The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler [143]
The Accidental Tourist
ANNE TYLER
A Reader’s Guide
A Conversation with Anne Tyler
Q: Can Macon be described as an accidental tourist in his own life? Can we all?
AT: Certainly Macon can, but I wouldn’t say that accidental tourism is a universal condition. Some people seem to have very meticulous itineraries for their lives.
Q: Ethan’s tragic death looms over all of the characters in this novel. Why are so many characters angry at, or at least disapproving of, Macon for his manner of grieving?
AT: Because to someone not very perceptive, Macon’s manner of grieving doesn’t really look like grief.
Q: Is it simply inertia that prevents Macon from dealing with Edward’s misbehavior for so long? Why does he find the process of training Edward to be so difficult and painful?
AT: While I was writing this book, I wondered the same thing. I asked myself, Why do I seem to be going on and on about this ridiculous dog, who has nothing to do with the main plot? Then when Muriel asked Macon, “Do you want a dog who’s angry all the time?” (or words to that effect), I thought, Oh! Of course! That’s exactly what he wants! This dog is angry for him!
Q: Would you agree that Edward’s reactions to Muriel mirror Macon’s to some degree?
AT: Oh, I think Edward is way ahead of Macon in his reactions.
Q: What does Singleton Street represent for Macon?
AT: Otherness. The opposite of his own narrow self.
Q: Macon, like many characters in this novel, feels trapped by other people’s perceptions of him. Does Muriel see Macon as he truly is, or as someone he wants to be?
A Reader’s Guide
AT: Neither, really. She sees the person she herself wants him to be; but since she’s an accepting and non-judgmental type, who he really is turns out to be all right with her.
Q: Macon’s friends and family are mostly disapproving of “that Muriel person.” Is it simply a matter of class prejudice?
AT: Class for the most part; but also personality style. To a family so undemonstrative, Muriel would be a bit daunting.
Q: If not for Muriel’s persistence, would Macon have made a different choice?
AT: Yes, certainly. Muriel is a pretty powerful force.
Q: In The Accidental Tourist, you write of Macon: “He began to think that who you are when you’re with somebody may matter more than whether you love her.” Ultimately, does Macon love Muriel?
AT: I think he really does.
Q: Macon remembers finding a magazine quiz in which Sarah answered that she loved her spouse more than he loved her. How accuratewas her answer? Was Sarah correct in writing that she loved Macon more than he loved her?
AT: Her answer reflected her limited understanding of Macon, I believe, more than the true situation.
Q: Is Macon being honest when he tells Sarah that Muriel’s young son did not draw him to Muriel?
AT: I did mean that to be his honest answer. If anything, her son was a negative quality—at least in the beginning.
Q: This novel explores the vexed nature of romantic relationships. Do the couples that have formed over the course of this novel stand a chance?
AT: Yes, of course they do. These are flawed relationships—as all are—and they require compromise—as all do. But at least one member of each couple has found a way to make those compromises.
Q: The Learys are at once remarkable comic figures and deeply human characters. How difficult is it to achieve this delicate balance and neitherveer into parody nor a humorless character study?
AT: In early drafts, when I didn’t know the Learys all that well, I did veer over one or the other edge from time to time. But the most rewarding experience in writing a novel is the gradually