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A Patchwork Planet
A Patchwork Planet
Author: Anne Tyler
In this, her fourteenth novel--and one of her most endearing--Anne Tyler tells the story of a lovable loser who's trying to get his life in order. —         Barnaby Gaitlin has been in trouble ever since adolescence. He had this habit of breaking into other people's houses. It wasn't the big loot he was aft...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780375402562
ISBN-10: 037540256X
Publication Date: 4/14/1998
Pages: 287
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 59

3.8 stars, based on 59 ratings
Publisher: Knopf
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Anything by Anne Tyler is irresistible reading. One gets caught up in her elegant phrasing, so unusual with today's faster-paced style. Her heroes live on the edge of main stream America, caught up in daily struggles familiar to us all--often chaotic and character revealing. This novel is about 30-year-old misfit Barnaby Gaitlin, "a renegade who is actually a kind-hearted man struggling to find his place in the world."
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 128 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
There are times you may say to yourself "WHY am I reading this book?", but stick with it, it's excellent. Just getting to know this extraordinary, yet ordinary guy...from a rich, yet poor family, doing something so sweet he doesn't even realize it... but it all works out and then some.
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 166 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
The story of a lovable loser who's trying to get his life in order. I don't identify enough with lovable losers - especially men - and especially those who used to break into houses - to really feel pulled into this story. But I love Anne Tyler's writing and if anyone could make me care about a guy with a history like that, it would be her. And so I enjoyed it, and pulled for the guy to make it to a better place...
cay avatar reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 63 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Barnaby Gaitlin is just trying to get his life in order. But he has a habit of breaking into other people's houses so he can read their mail and gather one or two momentos. Anne Tyler has a knack for creating memorable,loveable, yet flawed characters and this book is no exception. I hope you like it as much as I do.
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 36 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Anne Tyler's 14th novel: Barnaby Gaitlin breaks into other people's houses. He likes to read their mail, pore over their photo albums, etc. Now he works for Rent-a-Back. This is a great book to read.
Read All 38 Book Reviews of "A Patchwork Planet"

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reviewed A Patchwork Planet on
An enjoyable read. Ann Tyler masterfully weaves believable, realistic characters, an unusual setting, and arouses the readers curiosity. I found it to be a captivating story that holds interest. Well done.
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 12 more book reviews
Anything by Anne Tyler is a treat. The hero of this novel is a young adult who, according to his parents and ex-wife has no goals and aspirations, but somehow manages to touch the lives of the elderly people who are his clients. One of my favorite fictional characters.
wantonvolunteer avatar reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 84 more book reviews
I've had this book a long time, I'm a fan of Anne Tyler and her silly word play, but I think I put off reading this as I don't like the title. The story is cute, Barnaby Gaitlin is the black sheep of his well to do family, he was a juvenile delinquent and is now underachieving in his mid-30s (living in somebody's basement and providing manual labor for a small operation called Rent A Back).

The phrase patchwork planet refers to an ugly quilt design created by a favorite client, it only comes up once and briefly and I don't really get why it's the title of the book. Maybe Barnaby's mind operates in a somewhat patchwork-y fashion? I love his snarky "Old Baltimore" family, and identify with his older, managerial girlfriend Sophia.
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 247 more book reviews
An interesting book taken from a man's viewpoint. It was an absorbing read.
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 205 more book reviews
very good
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 17 more book reviews
Wonderful characters and their relationships. Family conflicts and remaking meaningful connections, self-discovery and redemptions are the strengths of Anne Tyler that make me return again and again to enjoy her novels.
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on
Anne Tyler has written another winner!
jerslp avatar reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 7 more book reviews
This booke is funny and sweet and heartwarming as it tells to tale of an eccentric misfit who is a hero in small every day ways.
ruthviola avatar reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 3 more book reviews
It was an interesting story, kept my attention until the end, but very unsatisfying and often irritating.

I had trouble liking the protagonist all the way through. There were times I could feel sympathetic toward him, and other times when I was angry with him. And the ending was really loose. Do Barnaby and Sophia work out their differences? Do Barnaby and his mother finally get along?
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 6 more book reviews
Very fun for those dealing with moving elderly or running all their errands - very fun book.
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 132 more book reviews
Another captivating work by Anne Tyler. Seh does indeed have a way with words that made me keep reading even though I'd read it before.
reviewed A Patchwork Planet on + 275 more book reviews
Anne Tyler books are a treat and this one is no exception.


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