The Accidental Tourist
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 First edition cover | |
| Author | Anne Tyler |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Fred Marcellino[1] |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Knopf |
Publication date | August 12, 1985 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 355 |
| ISBN | 9780345452009 |
| OCLC | 12432313 |
| 813/.54 19 | |
| LC Class | PS3570.Y45 A64 1985 |
The Accidental Tourist is a 1985 novel by Anne Tyler that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 1985 and the Ambassador Book Award for Fiction in 1986. The novel was adapted into a 1988 award-winning film starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and Geena Davis, for which Davis won an Academy Award.
Set in Baltimore, Maryland, the plot revolves around Macon Leary, a writer of travel guides whose son has been killed in a shooting at a fast-food restaurant. He and his wife, Sarah, separately lost in grief, find their marriage disintegrating until she eventually moves out. When he becomes incapacitated due to a fall involving his disturbed dog and one of his crazy inventions, Macon returns to the family home to stay with his eccentric siblings, sister Rose and brothers Porter and Charles, whose odd habits include alphabetizing the groceries in the kitchen cabinets and ignoring the ringing telephone. When Macon's publisher, Julian, comes to visit, he finds himself attracted to Rose. They eventually marry, though Rose later moves back in with her brothers, followed months later by Julian, who becomes part of the family.
Macon hires Muriel Pritchett, an unusual woman in her own right, to train his unruly dog, and soon finds himself drifting into a relationship with her and her sickly son, Alexander. In stark contrast to Sarah, Muriel is brash, garrulous, unsophisticated, and fond of garish outfits; and in stark contrast to the relatively passive Macon, she is strong and assertive. Despite his resistance to a new commitment, Macon finds himself drawn towards Muriel, surprised by her perceptiveness, strength and optimism, and ability to listen. Increasingly attached to both Muriel and Alexander, he moves into their little house in a seedy part of town. Macon finds that he loves "the surprise of her, and also the surprise of himself when he was with her. In the foreign country that was Singleton Street he was an entirely different person." When Sarah learns of these developments, she decides she and Macon should reconcile, forcing him to come to a decision about their future.
