Welcome to another book of the month! We're going all the way back for the book of this month; talk about an oldie but goodie. I love when a book tugs deep into our hearts and reminds us of our humanity, but not through something profound but in the ordinary, in the normal. This is an amazing story of sacrifice, quiet devotion, love, and ordinariness. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The Book of the Month is Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler. I'm a little new to her work but completely blown away so much I just want to consume everything she's ever written.
Saint Maybe is set in 1965 when the Beldoe family is living an idyllic, quintessential American life in Baltimore before they are struck with a tragedy that transforms their existence forever; but especially the life of their youngest son, 17-year old Ian Bedloe, who assumes the blame for this tragic event. Even as I type this and remember him, my heart breaks just a little again. That's what fiction does. It expands your heart and show you realities you never knew existed. In any case, we follow through Ian through a great chunk of this life (several decades, I believe) as he tries to redeem himself. Through the process watch the Bedloes transform from their nauseously happy status quo to dealing with extraordinary calamities. The New York Times said Anne Tyler likes to break America's heart. They weren't wrong.
The thing about this book is that it tells a simple enough of a story. It is imaginative and quite transformational. My favorite character is of course, Ian, whose heroism bleeds through the pages of this book. Whose self-sacrifice, dedication, and love is enough to carry this family through the unimaginable. What kind of writing exposes you like this? What kind of writing ties you to this family whom I wouldn't look twice at if I walked past them at a Costco or at the grocery store?
"We've had such extraordinary troubles, and somehow they've turned us ordinary. That's what's so hard to figure. We're not a special family anymore...we've turned uncertain. We've turned into worriers."
All the credit to Anne Tyler who creates a world so real, you want to give Ian a hug. How she makes us care so much for him, Jay Parini asks in his review, no one really knows. All I know is you want to tell him, it's okay. Forgive yourself. Live. Breath. Or as Daphne says, "use all the life you got." It'll be okay. Because even though these life shattering things kept happening and even though they seemed so insurmountable, in the end, Ian is victorious. Not because of sheer ambition of obvious grit but because he allowed his heart to love and allowed that love carry him through it all. So yes, as Daphne says, "use all the life you've got." We spend so much of life being so careful, being so hesitant, wondering what this person thinks or how that person will react when none of that really matters. You only get one shot at this life thing (at least in this form), how can you waste it being sooo cautious, being so afraid, being so hesitant? At best, three generations after you remember you (and that's a reach because no one actually thinks about their great grandparents) so who cares? But I also wonder if Ian had been all of these things, would he have been able to give as freely as he did. Because part of using all the life you've got is being so darn selfish, so self-centered. Perhaps then, that's what makes Ian such a hero; that what he gives up is so astronomical—himself.
"You think I'm some ninny who wants to do right but keeps goofing. But what you don't see is, I goof on purpose. I'm not like you: King Careful. Mr. Look-Both-Ways. Saint Maybe."
My biggest critique of this book was its handling of theology. It was fundamentally and terribly flawed. I wasn't sure if Anne Tyler framed it with that in mind and left it an open wound for us to dissect or if she framed it as "this is how Christianity is." The former is sensible. The latter is problematic. Also, there seems to me to be an unanswered question (or perhaps I missed the answer) and this is huge SPOILER ( I avoid giving spoilers in the Book of the Month posts but this is inevitable) but we never find out if Danny was actually Daphne's biological father. Though, I suppose the very essence of Ian's love is that it actually doesn't matter.
Ian's love isn't grandiose. In a world where we expect love to be that, reading this was like warm butter on the most perfect scones. Anne Tyler writes this as just life; this idea that ordinary people change the lives of ordinary people every time. At some point, he describes Daphne as the "child of his life" and Lord, was it the sweetest thing ever? And yet, even that was simple at its core.
EVERYONE DESERVES AN IAN IN THEIR LIFE.
Some books just stay with you. You finish and it never leaves. Let me tell you how much I loved this: I had originally borrowed it from the library but then decided to buy it after reading (and you know my policy on buying books, which is I try not to lol). Anyway, you will definitely enjoy this!
Love,
I
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