Breathing Lessons (original 1988; udgave 1988)

Anne Tyler brilliantly describes the domestic difficulties of the Morans that is both tragic and comic, desperate and hopeful, and always empathetic. She understands human nature so well and renders scenes and emotions that are universally recognizable. It’s by far the best novel I’ve read this year. ( )

I loved this book. The characters felt so real... I felt like I knew them. I see so much of myself in Maggie. Thank you Anne Tyler for a heartwarming look at an imperfect family. Even though there wasn't a happy ending, I was smiling as I read the last sentence. ( )

Covers a day in a marriage as Ira and Maggie Moran - a couple of 50 year olds- set off for a friend's funeral. And afterwards Maggie urges her husband to just drop in on their son's estranged wife and the grandchild they haven't seen in ages...
It's a nice read. Enjoyable. Bits are quite insightful into the interplay of personalities, the way a misunderstanding can blow up. And the section on the old man the encounter on motorway was *5 humour.
But bits were a tad schmaltzy. Did I buy that this middle aged couple would start making out at a funeral?...No, not at all.
Anne Tyler doesnt provide simple happy endings, and that certainly a good decision, it feeels like real life (somewhat.)
Light- but good- read for a summer day. ( )

This is a book about life. Told from 2 different points of view, we learn about the courtship and marriage of Maggie and Ira Moran. They have been married for 28 years and they have seen them very differently. Maggie is the optimist, everything will work out with her assistance. Ira is the realist. If Maggie would stop meddling, life will work out the way it is supposed to. With their son Jesse, daughter Daisy, ex-daughter-in-law Fiona and granddaughter Leroy all moving on with their lives and not including Maggie, she is sad and lonely. This is a marriage that needs something, maybe just meaningful conversation. Some humour, some sadness and lots of frustration. ( )

I liked the writing, but...the story seemed incredibly dated. Maggie is a cliche, the plot, which is thin, seems derivative, and the last page left me dissatisfied.
The action takes place in one day, as a middle-aged married couple travel to a funeral. We see them in everyday exchanges, exasperations, and occasional flashes of affection. Every character in the book is so commonplace that the reader loses interest about half-way through the book.
And in the end, no one has learned a thing from their experiences. ( )