Noah's Compass

As exquisitely observed and quietly brilliant as the rest of Tyler’s fiction * Guardian *
Anne Tyler draws a comedy that is not so much brilliant as luminous - its observant sharpness sweetened by a generous understanding of human fallibility * Daily Telegraph *
Noah’s Compass is immensely readable. It displays many of Tyler’s finest qualities: her sharp observation of humanity, her wry comedy; the luminous accuracy of her descriptions… a novel by Anne Tyler is cause for celebration * Sunday Telegraph *
Anne Tyler is a novelist who has elevated pitch-perfect observation of everyday detail into an art form… a beautifully subtle book, an elegant contemplation of what it means to be happy and the consequences of a defensive withdrawal from other people * Observer *
One of my favourite authors, one of the very few I rush out to buy in hardback. * Mail on Sunday *
A brilliant writer… Funny, wise, tragic. * Independent *
Tyler brings a scorching wisdom, an understanding of what breaks the human spirit, and the ways in which people try to paper the cracks…Limpidly, singingly written, with dialogue to break a scriptwriter’s heart * The Sunday Herald *
Prose is as bright and pretty as in her best work. The dialogue crackles and there are insightful observations about the way families create stories to explain themselves * The Times *
Her novels have a grace and an emotional depth that few romances can match * Sunday Times *
Compassionate and funny dissection of the workings of the human heart * Woman & Home *

Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her bestselling novels include Breathing Lessons, The Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Ladder of Years, Back When We Were Grown-ups, Digging to America, A Spool of Blue Thread, Clock Dance, Redhead by the Side of the Road and French Braid. In 1989 she won the Pulitzer Prize; in 1994 she was nominated by Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby as ‘the greatest novelist writing in English’; and in 2012 she received the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence. In 2015 A Spool of Blue Thread was shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Booker Prize; and in 2020 Redhead by the Side of the Road was longlisted for the Booker Prize.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.