I know this is a list for Mormon letters, but I have just finished reading a book [Anne Tyler's A Patchwork Planet] I think Mormon readers can really enjoy even though it is not written or published by Mormons. I hope that's appropriate to the list.

Anne Tyler's characters are always a little querky, and the ones in this book are no exception. Our hero, Barnaby, is a 29 year old divorced father of a 9 year old girl, who, amongst other tasks, brings Christmas trees down out of the attics of elderly clients for a living. The pay's not great but the benefits become apparent one episode at a time as the story progresses.

Barnaby suffers mildly from a deflated ego, and that is the source of his conflict. We see him interact with family, friends, and co-workers asserting his individuality with an assertiveness born of rebellion rather than self-assurance. His past is just a little shady, a reputation he has trouble living down, and when it comes back to haunt him at a critical moment in the story, he experiences his epiphany and the reader knows all will be well with him afterall.

I make the story sound ordinary, but writing an ordinary story and making it interesting and eventful is what Anne Tyler is good at. I guarantee you Mormon literary types out there will love this story. It's probably more of a lady's tale than a man's, but I think you sensitive guys will like it too.

The thing I found profoundly interesting about the story, in the light of gospel principle, is that this guy serves others for little pay because he gets a charge out of it. We, who know we ought to be service oriented, could learn something from him.

I recommend it highly. I do have to add here, however, that I'm a big Anne Tyler fan, so maybe I'm a little biased.

Thanks,
Dorothy
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Dorothy W. Peterson
LDS Index
http://www.LDS-index.org
mailto:dorothy@lds-index.org