Stephanie Jane reviewed A spool of blue thread by Anne Tyler
Not my favourite Tyler
4 stars
I received a copy of A Spool Of Blue Thread from its publishers, Random House, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
A Spool Of Blue Thread has been much hyped recently as a result of its shortlisting for the Booker prize this year. It is very typical Anne Tyler fare - family centred, in Baltimore, strong on characterisation, buried secrets - but there is little in the way of overarching narrative to hold it all together. Instead this is a meandering work that wanders off to different people and eras, always returning to the main thread but without any sense of a plan. It's more of a Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant and certainly not a Ladder Of Years.
Perhaps I am being harsh? A Spool Of Blue Thread isn't a bad book, but I did find it rather dull and had expected more from Tyler. There are …
I received a copy of A Spool Of Blue Thread from its publishers, Random House, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
A Spool Of Blue Thread has been much hyped recently as a result of its shortlisting for the Booker prize this year. It is very typical Anne Tyler fare - family centred, in Baltimore, strong on characterisation, buried secrets - but there is little in the way of overarching narrative to hold it all together. Instead this is a meandering work that wanders off to different people and eras, always returning to the main thread but without any sense of a plan. It's more of a Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant and certainly not a Ladder Of Years.
Perhaps I am being harsh? A Spool Of Blue Thread isn't a bad book, but I did find it rather dull and had expected more from Tyler. There are interesting interludes and the discovery of the Linnie Mae and Junior relationship especially is cleverly done. If you enjoy big family sagas where everything gets resolved around the dining table then you might enjoy the book more than I did. I just thought it all felt too formulaic.