More from the 2012 releases department: On April 3, Knopf will publish Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Tyler‘s 19th novel. The Beginner’s Goodbye is the story of Aaron, a man who loses his wife suddenly when a tree falls on their house.
Aaron and Dorothy’s marriage had been affectionate but not particularly passionate, yet once she is gone he finds himself surprisingly adrift—and continues to see his dead wife everywhere he goes. Can he figure out a way to say goodbye?
Tyler, who lives in Baltimore (where many of her novels are set), has been publishing polished novels for the past 40 years—and is the rare novelist who will not be interviewed in person or on the phone. “I’m too shy for personal appearances, and I’ve found out that anytime I talk about my writing, I can’t do any writing for many weeks afterward,” she told us via email, when she spoke to Alden Mudge about her 2004 release, An Amateur Marriage. As he put it, “Tyler actually seems to want her novels—her avowedly non-autobiographical novels—to speak for themselves.”
Will you look for The Beginner’s Goodbye this spring?
I did not know Ann Tyler had a new book coming out until I heard it from you! Thank you. I have read every single one of her books and will read this one as soon as it becomes available.
ABSOLUTELY. She is one of my favorite authors and have read everyone of her books and some of them twice.
Great, a new one from Anne. What would I do without the info I get from this wonderful blog. I would definitely be lost in the shuffle!
Thanks for the heads up! Big Anne Tyler fan, have always admired her. BookPage tweets are AAA grade when it comes to new releases–keep ‘em coming.
Glad to hear we have so many Anne Tyler fans in the house! We love her too.
p.s. We’ll definitely keep the posts and tweets coming. Sharing book news with readers is the best.
I absolutely adore every book I have acquired and I am constantly hoping for a new one. She is talented, warm, eccentric, and has a love of people no matter what or who they are. I think that is what began to draw me to her–we all need to see others no matter how quirky they are and love them for who and what they are and she does that. I feel gifted to have been able to read each and every one of her books.
I have every book Anne Tyler has written and have read them each at least once and some twice or more. Her characters are wonderful with all of their quirks and flaws. I always hate finishing her latest book because I know I’ll have to wait so long for her next one.
Isn’t that a wonderful feeling, though? To be so invested in a novel that you hate to say goodbye to the characters…