Description
On New Year’s Eve, Barnaby Gaitlin—an outsider in a prominent Baltimore family—begins a yearlong reckoning with the shame of his past, including a criminal record and a failed marriage. Narrating in his own steady, wry voice, he finds unexpected purpose through his work with Rent-a-Back, where he helps elderly and ill neighbors keep their independence, one ordinary task at a time. As the calendar turns from holiday to holiday, Barnaby’s carefully guarded sense of identity is tested by the quiet needs, small kindnesses, and intimate connections he can’t help but form. With Anne Tyler’s signature blend of submerged plotting and humane insight, this novel explores love, grace, and the idea that a life—like a patchwork quilt—is made beautiful by its imperfections rather than its social perfection.
Available Editions
paperback
Ballantine Books
Published Mar 1, 1999
309 pages
ISBN: 9780804119160
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Details
First Published
1998
Language
eng
Content Warnings
No content warnings identified.