Noah’s Compass: A Novel by Ann Tyler

This is my first book of this author. I found it online and decided to see what it was like.

This is a story of an ordinary man and his ordinary life. It begins with the central character, a 60 year old man, moving home after being made redundant. He goes to bed and wakes up in the hospital. The story evolves from this incident as the man cannot remember what happened and also needs some care from his family. The character of the man unfolds as his relationship with his daughters and ex-wife are revealed by the author in the support provided by them.

The man appears to be resigned to being a mediocre person who has never achieved his potential. There is also a hand of his parents in shaping him as his father left them for another woman. He cannot understand why and seems not to even as an adult. The loss of memory irks him and wanting to find out how to get back his memory becomes important. This focus on getting memory soon shifts to a young woman who has been employed by someone to help remember things in life. The daughters have a life around him and it appears he has little clue as to what they are about. This then appears to be the time when he reflects on his life and its achievements as well as his relationships with his family. The story while slow and meandering around this man’s life is gripping enough for you to what to know how it all ends. Will he mend his relationships? Will he find love and live happily ever after? Or will he be resigned to lonely life?

While one gets the picture of this man who is pessimist and maybe without hope as to what he wants from life, things do turn out well for him even if it is not in the way that one thinks it would end. There is a compromise with satisfaction and maybe that’s what the story teaches us – life is bout compromising and making the best of what you have. ‘If life gives you lemons, make lemonade’!