A Spool of Blue Thread: A Novel

I've been a fan of Anne Tyler for many, many years. In my opinion, there are few authors who can consistently weave compelling, moving stories about both the seemingly mundane and the more dramatic moments families experience. Apparently Tyler has said that A Spool of Blue Thread, her 20th novel, will be her last. I tried not to let that fact influence my expectations or color my perceptions of the book. Abby Whitshank has known her husband Red for as long as she can remember. They grew up in the same Baltimore suburb, and she can even remember the summer day in 1959 that she fell in love with him. Through the years the couple has lived in the stately old house his father built (a house that at times meant more to him than his entire family), raising four children and having their share of wonderful memories as well as arguments, frustrations, sadness, and struggles. "The disappointments seemed to escape the family's notice, though. That was another of their quirks: they had a talent for pretending that everything was fine." Although their relationship has grown a bit more cantankerous as they have aged, and following Abby's retirement from social work, both she and Red know they would be lost without each other. But after a series of health problems affect the two of them, their younger son Stem (aka Douglas), his wife, and his family move back into the house with Red and Abby, ostensibly to help take care of them, which doesn't sit too well with either of them. It also doesn't please their older son Denny, the one child who has caused the most friction in their lives. Denny, too, moves in to help. A Spool of Blue Thread is the story of the joys, angst, and frustrations that are a part of family dynamics. It's a look at the secrets we keep, the lies we tell, what we say and what we don't, and how there are always people in your family you don't always understand. It's also a bit of a multi-generational love story, as the book not only looks at Abby and Red's relationship both at the start and in the present, but also looks at the relationship of Red's parents, Junior and Linnie Mae. I have always loved Tyler's writing, and her use of language and storytelling is in fine form once again. Her characters are quirky and a little eccentric, but they have a lot of heart, and you really get drawn into their lives. I enjoyed this book a great deal, although it took a while for me to warm up to the section about Junior and Linnie Mae, because I felt that Junior was a fairly unlikeable character, although Tyler gradually unveiled his depth. I wouldn't necessarily count this among Tyler's best, but it's another example of why she is one of the most enduring and celebrated writers of our time. I hope that she changes her mind and shares her talents with the world again, but if not, we have 20 wonderful novels to enjoy again and again. And for that I am truly grateful.

Anne Tyler's 20th novel, A Spool of Blue Thread, is a departure of sorts for her. While it explores the themes of family dysfunction familiar to fans of Tyler's work, she widens the lens in this multi-generational family saga. The Whitshanks seem like a family everyone can admire. Red is a second-generation home builder who owns a construction company. Abby, his wife, is a retired social worker who cannot resist trying to fix everybody with whom she comes into contact. The present-day action in the novel centers on the failing health of Red and Abby, who are in their early 70s. Red suffers a heart attack and is beginning to go deaf. Abby suffers from occasional memory loss and is prone to wandering the neighborhood while her family searches for her. Concerned about the safety of their parents, the siblings rally around them. The loyal son, Stem, who is not a Whitshank by birth, his do-gooder wife, Nora, and their children move in with the Whitshanks. When their rootless and unpredictable son, Denny, shows up to pitch in with his parents' care, it stirs smoldering hostilites in the family. The Whitshanks' spacious, well-appointed home on Bouton Road serves as both a character and a metaphor for this family, in which appearances and myths mask secrets and resentments. Junior, Red's father, built the house to his exacting standards for a wealthy family, the Brills. Through a bit of chicanery, he convinced the Brills to sell the house to him. Like a lot of Tyler's characters, Junior learns that when he attains what he craves, it doesn't make him happy. This is a topic Tyler has explored throughout her body of work--the restlessness that inflicts family members as they sacrifice their ambitions and their individuality in the service of family harmony. In this novel, a catastrophic event is the trigger that Tyler uses to send the narrative back in time. Tyler peels back the layers of the Whitshank family, first by exploring the events that led to the relationship between Red and Abby. There is a beautifully rendered scene in which Red wins Abby's affections away from a rebellious boyfriend. There is a passage about Red's father, Junior, who is entrapped by a precocious 13-year-old girl into a relationship that causes him to flee North Carolina, but eventually brings about their marriage. There is also a quiet battle waged between Junior and his wife over the color of a porch swing he has lovingly restored for her. These types of passages, which date all the way back to the Great Depression, are not typical in Tyler's novel, but there is a comon thread of wishes, aspirations, pretensions, and deceit. In the end Tyler provides a glimmer of hope that Denny might turn his life around, but, like life, the finale is ambiguous. This is what i like about Tyler's endings, a true-to-life quality. Ths is one of the most ambitious and satisfying of Tyler's novels, and that is saying a lot.

When does yarn become thread? The story is a yarn that rambles over a century or so but not in chronological order yet in a pleasant manner. I read a note before starting that Irish writer Roddy McDowell (?) thought Anne Tyler is one of the best writers in the English language. That seemed a bit over the top - not that Roddy McDowell is the greatest arbiter of taste. But, this book and the way of its telling, is a bit like Roddy McDowell's only one of whose books I've read. It takes a while to get into this book. The block for me was the mother character who seemed to have a mild case of passive aggression. No wonder her children are a bit off kilter – which makes it all a yarn of an ordinary family. The story floats around her family and her husband's parents and, principally, the location of the house on Boulton Road. Her son, Denny, is, perhaps, the other important character. He doesn't fit the mould of the family and is bit dissolute. Right from the beginning I liked him. (By the By - Anne Tyler is a woman writer who DOES know how to write men!). Denny comes and goes in the story. None of his siblings 'get' him, and he senses that he doesn't 'get' himself. Yet at the end he finds the end of the thread of the blue spool - so the metaphor of the mess of the yarn and Denny are linked and he sort of in the end gets hold of the thread to pull from the yarn. Maybe he’ll sort out his life... Ah la Roddy McDowell, Tyler writes well. A lot of people do. But the rhythm of her style in this book and the soft fug of the story - the woolly yarn - as well as the well drawn characters make this a sort of warm book bits of which will stay with you and make you want to read the book again in a few years. For the whole of the work I'd give it Excellent - a 3. Oh - there is one fabulous laugh out loud moment in the book - a fantastic ironic moment. Watch out for the Chihuahua.

I want to say something positive about this book, but this was an extremely hard book to read, and I was happy to see it end. It was so boring. I understand that the characters were simple people with secrets, but was it necessary to write in such a way? I became robotic, just trying to get through the pages. The First Chapter, about the lives of Red and Abby, was the hardest to read. Social position was at the front of the characters' minds, excepting Nora and Denny. Abby was so secretive and Denny shared this trait. What happened to Denny's proclamation that he was gay? It was dropped from the story, so why say it? The Second Chapter, depicting Junior and Linnie, was sad because the lack of love in their relationship and Junior's desire to achieve social status. It wasn't all Junior's fault as Linnie pushed herself into his life until it was probably just easier for him to give in. The house, wedding, etc. gave him a sense of achievement. Linnie and the blue-painted swing represented the life he was trying to leave behind. It was so important to Junior, not to have a blue swing, even though he willing had a loveless life. By the end of the book, Red was willing to leave the house. It didn't serve the same need as it did for his father. I feel that significance of the blue thread was that you can change some things about your life (the house and neighborhood) but you can't change your history. You are forever linked.

I’ve not been an enthusiastic reader of family dramas so when my Charbonneau Book Club’s selection of Anne Rule’s “A Spool of Blue Thread” was announced, I groaned a little. Four generations of Baltimoreans are placed under a microscope and painstakingly chronicled by the master of the novelized sitcom. I groaned again. The fact is that I’ve never read any of Tyler’s novels, an omission I now regret. She demonstrates a skill for taking the well-known drudge of family relationships and turning it into a rousing account of intrigue, bellicosity, selfishness, and jealousy. Who doesn’t like to read about that? Her characters are so finely drawn that they are instantly recognizable in all families the reader either is part of or knows intimately. That makes the encounters we find in her books so engrossing. Here’s a brief summary of Tyler’s story. The Whitshank family is large and populated by personalities who interact with aloofness and careful acknowledgement of each other’s imperfections. There’s the pragmatic grouch who loosely holds the patriarch’s reins. A strong-willed but fragile mother keeps the diversities at bay while exhibiting some feebleness that keeps the rest of the family nervous. One son is a jerk. A daughter-in-law is agonizingly sensible. Another son is not blood with an unfortunate upbringing he can’t forget. Other daughters have unresolved doubts about their role in the family structure, and who don’t much care about their siblings’ feelings. A death brings the family to a crisis in their acceptance of the family’s future. That’s about it. Tyler, with her remarkable skill, is able to buff this well-worn story to a highly polished gem, which takes soap opera to the New York Met along with magnificent backdrop, glorious music, and conspicuous characters in full voice. My fellow book club members, once again, demonstrate their skill at selecting wonderful reading material. Schuyler T Wallace Author of TIN LIZARD TALES

I loved this book. I can't think of any Anne Tyler book I've ever read - and I think I've read them all - that I haven't enjoyed, but this one seemed special to me. Most likely the professional critics would not rank it among Tyler's best work such as Breathing Lessons, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, and The Accidental Tourist, but for me it was a profoundly moving read, perhaps because I identified strongly with one of the characters. My enjoyment could also have had something to do with my personal history. As a new college graduate many years ago, the first job that I landed was in Baltimore. I packed my bags and went there knowing absolutely no one who lived there and just the basic facts about the city. My employer recommended a local family who had a room to rent. I could live there until I managed to get myself sorted out. So, I moved into this row house in a middle-class neighborhood and rode the bus to and from work every day. It didn't take long for me to realize that the job really wasn't what I wanted. Ultimately, I resigned and found another job that took me to Atlanta, where at least I did have a few friends, but I never forgot that Baltimore family, who could actually have served as models for the Whitshank family in this book. We get to know three generations of the Whitshank family, although not in chronological order. Tyler begins the tale with Abby and Red Whitshank and their four children who live in the family's beloved family home. It is a unique house that was built by Red's father, J.R., known to all as Junior, Whitshank. As we learn much later in the story, at age twenty-six, Junior had come to Baltimore from farther south initially to get away from an underaged lover, a girl named Linnie Mae Inman, who he thought was eighteen but later learned was only thirteen. Junior was a talented carpenter and builder and he had dreams of establishing his own business. His dreams were interrupted five years later when Linnie Mae showed up in town with expectations of marrying him. He had no intentions in that regard and was not making enough money to support two people, but Linnie Mae was a very determined woman. In time, Junior's dreams did come true and so did Linnie Mae's. They were married and had two children, Merrick and Redfield. Red. What became the Whitshank family home was originally the Brill house, build by Junior and his workers for a family named Brill, but it was in every sense Junior's dream house. He was determined to live in it one day. And so it came to pass. Red continued his father's business and, when Junior and Linnie Mae were both killed in an auto accident, Red and his family moved into the family home. It is through Abby's eyes and her voice that we learn much of this story. Abby was a social worker and she was always bringing "orphans" home with her. (They were not necessarily orphaned, just people who needed taking care of.) She was an open-hearted person who had fallen in love with Red one day in 1959 when she was at the Whitshank house where a tulip poplar tree in the front yard had been cut down. She saw Red standing over the stump of the tree, counting its rings to determine the tree's age. That was enough to tell her that he was the kind of man she could love. Red and Abby had two girls and two boys, although the younger boy's true story is not one that we learn until near the end of the book. They are generally a happy family, although sometimes dysfunctional. That is especially true of the older boy, Denny, who is something of an outsider and never really seems to fit in. (He's the one I identified with.) He tends to go his own way and years sometimes go by when he is not in contact with his family. We get to know the family as Abby and Red are getting older and there are concerns about their health and whether they can continue to live on their own. For once, all the children are present, even Denny, and it is through this gathering that we learn the story of the family - its past, present, and, eventually, future. Reading a Tyler novel one feels a part of the story. The reader is not so much a witness to events, family secrets and unguarded moments, as a presence, a participant, in these events. Maybe that's because she writes of families and, even though we each like to think that our family is different and special, there is an essential nature, a commonality, to all families. It takes a special writer to be able to capture that essence and put it on the page. Someone like Anne Tyler.

A Spool of Blue Thread was unsettlingly familiar to me — like when you walk into a hotel lobby and just know you’ve seen that tomato-red Persian rug before. Although set in Baltimore, the characters reminded me of people and dynamics within my family and the families I grew up with in Minnesota; not exactly endearing, not exactly offensive, but in that grey area of complacency and nothing special. “The disappointment seemed to escape the family’s notice, though. That was another of their quirks: they had a talent for pretending that everything was fine. Or maybe it wasn’t a quirk at all. Maybe it was just further proof that the Whitshanks were not remarkable in any way whatsoever.” The story is one of loss — loss of youth, loss of choices, loss of direction, loss of home (however we define it), loss of love and ultimately loss of family. But there is little redemption in the losses — nothing changes. There is so growth , no lesson, no resolution. And that’s why I gave this book just three stars. The writing is at some times almost painfully poignant, like this line about growing older: “And often when she heard herself speaking she was appalled at how chirpy she sounded — how empty-headed and superficial, as if she’d somehow fallen into the Mom role in some shallow TV sitcom.” Tell me that’s not relatable! But, again, there’s the story. The first half of the book is slow but somewhat satisfying — there are enough gaps to make you wonder — if not wish for — answers in the second half. But then the second half comes, and the wrong gaps seem to be filled. I know it’s backstory, I know it should flesh out the characters, but it falls flat. By the last page, I simply didn’t care.

I wish I’d read the customer reviews before purchasing this book and investing time trying to get through it. The “professional “ editorial, or reviews by reviews all raved about the book, and I went with that…but wish I’d looked at customer reviews . Meandering and boring book.IMO

I didn't love this book but I liked the writing...a lot. It's a voyeuristic look at a family, today and in the past. From that perspective it was thoughtful although slow moving. Kind of like life. It was a great book club discussion.

As usual for AT, a wonderful read. A fun and touching story about 3 generations of family, starting with today and going backward. Lovely.

I listened to the audiobook of A Spool of Blue Thread and really really enjoyed it. Many of the other reviews mention that the book doesn't really "go" anywhere, theres no real conclusion and that's true. It's a winding tale of several generations of the same family, moving back and forward. Although its not a fast paced book, I really looked forward to the next page and enjoyed every part of it. Its probably an ideal beach book or a curl up by the fire read, just a nice easy read which I would thoroughly recommend.

Another great book by Anne Tyler

Als leidenschaftliche Leserin von Anne Tylers Werken gestehe ich nur ungern ein, dass mich ihr neuster Roman, A Spool of Blue Thread, enttäuscht hat. Es handelt sich dabei um eine Familiengeschichte, die aus mehreren Blickwinkeln erzählt wird und zeitlich Vergangenheit und Gegenwart einbezieht. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf dem wie immer feinen Skizzieren (Tyler ist da eine Meisterin ihres Faches) der Wesenszüge und Eigenarten der Einzelnen sowie der Beziehungen der Familienmitglieder zueinander. Für mein Empfinden gelingt es ihr diesmal allerdings nicht so gut eine abgerundete Geschichte zu erzählen. Alles wird ein bisschen angeritzt, aber nicht vertieft und die Handlungsstränge werden nur lose verbunden, so dass nicht klar wird, was genau Tyler eigentlich erzählen möchte . Wäre nicht ihr Stil nach wie vor eine Klasse für sich, ich hätte für die insgesamt schwächliche Geschichte nur drei Sterne vergeben.