If Morning Ever Comes [Paperback]

Anne Tyler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2007

Ben Joe is at college studying law when he gets a letter from his family saying one of his six sisters, Joanne, has returned home having left her husband, bringing her baby with her. Ben Joe goes home, and when he returns he remembers the past, the death of his father, his first girlfriend. He visits his father's girlfriend and then his own ex-girlfriend, Shelley. Shelley now has a boyfriend, John, but they see each other anyway, and in the interim, Joanne starts seeing John, until her husband turns up to take her home. Ben Joe asks Shelley to go back with him and marry him, so once everyone has got back to the way they were, he heads off to college again, with Shelley.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"A triumph."

HARPERS

Ben Joe Hawkes is a worrier. Raised by his mother, grandmother, and a flock of busy sisters, he's always felt the outsider. When he learns that one of his sisters has left her husband, he heads for home and back into the confusion of childhood memories and unforseen love.... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her 11th novel Breathing Lessons, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and her latest novel Digging to America was nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 187 pages
• Publisher: Vintage/Ebury (a Division of Random (July 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099539101
• ISBN-13: 978-0099539100
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is her 17th novel. Her 11th, Breathing Lessons, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. A member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, she lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, April 8, 2004

By 

BeachReader (Delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Morning Ever Comes (Hardcover)

It is hard to believe that Anne Tyler wrote this book, her first, when she was only 22 years old. To have such perception, such vision, such maturity, and such knowledge of the intricacies of family life is something I would expect of a writer twice that age.

This is also, I believe, her only novel set in the south, where Tyler was brought up. In a rare interview, she has said that she considers herself a Southerner. She certainly paints a good picture of a typical extended southern family! And this family has all the quirks and curious behaviors that have become Tyler's hallmark over the years.

Poor BenJoe...he is so confused, having taken the path of least resistance by going to law school in New York City, a totally foreign element to this small-town boy. He uses the slightest excuse to rush back home where he gets into everyone's business in a few short days, even though the houseful of women (mother, grandmother, five sisters, and a niece) clearly was doing just fine without him. Tyler makes us like him. She writes from his point of view and gets it letter-perfect.

This book is about much more than a small-town extended southern family - it is about birth and death, living and dying, and the unbreakable bonds of family.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars strangely affecting book, May 25, 2004

By 

Library Lady (Knoxville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Morning Ever Comes: A Novel (Paperback)

I don't know why I picked up this book; I suppose it was because it's set in the past and most of my selections are present day. Almost in spite of myself, I found myself becoming engrossed in the lives of the Hawkes family, of Ben Joe and his sisters, his looney-tunes Grandma, and his reserved but strong-willed mother. It paints an exquisite picture of small-town Southern America in the early 60's. There's a lot more going on in Ben Joe's head than ever really happens in the book. It's a lot about what people let you see and what people try to hide. I enjoyed it. It makes me want to read more Tyler.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: If Morning Ever Comes: A Novel (Paperback)

It is a really great book! The novel is a fairly quick read if you are looking for an interesting story about family life and relationships. It is written by a woman author, telling the stories of eight women in one household through the perspective of a male. I would recommend reading it!