Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing Doubleday for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest novel by an absolute favorite, Anne Tyler - 5 stars!
In the 1950s, the Garrett family - dad, Robin; mom, Mercy, daughters, Alice and Lily; and son, David - leave Baltimore for their first and only real vacation, a week at the beach. We then follow this family through to present day times, going along with the good and the bad of family life.
No one does family like Anne Tyler - she is such a gifted writer and I loved immersing myself in this family. We see Mercy's struggles to figure out her need for her alone time with her parenting and family responsibilities, and how that affects her relationships. We see the very different daughters, their different roles in the family, and how they relate to each other as well as to the family as a whole. And then there's the baby, David, who marches to his own beat, no matter how hard his dad tries otherwise. These are the themes that echo through most of our families in some ways - the pull of the family as well as the need to push away. I adored spending time with this family and Tyler's writing, who has the gift of making me laugh and cry at the same time. Highly recommended!
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