A Patchwork Planet

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Penguin Canada, 1999 - Fiction - 287 pages

Barnaby Gaitlin spent most of his teen years in trouble, thanks to his habit of breaking into other people's houses. But for 11 years now, he's been working steadily for Rent-a-Back, helping old folks and shut-ins who can't move their own porch furniture or bring the Christmas tree down from the attic. He's worked hard to put his life on an even keel, but his family can't forgive him for past mistakes, and his ex-wife would just as soon he didn't ever show up to visit their little girl. Even the nice, steady woman (his guardian angel?) who appears to have designs on him doesn't fully trust him, it seems. So whom can he turn to when his world begins to fall apart again?

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About the author (1999)

Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 25, 1941. She graduated from Duke University at the age of 19 and completed graduate work in Russian studies at Columbia University. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a librarian and bibliographer. Her first novel, If Morning Ever Comes, was published in 1964. Her other works include Saint Maybe, Back When We Were Grownups, Digging to America, Noah's Compass, The Beginner's Goodbye, A Spool of Blue Thread, and Vinegar Girl. She has won several awards including the PEN Faulkner Award in 1983 for Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, the 1985 National Book Critics Circle Award for The Accidental Tourist, and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Breathing Lessons. The Accidental Tourist was adapted into a 1988 movie starring William Hurt and Geena Davis. In 2018 her title, Clock Dance, made the bestsellers list.

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