The Accidental Tourist Audiobook By Anne Tyler cover art

The Accidental Tourist

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Accidental Tourist

By: Anne Tyler
Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

In this irresistible novel, Anne Tyler explores the slippery alchemy of attracting opposites, and the struggle to rebuild one’s life after unspeakable tragedy.

Travel writer Macon Leary hates travel, adventure, surprises, and anything outside of his routine. Immobilized by grief, Macon is becoming increasingly prickly and alone, anchored by his solitude and an unwillingness to compromise his creature comforts. Then he meets Muriel, an eccentric dog trainer too optimistic to let Macon disappear into himself. Despite Macon’s best efforts to remain insulated, Muriel upends his solitary, systemized life, catapulting him into the center of a messy, beautiful love story he never imagined.

A fresh and timeless tale of unexpected bliss, The Accidental Tourist showcases Tyler’s talents for making characters - and their relationships - feel both real and magical.

©1985 Anne Tyler (P)2021 Recorded Books
Family Life Literary Fiction Psychological Fiction
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Accidental Tourist

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    116
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    106
  • 4 Stars
    34
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    96
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Time capsule

I remember 1985 as feeling very modern. This book has helped me realize just how old fashioned the mores of that day were. The story is quirky and the characters are fluky. The best use of this book is to teach a child what the outskirts of the 80’x felt like.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Jefferson Mays is elite

Mays could read a dishwasher manual seem timeless and wondrous.

This novel started a bit slowly for me but as the characters grew in unexpected ways, so did the plots.

A contemplative walk thru the meaning of love, marriage, family, work, and life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

It builds like a beautiful rolling snowball...

...with an ending that floats out of the book into your soft tissue. Much better than the hype, definitely more subtle too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

As Good or Better than the Film

This was a joy to listen to! I was afraid the film would have ruined it for me, but the book just added more texture.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Always Great!

I have read and re-read this book over the years and I love it every time. Funny, sad, romantic, what more could you want? I don’t love all her books but this one is a gem.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of Her Top Two Books

I have all Tyler's books in my library and only a few left to listen to. This one and Breathing Lessons are my favorites. The Accidental Tourist has a more definable plot line than most of Tyler's books which is probably why it was the one chosen to be made into a movie. I didn't care for the movie because I am not a fan of sulky Malkovich but I now see how he embodied the character. I didn't want to remember him in the role (virtually impossible) however because I would have preferred to let Anne paint him for me solo. The book wasn't gloomy like the movie with Malkovich.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Seems to lose narrative drive as it goes on.

The movie was actually better. The book is too long and loses focus toward the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite

Not my usual genre and did not really hit mark for me. Won’t be recommending but I do understand why some people would like it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

decent story telling but weird

All the characters are very bizarre and flumbling through life in a really unrelatable way. I found most of them annoying and had a hard time listening. Had I had another option at the time I wouldn't have. I would have thought a man wrote it for as annoying as the female characters were.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpected

This book was an unexpected delight. The story follows a well used pattern but somehow makes it feel new.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!