Synopsis of the Novel
At the center of every family lie problems. When it comes to the Tull family of Baltimore, Maryland, the problems appear to all derive from the matriarch of the family, Pearl Tull, as well as the patriarch of the family, Beck Tull. Anne Tyler’s novel, Dinner at the Homesick Ranch, tells the story of a woman’s struggle to raise three children on her own after being deserted by her husband. Throughout the course of the novel, the author portrays how the unstable mindset of the mother, Pear Tull, and the abandonment of the father, Beck Tull, forever affects of the lives of their children, Cody, Ezra, and Jenny. The novel opens with Pearl Tull dying and recalling a memory of her past. This recollection sets the tone for the novel, spawning each member of the family to travel back to their past and deal with their emotional and mental issues. The underlying message of the story, behind all the family dysfunction and denial, is that it is necessary to accept that of which cannot change and move on with your life. Cody, Ezra, and Jenny have to come to terms with this message if they hope to live the rest of their lives happily.