As with all books by
Anne Tyler (at least, the ones I have read so far), the theme is
always ordinary. In this case, it is about a family and all the everyday
things that happen during the life of that family - a life that spans
the years from the early 1940s through to the twenty-first century.
This sounds quite uninteresting, but Anne Tyler shows that ordinary
can actually be quite fascinating. Let's face it: ordinary is what we
all have to cope with, day in and day out; it is refreshing,
therefore, to encounter an author who is able to sift through all the
layers of ordinariness and find the things that enthral and move us
emotionally. The writing is particularly good; the characters are
believable and well structured. This is definitely a book that I
would recommend.
