Anne Tyler has such a lovely economical style. I could see the same story becoming an 800 page doorstopper in the hands of John Irving, for example. But she captures all the nuances of her characters so cleverly in just a few words.



Of course Anne Tyler's version of Baltimore is rather a long way removed from the West Baltimore of The Wire or Homicide.... but that doesn't mean it's any less valid either as a piece of art or as a reflection of reality. While the dramas of the families shown here are generally quite low-key - and throughly middle-class - this novel is always engaging and interesting. Her characters are realistic, human, forgiveable - you can't dislike any of them.



Worth noting is the switch in timescale about one-third through, this is very skilful. A very short timeframe is described in great detail for the first part of the novel, but then the narrative takes the form of widely spaced vignettes over several years.



The theme of "Americanness" doesn't especially engage me (nor would a study of Britishness particularly, except maybe There Ain't No Black In The Union Jack). But it was depicted sympathetically and not uncritically, even if the spectrum of views shown here was all rather near the "liberal" end. (Liberal in the US sense but not the Fox News/pejorative sense!)



Adoptive parents would enjoy this novel particularly, and might find it comforting, if experiencing difficulties, to realise that the issues of attachment and belonging are pretty universal. But then so might any parent. Younger readers would probably find this too slow.