From Powells.com
Staff Pick
Tyler's story of three generations of the Whitshank family has all the typical hallmarks for which she is so well known. There is family drama and dysfunction and sorrow aplenty, but Tyler also has an amazing way of exposing family in all its ugly and beautiful glory. These characters love each other, except when they don't, and every interaction is crackling with Tyler's quirky and unassuming wit. Full of layered, whole characters, A Spool of Blue Thread shows how lives intersect — very rarely neatly — and how that mess gives meaning to every human connection. Tyler is a master of her craft — this being her 20th novel — and she is a treasure to read. You will recognize your own family (and yourself) in these pages, and cry, laugh, and cringe accordingly. So lovely! Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Anne Tyler’s 20th novel is the story of the Whitshank family, of how Abby and Red met and fell in love, and of their four children. Like many of Tyler’s books, it is a family drama, but one that is resonant with laughter, empathy, and the peculiar quirks that make each of us unique. Recommended By Mary Jo S., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE | NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PEOPLE AND USA TODAY | NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • NPR • Chicago Tribune • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • The Telegraph • BookPage
“It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon. . . . ” This is how Abby Whitshank always describes the day she fell in love with Red in July 1959. The Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate an indefinable kind of specialness, but like all families, their stories reveal only part of the picture: Abby and Red and their four grown children have accumulated not only tender moments, laughter, and celebrations, but also jealousies, disappointments, and carefully guarded secrets. From Red’s parents, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to the grandchildren carrying the Whitshank legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century, here are four generations of lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn house that has always been their anchor.
Review
"Prose so polished it practically glows on the page." Houston Chronicle
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"The magic of Tyler’s novels [is that] you imagine these characters carrying on, muddling through, enduring the necessary sorrows and quiet joys of their lives somewhere beyond the page." The Seattle Times
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"Exploring [the] dichotomy—the imperfections that reside within a polished exterior—is Tyler’s specialty, and her latest generation-spanning work accomplishes just that, masterfully and monumentally." Elle
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"Well-crafted, utterly absorbing and compelling...probably the best novel you will read all year." Chicago Tribune
Review
"Quintessential Anne Tyler, as well as quintessential American comedy...[She] has a knack for turning sitcom situations into something far deeper and more moving." The New York Times Book Review
Review
"By the end of this deeply beguiling novel, we come to know a reality entirely different from the one at the start." O: The Oprah Magazine
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"By my count I’ve now reviewed around fifty books for USA Today. I’ve never given any of them four stars until today: to A Spool of Blue Thread, the masterful twentieth novel by Anne Tyler." USA Today
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"An act of literary enchantment . . . [Anne] Tyler remains among the best chroniclers of family life this country has ever produced." The Washington Post
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE - NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PEOPLE AND USA TODAY - NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post - NPR - Chicago Tribune - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - The Telegraph - BookPage
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"It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon. . . . " This is how Abby Whitshank always describes the day she fell in love with Red in July 1959. The Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate an indefinable kind of specialness, but like all families, their stories reveal only part of the picture: Abby and Red and their four grown children have accumulated not only tender moments, laughter, and celebrations, but also jealousies, disappointments, and carefully guarded secrets. From Red's parents, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to the grandchildren carrying the Whitshank legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century, here are four generations of lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn house that has always been their anchor.
Praise for A Spool of Blue Thread
"An act of literary enchantment . . . Anne] Tyler remains among the best chroniclers of family life this country has ever produced."--The Washington Post
"Quintessential Anne Tyler, as well as quintessential American comedy . . . She] has a knack for turning sitcom situations into something far deeper and more moving."--The New York Times Book Review
"By my count I've now reviewed around fifty books for USA Today. I've never given any of them four stars until today: to A Spool of Blue Thread, the masterful twentieth novel by Anne Tyler."--USA Today
"By the end of this deeply beguiling novel, we come to know a reality entirely different from the one at the start."--O: The Oprah Magazine
"Well-crafted, utterly absorbing and compelling . . . probably the best novel you will read all year."--Chicago Tribune
"A miracle of sorts . . . tender, touching and funny . . . an] understated masterpiece."--Associated Press
"Exploring the] dichotomy--the imperfections that reside within a polished exterior--is Tyler's specialty, and her latest generation-spanning work accomplishes just that, masterfully and monumentally."--Elle
"The story of any family is told through the prism of time. And no storyteller compares to Tyler when it comes to unspooling those tales."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Vintage Anne Tyler . . . The Whitshanks are] rendered with such immediacy and texture that they might be our next-door neighbors."--Los Angeles Times
"The magic of Tyler's novels is that] you imagine these characters carrying on, muddling through, enduring the necessary sorrows and quiet joys of their lives somewhere beyond the page."--The Seattle Times
"The sort of novel that's hard to disentangle yourself from. Warm, charming and emotionally radiant, it surely must be counted as among Tyler's best."--The Miami Herald
"Prose so polished it practically glows on the page."--Houston Chronicle
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
"It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon. . . . " This is how Abby Whitshank always describes the day she fell in love with Red in July 1959. The Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate an indefinable kind of specialness, but like all families, their stories reveal only part of the picture: Abby and Red and their four grown children have accumulated not only tender moments, laughter, and celebrations, but also jealousies, disappointments, and carefully guarded secrets. From Red's parents, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to the grandchildren carrying the Whitshank legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century, here are four generations of lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn house that has always been their anchor.
NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PEOPLE AND USA TODAY - NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post - NPR - Chicago Tribune - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - The Telegraph - BookPage
Synopsis
SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE - NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The story of four generations of lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn house that has always been the Whitshank family's anchor.
It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon ..." This is how Abby Whitshank always describes the day she fell in love with Red in July 1959.
From Red's parents, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to the grandchildren carrying the Whitshank legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century, the Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate an indefinable kind of specialness, but like all families, their stories reveal only part of the picture: Abby and Red and their four grown children have accumulated not only tender moments, laughter, and celebrations, but also jealousies, disappointments, and carefully guarded secrets.
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - MAN BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE - From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Clock Dance comes the story of four generations unfolding in and around the lovingly worn house that has always been the Whitshank family's anchor. "Among the best chroniclers of family life this country has ever produced." --The Washington Post
"It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon ..." This is how Abby Whitshank always describes the day she fell in love with Red in July 1959.
From Red's parents, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to the grandchildren carrying the Whitshank legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century, the Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate an indefinable kind of specialness, but like all families, their stories reveal only part of the picture: Abby and Red and their four grown children have accumulated not only tender moments, laughter, and celebrations, but also jealousies, disappointments, and carefully guarded secrets.
About the Author
ANNE TYLER was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is her twentieth novel; her eleventh, Breathing Lessons, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.