Aug 21, 2008

The Accidental Tourist | Characters

The same eccentric, quirky characters that appear in all Anne Tyler's works also appear in The Accidental Tourist. From Macon Leary's sister, Rose, who alphabetizes her kitchen, placing allspice next to ant poison, to Muriel Pritchett, who faces down robbers and Dobermans in her stiletto heels and shiny eye shadow, the novel is filled with memorable, endearing characters. Even Edward, the dog, has a distinctive personality as he reacts to disruption in his life with the anger and violence Macon would never consider.

Macon Leary is like his logo, a winged armchair, in that he...