A Single Thread

by Tracy Chevalier

Violet had noticed that when men met they often did something—played

cards or darts or did the crossword together. It made conversation flow more easily because they didn’t focus as intently on each other as women sometimes did.

I loved the main character’s reflections on gender roles and assumptions in the 1930s.

Though Violet had heard bells ringing many times before, she had never properly listened. She could not make out any pattern in the bells—though each was clearly struck, they seemed to clatter over each other in no particular order. Yet they were deliberate, not chaotic. It was like listening to people speaking German and sensing there was a grammar and structure, a rhythm and logic to it, even if you could not understand the meaning.

Bell ringing has a grammar and logic in it that’s not immediately obvious to the listener. Chevalier has clearly studied this and provides some fascinating history and insight into the mathematics of the patterns created by church bells.

When a woman wants a cup of tea, usually she has to make it for herself, and for the others around her. There is no better taste than a cup of tea someone else has made for you.