If Morning Ever Comes

Tyler's first published novel is full of wonderful details that will make you see exactly what she wants you to see.

Is there a better author alive today? I can't think of one. You can go look at the back cover and it'll seem so simple. But it's not. It never is. Anne Tyler is a phenomenally talented observer who makes you observe exactly what she does. Her writing is life. She's also so adept with language that you hardly notice. Readers all over the world probably think, "If I were a writer, this is what I'd want to write." Hey, I think that myself, and I've got five published titles to my name. She is that good. And while she'll never be on anybody's list of humorists, she makes me laugh at our foibles better than any "comic" ever will. And to think this was the first of her books to ever be published, long before she won the Pulitzer and long before she had 15 titles to her credit. Most of the others are on my shelf unread, so you already know who I'll be reviewing next week.

It is hard to believe that Anne Tyler wrote this book, her first, when she was only 22 years old. To have such perception, such vision, such maturity, and such knowledge of the intricacies of family life is something I would expect of a writer twice that age.This is also, I believe, her only novel set in the south, where Tyler was brought up. In a rare interview, she has said that she considers herself a Southerner. She certainly paints a good picture of a typical extended southern family! And this family has all the quirks and curious behaviors that have become Tyler's hallmark over the years.Poor BenJoe...he is so confused, having taken the path of least resistance by going to law school in New York City, a totally foreign element to this small-town boy. He uses the slightest excuse to rush back home where he gets into everyone's business in a few short days, even though the houseful of women (mother, grandmother, five sisters, and a niece) clearly was doing just fine without him. Tyler makes us like him. She writes from his point of view and gets it letter-perfect.This book is about much more than a small-town extended southern family - it is about birth and death, living and dying, and the unbreakable bonds of family.

Ben Joe Hawkes has been surrounded by women his entire life. With his grandmother, mother,and all his sisters he has always felt like an outsider his life, plus he's a worrier. Ben Joe has come home after law school and surprisingly enough, this crazy visit to his childhood home send Ben Joe into an exhilarating battle with his own heart-where unforeseen love demands his surrender...Only a rarely talented novelist could have written this fine book! It's funny, serious, touching, zany, delightful, revealing and more!

If you understand that all the action and thought in the novel is through the main male character than you can understand the point of the novel better. Ben Joe feels responsible for the women in his life. He wants to take care of them, but he doesn't realize that they all are very strong and in control of their own destinies. Sometimes they are even in control of his. Once again Tyler is able to get us into the head of her character and what a foggy place that can be!