Anne Tyler’s Saint Maybe

Well, what a pleasant break from the bohemia. Sometimes, there are times when you read too much literature that is way too offbeat, that there seems some convention in being unconventional. It was probably in those times that I opened the first page of this novel “Saint Maybe”. This one is a pretty straight forward novel which can keep you occupied for say three days. The prose and the print were making reading very enjoyable. It was what I call a breezy read. Before long, you see that all the characters, of which there aren’t, many, sink into you. It is one of those few novels which glorifies that ubiquitous institution called family. There are no high-tech plots. No body is trying to save the world here. The stakes are few. The whole drama unfolds and blossoms in the microcosm of a simple ordinary family. It is great that I happen to read this novel while spending my Christmas vacation back with my family in Chennai. Cos’ that’s what it is: a highly christmasy novel. Don’t ask me what ‘chrismasy’. You probably know about it: family, church, friends and the glorification of the bourgeoisie. Nevertheless, it was certainly very warm to go through this novel.