The Beginner's Goodbye

I wanted to like Anne Tyler's latest, "The Beginner's Goodbye," and I did, but there were things I didn't like at all. I didn't like the fact that the main character, a man in his 30's, acts and sounds like a dude much much older. I also didn't like how this ghost of his wife seems to communicate with him but it is very dissatisfying for the reader. The writing is really good and it is a smallish book which took me less than 4 days to read. I am and have always been a slow reader and usually fall asleep after only a few chapters. Overall I cannot recommend this book to anyone except maybe my friend, Susan who lost her husband. It does address grief and what the grieving are going through while the rest of us make insipid comments to them because we cannot help ourselves because we are not grieving.  (Review by Jamie)