Saint Maybe
By Anne Tyler
Published 1991
Read June 2026
This reader adores Anne Tyler. Anytime this reader needs a reliably durable book about universal themes, she seeks out an Anne Tyler book. This one, as has been the case for several other Anne Tyler books, was found by this reader in a Little Library.
Ian Bedloe is the youngest child of three, coming along as a surprise bonus baby. The Bedloe family has enjoyed years of stability and has created traditions for various holidays that root them but don’t seem to strangle them. Things begin changing when Ian’s older brother, Danny, brings home a woman, Lucy, and announces he will be marrying. She isn’t from the area and seems a little older than Danny. A couple of troubling aspects for the family are the very short time between meeting and marrying (mere weeks) and the presence of two children from a previous marriage, but the marriage moves forward. Ian is pressed into babysitting the children which he usually enjoys but he begins to wonder what Lucy does while he is babysitting and he begins to think she is having an affair. He also figures out that Lucy was pregnant when she married his brother as the calendar doesn’t work out that Danny could possibly be the father. One fateful night Ian’s mother promises Lucy that Ian will babysit despite Ian’s plans otherwise. Lucy doesn’t come home at the promised time and when Danny arrives home, Ian spits out his concerns about Lucy in anger. Danny proceeds to commit suicide. Shortly thereafter Lucy dies of a sleeping pill overdose. Ian’s parents take care of the children while they try to contact the father of the two (known) non-blood children. Ian receives some spiritual guidance from the pastor of a small local church, with which he becomes a member, and he quits college to help his ailing parents and take care of the children. The birth father is never found. Ian becomes a loving father, his apprenticeship with a carpenter enables him to provide for the family, and he abandons his desire for a different life. The book continues with what happens as the children grow up and launch, or not, into lives beyond the family nest.
So the book adeptly considers the questions of moral responsibility, family obligation, self-sacrifice, dreams deferred, and more. The characters are well developed and believable. We understand Lucy’s actions but aren’t asked to condone them. We understand Ian’s action but aren’t asked to condemn him for Danny’s death nor congratulate him for the actions he takes later. Tyler just lays out the paths the various members of this family take and leaves to the reader to make any judgements. This approach actually challenges the reader to be careful about making any judgement as some paths that one takes are sometimes driven by actions outside of ourselves.
Kudos as usual to Anne Tyler for telling a complicated story in a simple but powerful way. Once again. This reader will continue to read Anne Tyler novels to experience her remarkable gift.
MarshaReads.com 