A Patchwork Planet

By: Anne Tyler

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Barnaby Gaitlin was never a bad kid, but he was certainly doing his best to impersonate one. As a teenager, he developed a habit of breaking into other people’s houses. But he wasn’t interested in the valuable loot - he just liked to read people’s mail, peruse their family albums, and maybe pocket a few personal mementos. Now almost 30 and divorced, he finds himself working for Rent-aBack, which helps the elderly and infirm move furniture or take down their Christmas trees. It’s the perfect career for Barnaby: With each job, he’s able to steal a glimpse into a customer’s house and life.

Then Barnaby meets Sophia. Her inherent, unshakeable goodness is totally foreign to him - and irresistible. With small moments of growth, Barnaby struggles to become the good man he hopes to be, finding that life rarely happens all at once but rather builds over time, patch by patch.

©2010 Anne Tyler (P)2021 Recorded Books Inc.

Such great insight into family dynamics and why “black sheep” struggle

Anne Tyler is masterful at building multifaceted characters. I think Barnaby Gatelin might be my favorite.

Such a Great Book

I read this at exactly the right time in my life. Every part of it resonated. I love the compassion and the intimate insight into the lives of all people, but especially those who are dying.

A aPatchwork Planet

I loved the characters and relationships. I liked the subtle arc of the characters. The plot was slow in developing.

details

such deep insight into characters and rich details. The reader was excellent also. loved it

Powerful life lessons

Excellent narration and a masterful delivery of dialogue.
After revisiting Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, The Accidental Tourist and Celestial Navigation, it was refreshing to follow a man who wasn’t as emotionally stunted, for all of his obvious flaws and arrested development. As with the other books, I enjoyed Tyler’s surprisingly detailed insights into behavior and familial suffocation, with the emphasis on how we confine ourselves in a community’s notion of who we are.
I related strongly to the main character’s dependency on positive opinions to give him purpose, as well as to the way unwise relationship choices provide valuable insights into self discovery.