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Description edit
Maggie and Ira Moran have been married for twenty-eight years–and it shows: in their quarrels, in their routines, in their ability to tolerate with affection each other’s eccentricities. Maggie, a kooky, lovable meddler and an irrepressible optimist, wants nothing more than to fix her son’s... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
The novel opens with Ira reflecting on the amount of waste in the world, including his own life. Ira runs his father's picture framing business in Baltimore, while Maggie works as a nurse in a nursing home. On this Saturday they are preparing to go to a funeral, and Maggie is picking up their... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Maggie Moran: Maggie and her husband, Ira, are the two central characters in the novel, discussing and contemplating life as they drive to a distant funeral.
- Ira Moran: Contemplative, and rueful husband of Maggie.
- Jesse Moran: Son of Maggie and Ira, and the target of much of Maggie's meddling schemes.
- Fiona: Add a description of this character.
- Leroy
- Mr. Otis
- Durwood
- Daisy
- Max Gill
- Lamont
- Mrs. Stuckey
- Boris Drumm
- Dorrie
- Mr. Gabriel
- Mabel
- Linda
- Sam
- Jo Ann
- Mrs. Britt
- Mr. Nichols
- Dave
- Jeff
- Tilghman
Setting & Locations edit
First Sentence edit
Maggie and Ira Moran had to go to a funeral in Deer Lick, Pennsylvania.
Table of Contents edit
Part 1, Chapters 1-3
Part 2
Part 3, Chapters 1-4
Themes & Symbolism edit
Series & Lists edit
This is book 1989 of 85 in Pulitzer Prize Winners - Fiction. (authoritative list)
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 210 of 213 in Best English-Language Fiction of the 20th Century. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Anne Tyler (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Country: USA
Publication Date: August 12, 1988
ISBN: 0394572343
Page Count: 327
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Country: USA
Publication Date: August 12, 1988
ISBN: 0394572343
Page Count: 327
Awards edit
- Pulitzer Prize (1989: Fiction)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PS3570.Y45B74
- Dewey: 813.54
Subjects edit
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