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The Amateur Marriage

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About this listen

Michael and Pauline seemed like the perfect couple - young, good-looking, made for each other. The moment she walked into his mother's grocery store in the Polish neighbourhood of Baltimore, he was smitten. And in the heat of World War II fervour, they were hastily wed. But they never should have married. Pauline, impulsive and impractical, tumbles hit-or-miss through life; Michael, plodding, cautious, and judgemental, proceeds deliberately. In time their foolish quarrels take their toll. A 17-year-old daughter disappears, and some years later this fractious pair is forced to rescue her little boy, named Pagan, from drug-infested San Francisco, to take him home and raise him.

From the sound of the cash register in the old grocery to the counterculture jargon of the sixties, from the miniskirts to the multilayered apparel of later years, Anne Tyler captures the evocative nuances of everyday life during these decades with such telling precision that every page brings smiles of recognition. Throughout, as each of the competing voices bears witness, we are drawn ever more deeply into the complex entanglements of family life in this marvellous, multifaceted novel - one of Anne Tyler's finest.

 Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Romance

Critic reviews

A brilliant writer…funny, tragic, wise (Lynne Truss)
Anne Tyler is a formidably skilful story-teller, with every narrative trick at her effortless command
Tyler's compelling, moving and often amusing tale is the story of any marriage - every page brings a smile of recognition to the reader
The meanings of this beautifully written novel reach far wider than Baltimore. I shed a tear as I finished the Antons' story
Tyler is an exquisite chronicler of the everyday
[An] astonishingly perceptive and near-perfect novel… If you are looking for a thoughtful, intelligent, page-turning read that centres on family life, provides a good dose of tragedy tempered by comedy…then The Amateur Marriage should fit the bill perfectly.
A woundingly truthful but hugely compassionate portrait (Fanny Blake)
A brilliant writer...funny, tragic, wise (Lynne Truss)
A warm, compelling read - and another brilliant showcase for Tyler's talent for taking a common experience and lifting it out of the ordinary
The meanings of this beautifully written novel reach far wider than Baltimore. I shed a tear as I finished the Antons' story (Paul Barker)
All stars
Most relevant
Loved Amateur Marriage, Anne Tyler’s characters and story’s are wonderful. I have read many of her books and just now have started listening to other tittles - such a treat to enjoy!

Anne Tyler is a great story teller

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The usual bunch of narcissistic characters are in there, making the reader both love and loath them. This Anne Tyler title took me longer to get into than they usually do, but I was hooked by the end. Brilliant narration too!

Took me longer to get into this Anne Tyler title than usual

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A beautiful meandering journey through family life, I read this several years ago and it’s probably my favourite of her books. Just wonderful storytelling

Tyler perfection for me

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Must be my favourite read. Thoroughly enjoyed the story as well as the narration. So relevant in many ways.

Wonderful

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Perhaps this is a book that had to be written, but I found it much less engaging and enjoyable and the author's other books. The characters are (almost) all struggling with trauma, and I found many of them dislikable, with this being intentional. The book could be seen is a warning how not to live rather than a story. Maybe on rereading i might notice something more, but I doubt I will because it's so sad.

a difficult book about dark places in family life

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