A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

This is one of those books that I didn't want to end. Turning the last page was like waving goodbye to family after they've been to stay for a while and now I sort of miss the Whitshanks.

I'd forgotten that it was Anne Tyler who wrote The Accidental Tourist, which I loved, and now I am wondering why I've left it so long to pick up another book from Anne Tyler. There's a real familiarity to the people in her books, and not only can I visualise them clearly, but I can sense the atmosphere around them.

In A Spool of Blue Thread, the Whitshanks are an established family living in a home that was built and occupied by Mr Whitshank's father. This solid home with it's fine wooden porch is integral to the story of the family, and it many ways it represents who they are. Mr Whitshank Senior originally built the house for another family, but during the construction he fell in love with it and had a sense that he would one day it would be his own.

He was able to buy the house when his children were still small, so when he and his wife Linnie Mae took ownership they quickly felt as though the house had always belonged to them. Their two children, Merrick and Redcliffe, were raised there and then Redcliffe went on to be the owner after his father.

Both generations of Whitshanks have worked as high quality builders specialising in woodwork, so their house is filled with wooden features made only from the finest quality timber. All the time it was being built, Whitshank Snr talked the original owners around to agreeing to everything he would want if it was his, and it was only over minor details where he didn't get his way.

As with all families, the Whitshanks don't know everything about each other, and every now and again something is revealed that causes them to re-evaluate their relationships, but somehow they always find a way to pull through. I think this is a wonderful examination a family dealing with serious issues that affect different age groups without falling apart. Family members can all be individually different and the group will find a way to accommodate them.

This is a wonderful book to get lost in and it reminds me that I really must read more of Anne Tyler's many books.

Comments

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