Discussion date: February 13, 2006

What we thought:

We had a good discussion about the somewhat-wacky characters in “Breathing Lessons,” but when it came down to a rating, most people didn't give it over 2.5 stars.

We did agree that Ira and Maggie had evolved a marriage that worked for them, and we were often amused and entertained by their interactions. But many of us found the story of their family rather sad or depressing, felt Anne Tyler had written some much better books, and we just couldn’t stay involved with the characters. There was one strong dissenter, though, who loved the book, said she laughed all the way through it, and gave it 5 stars!

Reading Group Guide