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Comments (29)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 29 items
May 17, 2023luvsthelibrary rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Anne Tyler is always excellent, but I feel this is one of her best. Her books remind me of Seinfeld. No plot. Just real people living their real lives. Sometimes re-inventing themselves as they go.
May 01, 2023prairiegal rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Characters without depth or interest. The author bounces through Willa's life leaving the reader with unsatisfying characters and a dull read. Perhaps if Willa had engaged in her own neighborhood she wouldn't have had to travel across the…
Oct 20, 2021
Love this author!
Jul 24, 2021sgcf rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
The protagonist, Willa, dances to the ticks of the clock all her life, passively supporting and agreeing with her father, her sons and both husbands. She is the “Everywoman” of all polite, unfussed women who don’t make waves. Tyler…
May 14, 2021Kidbean rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
For dialogue lovers
Apr 22, 2021beaver1948 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Really enjoyed this book. Just discovered Anne Tyler & will track more of her books. Loved the dialogue & depth of main character Willa through her many years. Realistic family dramas too.
Jul 02, 2020FunnyPenny1 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I haven’t read Anne Tyler for many years but enjoyed the books I have read. This book is a bit superficial, many characters are introduced but few are fleshed out in great detail. Still, the main characters are charming and Willa’s life is…
Feb 22, 2020CMLibrary_sally rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This book is a very quick read highlighting the pivotal moments in our lives and how they can change us. Great for a book club discussion. 4 stars due to the lack of investment in the protagonist's sons. That could have been so much more.
Oct 28, 2019_Mirelda_ rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I loved this book! The story eased into my thoughts, so that I found myself wondering about the characters, and guessing what might happen at the end, but it was a gentle suspense. I wanted to savor this book, take my time reaching the…
Aug 16, 2019
This book is the first one I've read by Anne Tyler. It was disappointing. The lack of conflict and suspense made the story dull and boring. The story hops disjointly from childhood to college to marriage. I wouldn't recommend this book to…
Sansha
Jun 10, 2019Sansha rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Love Anne Tyler books and this was fantastic. Anne has a way of delving into families, friendships and relationships, makes you feel as though you are part of fabric of the story.
Feb 08, 2019ellenmargaret1953 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A great book to read on the porch with an iced tea. Everyone needs a second chance and to find a place where they want to be and are needed. Not her best, but enjoyable.
Dec 17, 2018ArapahoeAnnaL rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Tyler is a master storyteller and a genius at understanding and portraying human nature. In this book her very conventional protagonist makes unconventional decisions. Older characters offer each other tips on how to get through the days…
bookishdl
Nov 29, 2018bookishdl rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I liked this but didn't love it but couldn't give it 3 stars as it deserves more purely for the exquisite writing by Tyler. It seemed to take me a very long time to finish even though it's a short novel really. Characterisation was…
Nov 06, 2018writermala rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
'Clock Dance' portrays Willa's life, from the time she was a child but had to play an adult's role when her mother left now and then, to the time she yearns to be a grandparent. We see Willa going to college, marrying Derek, becoming…
Nov 05, 2018laphampeak rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Tyler told a story but the interesting pieces like relationships with the neighborhood peeps or with an unlikely ex-girlfriend of an estranged son never developed past surface events. It seems like, at times, authors of many books just…
Nov 01, 2018lookingformrgoodbook rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Anne Tyler's strength has always been her multi-layered individual characters. Everyone in this book seemed one-dimensional and formulaic. The main character's parents had promise as truly unusual people, but they disappear early on, and…
Oct 09, 2018misswindsor rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
If you love stories about families that focus on the characters and relationships between family members, you will enjoy this book. Anne Tyler seems to specialize in this type of thing and she is right on the mark with this book.
Oct 08, 2018ontherideau rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I thought this was one of Anne Tyler's weaker books. No life is perfect and the reader is expected to believe Willa's new life will be measurably better for her.
Sep 19, 2018vkreads rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Easy reading. Conventional woman whose character was yet another woman "stuck" in the "people-pleasing mode;" but, her charitable kindness in taking the trip to Baltimore was a refreshing aspect of a person's intention to do, or be,…
Sep 19, 2018lpreston214 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I have read a number of books by Tyler but had not read one in a number of years. After a pretty steady diet of thriller type murder mysteries this book is like laying on a feather bed, outdoors, on a perfect night, under the stars. I…
Sep 09, 2018
This was a very enjoyable book and I rooted for Willa to find her own life.
Aug 22, 2018brangwinn rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Hurray for Willa, she learns how to stand up for herself. When Willa gets a phone call asking her to leave her home in Arizona to come care for her son’s ex-girlfriend’s nine year old daughter while the mother is recovering from a gunshot…
Aug 05, 2018Lovestoread5 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I liked how the author wrote about the different phases of Willa's life. I agree that she really finds that she doesn't have drive or a purpose in life - don't most of us feel that way? Even as we've aged? It's gratifying to know that she…
Jul 29, 2018multcolib_susannel rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
When she gets a call saying that her son's ex has been shot and needs someone to take care of her daughter, Willa decides to leave at once. Hasn't she been craving to be a grandmother?