Morgan's Passing

By: Anne Tyler

Narrated by: Nathan Osgood

In this modern classic, a man unhappy with his life and armed with a box of costumes seeks escape and reprieve by assuming fake identities.

Morgan Gower is bored of the tedium of his ordinary life: of his job as manager of a run-down hardware store; of his wife; of his "industriously dull" daughters; of his mother; of his sister. But Morgan's secret escape lies in a box filled with costumes, filled with everything from a fake beard to Napoleon's tricorne to Daniel Boone, all of which provide an outlet away from his life and into the identity of someone who is assuredly not Morgan Gower.

When Morgan meets newlywed puppeteers Leone Meredith and his heavily pregnant wife, Emily, he is riveted by them and by their life. When Emily goes into labor in the middle of a show, Morgan fakes his identity as a real doctor and delivers Emily's child. As time passes, what should have been a fleeting acquaintance turns into an obsession, with Morgan orchestrating reasons to run into the Merediths, spying on them, trying to befriend them, and, eventually, falling in love with Emily.

With a combination of mockery and insight, Anne Tyler tells a story that is all too human and all too familiar. With Morgan's Passing, she reveals our struggle with identity: the pretense, the untold stories of our lives, who we might have been, and whom we want to be.

©1980 Anne Tyler Modarressi (P)2020 Recorded Books

Outstanding

Nathan Osgood is such a great choice to read Anne Tyler books with a male as central character! Loved this audio version as much as I love the traditional text of this book.

Long and Weird

This story was so long and the characters were unlikable and odd. Seriously, skip this one.

Ann Tyler is what we had for generational trauma therapy before TikTok

When I was a freshman in college and taking my first literature class, a very wisened professor added Saint Maybe to the syllabus. It was my first introduction to Ann Tyler, and it changed the way that I viewed family relationships. It took the edge off somehow. Every book I find of her hidden amongst the 1980’s releases brings me to the same conclusion. We are all human. Our parents are flawed and so are we. Life is short and it’s beautiful and it’s awful. She somehow encapsulates this in the mundane. So grateful for her work.

Nothing good to say

I’ve read many of the author’s books. After this one I’ll be cautious, even hesitant.