of performance that she gave in "Selena", the film that propelled her into stardom. She is, however, totally drop dead gorgeous when she is all gussied up, looking every inch the princess.

Still, if one's expectations are not too high, one should find this to be a mildly entertaining, romantic comedy. Rent it rather than buy it.


FOOLS RUSH IN ****

This is a delightful romantic comedy. Matthew Perry is a charming, self-effacing leading man. Salma Hayek is a most fetching and winsome leading lady. Strong performances by the supporting cast help make this a most enjoyable movie.

Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) lives in New York and has a high powered job as a field agent for a builder that specializes in the construction of night clubs. He is sent to Las Vegas to supervise new construction. While there, he meets a fiery, latin beaty, Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek), with whom he has a very memorable one night stand. This is totally out of character for both of them. In fact, she is so embarrassed by what happened, that she sneaks out of his house first thing in the morning. Before he even knows it, she is gone, never to be heard from again, until she shows up on his door step three months later to announce that she is pregnant with his baby.

Alex tells her that he supports her right to choose. Isabel chooses to have the baby. She asks nothing from him other than he meet her family, so that it is not such a shock when she announces that she is pregnant. He agrees to do so. He meets her traditional, Mexican-American family and is taken by their warmth, a quality that is sorely lacking in his family. He rarely sees his own family, except for the obligatory holidays, while Isabel meets hers once a week for dinner.

Alex and Isabel fall in love and have a quickie marriage ceremony performed in Las Vegas. Naturally, as they are now husband and wife. they move in together. Then reality sets in. They contend with cultural difference, with pain in the you know what in-laws, and with the every day adjustments necessary, when living with someone one does not, as yet, know. Then, the trust that had developed is violated, and they each go their own separate ways.

What happens with the baby? Does the marriage survive? Watch the movie and find out. The experience will be an enjoyable one.

These are two of the best.I love these movies.They are both movies that make you feel good.I will watch them again and again.Nothing is better than watching a great romantic movie.

Great Price on these two Love Story classics. Jennifer Lopez is superb !!!

I thoroughly enjoyed both movies, I had seen Fools Rush in many years ago, but had never seen Maid in America. I would highly recommend this combo to anyone, both movies are very good in my opinion.

MAID IN MANHATTAN ***

This is a relatively pleasant, though eminently forgettable, once-upon- a-time romantic comedy. Not even its excellent supporting cast can make this tepid movie better than it should be. Ralph Fiennes, with his sometimes British, sometimes American accent, and Jennifer Lopez, with her beauty marred the minute she opens her mouth, are the would be mis-matched lovers.

Fiennes plays Chris Marshall, a wealthy, to the manor born, silver spoon, political candidate. Lopez plays Marissa Ventura, a working class woman and single parent with an adorable, precocious, ten year old son named Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey). Marissa works as a maid in the posh hotel in which Marshall is a guest. When her son accompanies her to work one day, he runs into Chris Marshall and recognizes him. They start up a conversation and before you know it they are going to go off for a walk together, only Ty has to ask his mom. They go to the suite in which she is cleaning, only thing is that she has tried one of the haute couture outfits belonging to a wealthy businesswoman named Caroline who is staying in the suite.

Naturally, Marissa looks gorgeous in this outfit and is wearing it when Ty and Chris enter the suite. Chris is smitten, and all three go for a walk in the park. Chris does not know, and Marissa does not disclose, that she is one of the maids in the hotel. Don't ask. Don't tell.

When Chris, thinking that his dream woman's name is Caroline, forwards an invitation for lunch to her ostensible suite, the real Caroline (Natasha Richardson) responds. Let the games begin! Marissa spends quite a bit if time avoiding running into Chris in her work clothes. When she finally runs into him in the street, Chris instructs his aide to find her and invite her to a glittering soiree. She gets the invitation via the hotel butler (Bob Hoskins), along with some advice, and decides to go for the gold. With her fellow employees at the hotel acting as collective fairy godmothers, she gets the proverbial ball gown, diamonds, makeover, and emerges a princess, making a dramatic entrance at the ball, further entrancing Chris. When she runs off before the ball is over, he pursues her, and what then follows is a night to remember.

Of course, Natasha, who is also at the ball, sees Marissa and Chris together and realizes that she looks familiar. Consumed by the green eyed monster, she contacts the hotel authorities when the morning after the ball she sees Marissa, exiting the suite occupied by Chris and still wearing the diamond necklace she wore at the ball. A review of security tapes leads to her identification of Marissa and a host of other things. Chris is now faced with a choice, as is Marissa.

The film is pretty formulaic in that it is filmed as a fairy tale. Of course it has the proverbial happy ending. The film is saved by the very funny performance of Natasha Richardson and her pre-menopausal, obnoxious friend played with relish and delicious abandon by Amy Sedaris. Stanley Tucci is excellent as Jerry, Chris Marshall's campaign manager. Bob Hoskins is very good as the prim and proper hotel butler, though the film strikes a false note towards the end when he gives Marissa a final speech that is ridiculous. Tyler Garcia Posey is a totally adorable child actor who gives a very natural and engaging performance.

Ralph Fiennes gives a decent performance but has difficulty maintaining an American accent. Jennifer Lopez gives a better performance than she usually does but that is not saying a lot. It is unfortunate that to date she has been unable to replicate the level of performance that she gave in "Selena", the film that propelled her into stardom. She is, however, totally drop dead gorgeous when she is all gussied up, looking every inch the princess.

Still, if one's expectations are not too high, one should find this to be a mildly entertaining, romantic comedy. Rent it rather than buy it.


FOOLS RUSH IN ****

This is a delightful romantic comedy. Matthew Perry is a charming, self-effacing leading man. Salma Hayek is a most fetching and winsome leading lady. Strong performances by the supporting cast help make this a most enjoyable movie.

Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) lives in New York and has a high powered job as a field agent for a builder that specializes in the construction of night clubs. He is sent to Las Vegas to supervise new construction. While there, he meets a fiery, latin beaty, Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek), with whom he has a very memorable one night stand. This is totally out of character for both of them. In fact, she is so embarrassed by what happened, that she sneaks out of his house first thing in the morning. Before he even knows it, she is gone, never to be heard from again, until she shows up on his door step three months later to announce that she is pregnant with his baby.

Alex tells her that he supports her right to choose. Isabel chooses to have the baby. She asks nothing from him other than he meet her family, so that it is not such a shock when she announces that she is pregnant. He agrees to do so. He meets her traditional, Mexican-American family and is taken by their warmth, a quality that is sorely lacking in his family. He rarely sees his own family, except for the obligatory holidays, while Isabel meets hers once a week for dinner.

Alex and Isabel fall in love and have a quickie marriage ceremony performed in Las Vegas. Naturally, as they are now husband and wife. they move in together. Then reality sets in. They contend with cultural difference, with pain in the you know what in-laws, and with the every day adjustments necessary, when living with someone one does not, as yet, know. Then, the trust that had developed is violated, and they each go their own separate ways.

What happens with the baby? Does the marriage survive? Watch the movie and find out. The experience will be an enjoyable one.

As a young writer, Janet Sternburg searched for a book about woman writers: how they came to be, how they viewed their lives, how they treated their work. It was the seventies and none existed, so she put together The Writer on Her Work and it was published in 1981 - a book featuring women writing about writing. This year marks its anniversary (thus, the new edition) with a touching preface by Julia Alvarez, plus an updated introduction and bios of the 17 women who contributed to the landmark collection. Established, unknown and up-and-coming writers of the time - including Maxine Hong Kingston, Joan Didion and Alice Walker - reflect on writing and lives as writers, through heartfelt and sometimes hilarious commentary. The value of this book is reading how these women, writing in different genres, pursued their passion in the face of opposition. Whether that opposition took on the form of household responsibilities, writer's block, dissenting peers or a male-dominated marketplace, it's interesting tackling the dilemma through their eyes and in that time; making a place for themselves, and their work, discovering in that world, she dominates. This speaks to the heart of the book, a community of women's voices, whether alive or deceased, writing because they had to, sharing profound experiences and reflections on being a woman creating. The Writer on Her Work offers diverse personalities expressing their romance with words, also acknowledging the ups and downs that come with that relationship. Each essay is an inspiring testament to the continuing struggle and undeniable beauty of the female spirit in print.

I've loved this book since 1980, when I bought a copy and read it and lent it and recommended it many times over since then. This new edition is even better. The pieces, personal and trenchant, ingeniously selected by Sternburg over twenty years ago, have withstood the test of time.

There is deep feeling, variety, astonishing articulation of complex things, and warmth and humor in these essays. Many of the writers fight to write, and show us their battle plans. It's inspiring and encouraging, and sometimes it's sad. Some - I am thinking of young writer Michele Murray, who struggled against terrible odds - are heartbreaking. Anne Tyler's darkly humorous recitation of her typical working day, "Still Just Writing," is a classic. Alice Walker's essay, "One Child of One's Own" speaks to motherhood, and its fragile but undeniable relationship to a writing life.

The new Preface, by Dominican-born Vermonter Julia Alvarez, is touching and insightful and very personal - in keeping with the rest of the book - and speaks to the concerns of the essays. Sternberg has also edited her orignal Introduction, and updated the contributors' notes at the book's end.

Without question I'd recommend this wonderful book to anyone interested in reading women on the process of writing, the art of memoir, and the considered and considerably interesting opinions of a group of very wonderful writers.

"What seems like accident becomes tinged with purpose, the comfortably familiar disturbed by the impulse to escape. Only Anne Tyler with her original view could make Leary irresistible, and produce SO LOVELY AND SINGULAR A STORY." (Reviews for Readers)
[from the piece of paper on the back case]

Anne Tyler is a perceptive writer with an original, slightly off-kilter style. This book includes a chapter of biographical material on Anne Tyler, as well as another chapter discussing the major influences on her--other Southern writers and women writers. There is an extensive discussion of several of her best novels, from the beginning of her career through 1998. Each novel gets a whole chapter devoted to it. Stylistic peculiarities, construction of the novels, character development and theme are covered, with unique insights into how each novel reflects themes in Anne Tyler's life. Tyler shunned publicity and gave very few interviews, but did consent to an interview with the author of this book in order to clarify some fine points. Well researched and well written, this is a treasure for anyone who appreciates Tyler's work.

Each year, I look forward to Algonquin's Best Stories of the South. To have the best of the best all in one book is a treat. Some of my favorite stories reside in these pages. "Memorial Day" is one of my ALL TIME favorite short stories. If you enjoy the short story form--and appreciate the Southern voice in its varied and rich tones, then this should be a staple on your bookshelf.

In another area of Amazon, there are at least 10 copies of this anthology selling for $.01.

I don't know why this is priced so high, but it looks like someone's trying to make a killing on some poor unsuspecting buyer!

Just plug in Anne Tyler on search button and you will find 144 copies of this same hardback, same date of publication, unabridged etc. starting at $.01 from many different Amazon Marketplace sellers.

This book is indeed available, 103 copies to be exact, and starting at $.01.

Just plug in Anne Tyler in search line above, and you will find this book, I believe, on the 2-3 page. If that is inaccurate, just keep on looking, I found it quickly and purchased it for a penny + s&h.

It's a good anthology and my review of it is the first one.