Earthly Possessions (by Anne Tyler)

(Amazon UK link)

Charlotte - who narrates the book 'Earthly Possessions' - is planning to leave her husband. As the book opens, she goes to the bank to get some money and becomes involved in a hold-up. The armed robber, whose name is Jake, takes Charlotte as a hostage and escapes.

It's a dramatic start to a novel which then proceeds to a fairly typical Anne Tyler story. In other words it's very much a character-based plot in which reality is slightly suspended... and yet because she writes so well, it all seems believable at the time.

Jake manages to steal a car and he and Charlotte set off for Florida. Charlotte gradually gets to know Jake as they travel, and as readers we get to know Charlotte, since alternate chapters take us back to her past. She reflects on her life from her childhood up to her marriage, and then gives some glimpses into her married life, eventually revealing the reasons why she was going to leave her husband at the start of the book.

As is usual with this author, most of the characters are somewhat eccentric and also slightly caricatured. But slowly, cleverly, their motivations are revealed and appear to be entirely reasonable. I found myself developing sympathy for them all, even including Jake. It's easy to judge a bank-robber and hostage-taker as being a terrible criminal, but Jake is obviously quite human, and - in his own way - a moral person who does what he thinks is right. What justification could there possibly be for robbing a bank? This does actually become clear towards the end of the novel.

But the book is really about Charlotte. Her life has been fairly traumatic, although she's quite a cheerful person who copes remarkably well with her enforced captivity by Jake. As I read the flashbacks to her childhood, I found myself relating to some of her childish wonderings, and sympathising with others, even though her circumstances were far removed from mine. She always felt the odd one out for many reasons, but then perhaps we all do to some extent.

Later chapters tell us about how she became involved with her husband, and why she married him. We see both sides of the marriage, albeit described from Charlotte's point of view. But even through her eyes, her husband's opinion becomes clear too. Perhaps they should never have got married, and yet there was little else for Charlotte. I never did decide if she was better off with him, but her narrative raised some interesting questions about the lot of many women in similar situations.

I find Anne Tyler at her best in this kind of novel, basically just two people in a car talking and remembering. The plot - such as it is - is a vehicle (so to speak!) for character-development. The stories and flashbacks are interspersed with stops for food and petrol, coping with car problems, wondering if the police are going to catch up with them. Just the right amount to hold our interest and remind us of the unlikely scenario in which the book is set. But Charlotte - after the initial shock - is surprisingly unworried about what will happen to her. After a brief concern with her children, she throws herself into dealing with the present and future while pondering her past.

Anne Tyler's novels are full of cleverly-written observations about people. She's not at all politically correct; instead she describes things as they are, usually through the words and thoughts of her characters. It's not exactly a relaxing book: she doesn't write with the 'feel-good' approach of family saga novels, and despite the lack of plot it's quite fast-paced in style. I often find I enjoy Tyler's novels more the second time around when I can take them more slowly and appreciate the writing, so I shall almost certainly read this again in a few years.

Recommended to anyone who likes this kind of book.