anne tyler – That's What She Read

Review: Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler

October 8, 2020November 18, 2020 E.F. Sunland

I read Anne Tyler’s Redhead by the Side of the Road when it was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Tyler’s other books, I thought it might be shortlisted, but it wasn’t. At this point, I’m not sure why it was on the longlist. It’s not bad, but it’s not in line with Tyler’s other (better) books. Tyler excels at depicting quiet moments in the lives of “normal” people, but this book risks being too quiet. I forgot about it within a few days of reading. read more

Review: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

June 21, 2017October 13, 2020 E.F. Sunland

20 Books of Summer 2017: Book 3

Many people say the most terrifying villain in Harry Potter isn’t the semi-immortal, power-hungry dark lord, but the pink-clad, doily-obsessed Professor Umbridge. She’s petty, meddlesome, and uses her power to harass, threaten, and bully the teachers and students at the school. She’s not an abstract embodiment of evil or power like Voldemort, she’s recognizable: We’ve all had a terrible teacher or boss who used their scrap of power to mock and demean the people beneath them. And so… even though she doesn’t kill anyone or seek world domination or do much of anything outside her familial sphere: Maggie Moran of Anne Tyler’s Breathing Lessons is my most-loathed fictional character. Are there more awful characters out there? Yep. But Maggie feels more like a person than most of them which means she provokes a stronger feeling of irritation. read more

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Review: A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

January 31, 2016October 13, 2020 E.F. Sunland

TL;DR: Anne Tyler’s Dinner at the Homesick Inn is better. (Though A Spool of Blue Thread is still good, of course.)

I received this book for my birthday and cracked it open on its way to the bookcase and read: read more

Review: Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler

December 3, 2014August 21, 2022 E.F. Sunland

Two chapters in, I put seven copies of Anne Tyler’s Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant in my Amazon cart for Christmas and texted folks to say: I found your gift early! A few more chapters and I cleared my cart, sent a round of “Neverminds,” and poured a big drink. It’s not right to label this book “depressing,” but its engrossing depiction of unhappy people isn’t the cheeriest gift for a holiday that’s already awash in familial weirdness. (You still need to read it, though!) read more