Collection
Publication
Knopf (2022), 256 pages
Description
"The Garretts take their first and last family vacation in the summer of 1959. They hardly ever venture beyond Baltimore, but in some ways they have never been farther apart. Mercy has trouble resisting the siren call of her aspirations to be a painter, which means less time keeping house for her husband Robin. Their teenage daughters, steady Alice and boy-crazy Lily, could not have less in common. Their youngest, David, is already intent on escaping his family's orbit, for reasons none of them understands. Yet as these lives advance across decades, the Garretts' influence on one another ripples unmistakably through each generation, much like French-braided hair keeps its waves even after it is undone. Full of heartbreak and hilarity, French Braid is classic Anne Tyler: a stirring, uncannily insightful novel of tremendous warmth and humor that illuminates the kindnesses and cruelties of our daily lives, the impossibility of breaking free from those who love us, and how close--yet how unknowable--every family is to itself"--… (more)
Media reviews
The insular Baltimore family, the quirky occupations, the special foods — they all move across these pages as predictably as the phases of the moon. There are times when such familiarity might feel tiresome. But we’re not in one of those times. Indeed, given today’s slate of horror and chaos,
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the rich melody of “French Braid” offers the comfort of a beloved hymn. It doesn’t even matter if you believe in the sanctity of family life; the sound alone brings solace. Show Less
But “French Braid” is the opposite of reassuring. The novel is imbued with an old-school feminism of a kind currently unfashionable. It looks squarely at the consequences of stifled female ambition — to the woman herself, and to those in her orbit. For all its charm, “French Braid” is a
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quietly subversive novel, tackling fundamental assumptions about womanhood, motherhood and female aging. Show Less
"Oh, the lengths this family would go to so as not to spoil the picture of how things were supposed to be!" Tyler writes. It is lines like that one — seemingly tossed off by the omniscient narrator, a great skill of Tyler's — that bring heft to this largely plotless book. "French Braid" is
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filled with piercing observation. Show Less
French Braid may not upend a fan’s ranking of Tyler’s novels, in the way Redhead By the Side of the Road was a late entry, but it’s thoroughly enjoyable, and at this point any Tyler book is a gift. Funny, poignant, generous, not shying away from death and disappointment but never doomy or
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overwrought, it suggests there’s always new light to be shed, whatever the situation, with just another turn of the prism. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
This is so distinctly and entirely a novel by Anne Tyler that the addition of the author's name to the cover is superfluous. Set in Baltimore, this is the story of an ordinary family over decades, told through what are almost interconnected stories. Each chapter is beautifully written and holds
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such empathy for each character, even as they fail to see the needs of the family members around them or simply long to be somewhere else. From a week-long summer vacation near a lake to a family reunion at an Easter dinner to an anniversary party, this is the kind of quiet novel that Tyler is deservedly known for and was a pleasure to read. I have the habit of forgetting about how much I love her writing for long stretches and then I pick up another one of her novels and I remember what a great and under-celebrated novelist she is. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
Anne Tyler's strength as a writer is her uncanny ability to understand families. The Garrett's, a family of five is the family here and we follow them all through Covid, where much has changed. The distance that can open between siblings, second chances at a different life, and the empty next
I had such a bittersweet feeling as I read this. Could identify with some incidents, and while others didn't apply to my life, I could see the truth in them. Terrific book about a family that could be ours.
ARC by Edelweiss.
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feeling that often accompanies the last child to leave the nest. Parental expectations, an incident in ones youth that shadows a life and of course secrets and love. As much unsaid as said. Tyler gets it.I had such a bittersweet feeling as I read this. Could identify with some incidents, and while others didn't apply to my life, I could see the truth in them. Terrific book about a family that could be ours.
ARC by Edelweiss.
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LibraryThing member sleahey
Anne Tyler has an ability to describe the humdrum day-to-day in a way that captures our interest and keeps us interested in her characters. Once again she has built a novel around a family with ordinary people in mundane situations that we can all recognize. In this case, we read about various
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members of the Garrett family in three generations. As the focus changes from one person to another, we learn more about the people we've already met. For example, in the chapters regarding Mercy, the matriarch, we catch revealing glimpses into the lives of her children and their relationship with their father and each other. There are boundaries and distances that are revealed over time as family members come together and grow apart, much like a French braid that is woven together and leaves waves when undone. What I find most appealing about this novel, as with all of Tyler's, is how much she seems to like her characters, idiosyncrasies and flaws and all. Show Less
LibraryThing member miss.mesmerized
It is coincidental encounter at a station: Serena sees a young man and is not sure if he’s her cousin. Her boyfriend cannot believe this, how can she not know her own cousin? Well, family matters have never been easy with the Garretts. Robin and Mercy have married at a young age, their two
Anne Tyler has been writing books for almost six decades, but I have only come to detect her work a couple of years ago. What I liked from the start was her relaxed tone which takes life just as it is, acknowledging the ups and downs, knowing that the show has to go on. Her latest novel, too, “French Braid” is wonderfully narrated capturing the small but decisive moments. It is the portrait of a family, not the totally average one but nevertheless one that could just live next door to you. Again, Tyler finds the interesting points in those at the first glance totally average lives.
“What’s the name of that braid that starts high up on little girls’ heads?” David asked Greta one night (...) “Oh a French braid,” Greta said. “That’s it. And then when she undid them, her hair would still be in ripples, little leftover squiggles, for hours and hours afterwards. “ “Yes...” “Well,” David said, “That’s how families work, too. You think you’re free of them, but you’re never really free; the ripples are crimped in forever.”
None of the Garretts have ever been close, not even the married couples, but nevertheless, they are family and therefore gather from time to time. They may not even like each other, but they like to stay informed. Some of them try to break out, especially the women, but just like the French braid, they cannot really free themselves, some things just stick.
Anne Tyler surely is a most accomplished writer, how else would it be possible to totally enjoy a novel and at the same time feel a little bit uncomfortable due to the extent you can recognise yourself in her writing. She does not focus on the exceptional, the outstanding, but finds the aspects worth mentioning in the ordinary, in the well-known and hardly ever actually noticed. It is with her soft voice and quite narration that she hints at what you should look at and think about. Another though-provoking, simply marvellous novel.
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daughters Alice and Lily could hardly be more different from each other and their son David, a couple of years younger than the girls, even as a boy, was rather withdrawn. As the years pass by, the kids get older and independent, have their own families, make mistakes, Mercy follows her artistic works and drifts apart from Robin. It is only rare events that bring the whole family together for brief moments, but then, they remain on the surface and the important things are left unsaid. Anne Tyler has been writing books for almost six decades, but I have only come to detect her work a couple of years ago. What I liked from the start was her relaxed tone which takes life just as it is, acknowledging the ups and downs, knowing that the show has to go on. Her latest novel, too, “French Braid” is wonderfully narrated capturing the small but decisive moments. It is the portrait of a family, not the totally average one but nevertheless one that could just live next door to you. Again, Tyler finds the interesting points in those at the first glance totally average lives.
“What’s the name of that braid that starts high up on little girls’ heads?” David asked Greta one night (...) “Oh a French braid,” Greta said. “That’s it. And then when she undid them, her hair would still be in ripples, little leftover squiggles, for hours and hours afterwards. “ “Yes...” “Well,” David said, “That’s how families work, too. You think you’re free of them, but you’re never really free; the ripples are crimped in forever.”
None of the Garretts have ever been close, not even the married couples, but nevertheless, they are family and therefore gather from time to time. They may not even like each other, but they like to stay informed. Some of them try to break out, especially the women, but just like the French braid, they cannot really free themselves, some things just stick.
Anne Tyler surely is a most accomplished writer, how else would it be possible to totally enjoy a novel and at the same time feel a little bit uncomfortable due to the extent you can recognise yourself in her writing. She does not focus on the exceptional, the outstanding, but finds the aspects worth mentioning in the ordinary, in the well-known and hardly ever actually noticed. It is with her soft voice and quite narration that she hints at what you should look at and think about. Another though-provoking, simply marvellous novel.
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LibraryThing member arlenadean
Title: French Braid
Author: Anne Tyler
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Knopf
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Review:
"French Braid" by Anne Tyler
My Assessment:
"French Braid" was just a read about the Garrett family for three generations starting in 1959 and goes through the ending of the
The author gives the reader quite a read as the story goes through years in the lives of this family from marriage, weddings, births, successes with lots of changes coming from and bringing on disagreements, and misconceptions, spoken and unspoken. But still showing there was a love of the family that did bind them somehow. So be ready as the reader will be shown definite details and peculiarities of some of these characters.
The story will leave one being able to resonate quite a bite from this story of what went on in this Garrett family and just how close they were. But, I still had a feeling whether the Garrett family were truly happy or not?
Thank you very much to Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
Author: Anne Tyler
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Knopf
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Review:
"French Braid" by Anne Tyler
My Assessment:
"French Braid" was just a read about the Garrett family for three generations starting in 1959 and goes through the ending of the
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COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. I loved how this author brought the pandemic into the story. This family consisted of the father [Robin], mother [Mercy], and three children... Alice, the oldest, Lily, and David. We follow this family through decades was like a 'French Braid' that has been unraveled, showing where each character had their 'way to fulfilling their impulses, therefore many times unwilling to conform their desires when it came to the cost of the others members in the family...that's how families work.'The author gives the reader quite a read as the story goes through years in the lives of this family from marriage, weddings, births, successes with lots of changes coming from and bringing on disagreements, and misconceptions, spoken and unspoken. But still showing there was a love of the family that did bind them somehow. So be ready as the reader will be shown definite details and peculiarities of some of these characters.
The story will leave one being able to resonate quite a bite from this story of what went on in this Garrett family and just how close they were. But, I still had a feeling whether the Garrett family were truly happy or not?
Thank you very much to Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
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LibraryThing member MarthaHuntley
I bought this book after reading a review of it in The Week magazine. It is another family story by Anne Tyler, an excellent writer whose books I've often enjoyed, and when I read that it covers the years 1959 to 2020 of a Baltimore family, I was sold - those are my years - not surprisingly Anne
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Tyler is also 80 years old, so I think that accounts for my feeling she has been a novelist/diarist of our times in her family sagas. French Braid did not disappoint - in fact, I think it may be my favorite of the Anne Tyler novels I've read. It is, of course, a family saga over three generations, a simple, rather spare accounting of major themes shown through selected turning points, much like a family photo album tells its story. Very believable and relatable, and to me, highly interesting, just the somewhat detached but loving ties between the members of a family. Mercy, the mother, an artist who kind of retired from the family while still being part of it; Greta, the older, German daughter-in-law, so practical and so wise, so insightful; David who always suspected his father Robin didn't really like him, though he knows he loved him. The story of Mercy's trip to NYC with one of her granddaughters, who may also turn out to be artist, I found especially touching and interesting. What being a grandparent means - the joy of grandchildren and the hope of the future embodied. A delightful and rather moving book about the ties, designs, differences between family members.. I think one reason this one may be my favorite is that it doesn't have a really weirdo family member like the other Tyler novels I have read - I always found those off-putting. These are just ordinarily quirky people and seem very real. I enjoyed the book so much I didn't want it to end so soon. Show Less
LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
When it comes to writing about families, nobody does it better than Anne Tyler and French Braid is no exception. Her insight into everyday families never fails to capture the readers interest and empathy. She always manages to capture them in all their human frailty across generations and yet,
Thanks to Edelweiss and Knopf for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
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despite all their faults and quirks, she makes us care about them. She describes how it's the small, often unintentional, slights and hurts, that can have profound effect over a lifetime as well as the secrets kept to protect each other. She shows how they come together and how they fall apart and how loving each other doesn't necessarily mean liking each other. But even as they age and drift apart or deliberately walk away, like the french braid of the title, when undone, there are ripples throughout which touch every strand with love and shared memories.Thanks to Edelweiss and Knopf for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
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LibraryThing member bearette24
This started off slowly, but I ended up loving it. It's a multigenerational snapshot of a family in Baltimore. Each chapter focuses on a different family member. It's full of the quirky but true observations that made Tyler famous.
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
French Braid, Anne Tyler, author; Kimberly Farr, narrator
No other author that I know can tell a story in quite the same way as Anne Tyler. Her novels come alive as they reveal the reality of our own lives. She can take a mundane moment and make it magical, meaningful and prescient. Although at
French Braid follows the lives of three generations of the Garrett family, simple people living ordinary lives. Each character has its own unique personality, and eventually, they all blend together to highlight all of the personalities we might ever encounter. The reader actually watches each of them flourish or fail, in their own way, and in their own time, but each soon finds the happiness they search for and deserve. All of the warts and foibles of life are portrayed as birth, death, aging, freedom, independence, individual rights, love, relationships, jealousies, lifestyles, loyalty and more are probed by the author, so quietly, that the reader is not aware of it until suddenly, there is a moment of revelation. Life happens to them, as it does to us, often without us noticing, and often without our input. We have to deal with unplanned moments and moments that are planned that do not go as expected. These characters are immersed in that cauldron with their own individual experiences. Each character’s behavior will make the reader pause and think, would I have done that? Was that appropriate? Is that acceptable? Ordinary questions become profound and through each succeeding generation the same questions are often explored, so delicately, that we are hardly aware of all the character traits the author exposes. There is no fanfare at all. The ideas simply come to life. It is a subtle exploration and exposure of family and relationships in all their incarnations. As the characters age, they have different needs and the moments of grief and joy that come into their lives, are the same as those that come into ours.
From about 1940, with the marriage of Mercy and Robin, a time when women were really only housewives, to 2020, when women are so much more independent and free to move around to reach their potential, the reader witnesses this family emerge and grow in many different directions. As we follow their progression, their different kinds of love and their trials, as they try to accept each other as spaces grow between them, as they naturally distance themselves from each other, and yet return to each other as time demands, we witness, through them, our own lives and the passage of time. We watch values and mores change as the years go by, and we, as they, alter our own relationships and needs to adjust to the new demands placed on us. Still, we may sometimes stop and wonder if the changes are all as positive as the author seems to imply.
The author is so perceptive. Is the Garret family like your own? Do you have siblings that have moved away and gone in different directions? Have you had the courage to make changes in your life that make you happier or are you stuck in the same humdrum state because you are afraid to move forward? Do you have relationships with people based on responsibility, habit, or true need and desire? Does every spouse hunger for more and experience disappointment that cannot be discussed? How many spouses plot secretly to make changes in their lives? Is every sibling jealous? Is there always a favorite child, even unknowingly?
The one question I was left with was this: Could Mercy have really gotten away with the changes she made in her own life, without making a ripple in the stream, or would there have been rifts in the family with each member taking sides? Are we really that understanding of each other’s needs to forgive such transgressions, or if not transgressions, deviations from the norm, because Anne Tyler “does normal” expertly! Even the subtle use of Robin as both a girl’s and boy’s name, the interjection of Eddie and Claude’s relationship, so casually at the very end, simply happens and ushers in the present as opposed to the past. She even often injects a quiet kind of humor into the pages. The wit will make your lips curl up, but will not make you laugh out loud. Instead, as it is in your own life, you will just enjoy the moment.
As Mercy searches for the soul of the house in her paintings, the author has the characters search for their own souls as they go through the growing pains of each day of their ordinary lives. Tyler has softly led us through decades to witness the changes that have taken place in our world, and it is a journey that is really enjoyable. Even the title is significant, for she has taken the hair style of the child, Emily, the daughter of an immigrant from Scandinavia, an older woman, a scandalous divorcee, who married son David, and has placed her in a position of importance, making them all more significant, simply with the title.
There is no foul language, no erotic sex to titillate the reader; there are no unnecessary words at all. It is simply a wonderful story, as most of her stories are, because she tells her stories as if they are occurring right in front of us, before our very eyes, or right in our very own lives.
No other author that I know can tell a story in quite the same way as Anne Tyler. Her novels come alive as they reveal the reality of our own lives. She can take a mundane moment and make it magical, meaningful and prescient. Although at
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first, the novel moves slowly, it gains pace as the characters pass through what may seem like the most prosaic moments of life, and yet, those very same moments become predictive of their future. We witness a family work, play, love, make choices, and sometimes march in place, but mostly, we see them grow and adapt to the different situations that face them, just like ordinary people do in their ordinary lives, because they have to do that, don’t they?French Braid follows the lives of three generations of the Garrett family, simple people living ordinary lives. Each character has its own unique personality, and eventually, they all blend together to highlight all of the personalities we might ever encounter. The reader actually watches each of them flourish or fail, in their own way, and in their own time, but each soon finds the happiness they search for and deserve. All of the warts and foibles of life are portrayed as birth, death, aging, freedom, independence, individual rights, love, relationships, jealousies, lifestyles, loyalty and more are probed by the author, so quietly, that the reader is not aware of it until suddenly, there is a moment of revelation. Life happens to them, as it does to us, often without us noticing, and often without our input. We have to deal with unplanned moments and moments that are planned that do not go as expected. These characters are immersed in that cauldron with their own individual experiences. Each character’s behavior will make the reader pause and think, would I have done that? Was that appropriate? Is that acceptable? Ordinary questions become profound and through each succeeding generation the same questions are often explored, so delicately, that we are hardly aware of all the character traits the author exposes. There is no fanfare at all. The ideas simply come to life. It is a subtle exploration and exposure of family and relationships in all their incarnations. As the characters age, they have different needs and the moments of grief and joy that come into their lives, are the same as those that come into ours.
From about 1940, with the marriage of Mercy and Robin, a time when women were really only housewives, to 2020, when women are so much more independent and free to move around to reach their potential, the reader witnesses this family emerge and grow in many different directions. As we follow their progression, their different kinds of love and their trials, as they try to accept each other as spaces grow between them, as they naturally distance themselves from each other, and yet return to each other as time demands, we witness, through them, our own lives and the passage of time. We watch values and mores change as the years go by, and we, as they, alter our own relationships and needs to adjust to the new demands placed on us. Still, we may sometimes stop and wonder if the changes are all as positive as the author seems to imply.
The author is so perceptive. Is the Garret family like your own? Do you have siblings that have moved away and gone in different directions? Have you had the courage to make changes in your life that make you happier or are you stuck in the same humdrum state because you are afraid to move forward? Do you have relationships with people based on responsibility, habit, or true need and desire? Does every spouse hunger for more and experience disappointment that cannot be discussed? How many spouses plot secretly to make changes in their lives? Is every sibling jealous? Is there always a favorite child, even unknowingly?
The one question I was left with was this: Could Mercy have really gotten away with the changes she made in her own life, without making a ripple in the stream, or would there have been rifts in the family with each member taking sides? Are we really that understanding of each other’s needs to forgive such transgressions, or if not transgressions, deviations from the norm, because Anne Tyler “does normal” expertly! Even the subtle use of Robin as both a girl’s and boy’s name, the interjection of Eddie and Claude’s relationship, so casually at the very end, simply happens and ushers in the present as opposed to the past. She even often injects a quiet kind of humor into the pages. The wit will make your lips curl up, but will not make you laugh out loud. Instead, as it is in your own life, you will just enjoy the moment.
As Mercy searches for the soul of the house in her paintings, the author has the characters search for their own souls as they go through the growing pains of each day of their ordinary lives. Tyler has softly led us through decades to witness the changes that have taken place in our world, and it is a journey that is really enjoyable. Even the title is significant, for she has taken the hair style of the child, Emily, the daughter of an immigrant from Scandinavia, an older woman, a scandalous divorcee, who married son David, and has placed her in a position of importance, making them all more significant, simply with the title.
There is no foul language, no erotic sex to titillate the reader; there are no unnecessary words at all. It is simply a wonderful story, as most of her stories are, because she tells her stories as if they are occurring right in front of us, before our very eyes, or right in our very own lives.
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LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
The Garrett clan, or at least the three generations of them presented here, are not necessarily harmonious or even affectionate. But their lives are interwoven in such a way that they share connections even without sharing intimacy. Repeated gestures, hair colouring, a certain thorniness. And so a
There are some fine observations of individuals and of families here. But there isn’t substantial drama. Some things happen offstage. And sometimes it takes a bit of thinking to realize how the protagonist of one section of the whole connects to the others. Which is to say that we don’t, as readers, get too close to any of these characters. And that too might be a very deliberate choice on Tyler’s part, since, she is suggesting, we don’t get that close to our own family members either.
In any case, the writing is always comforting and there is just enough challenge to make it interesting.
Very lightly recommended.
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family saga about the Garretts might not follow the pattern of a narrative arc, crescendoing at what, from the outside, would be seen as the important bits. It might just be some vignettes, memories, or events that are loosely bound together, braided, if you will. And that suits Anne Tyler’s writing style nicely.There are some fine observations of individuals and of families here. But there isn’t substantial drama. Some things happen offstage. And sometimes it takes a bit of thinking to realize how the protagonist of one section of the whole connects to the others. Which is to say that we don’t, as readers, get too close to any of these characters. And that too might be a very deliberate choice on Tyler’s part, since, she is suggesting, we don’t get that close to our own family members either.
In any case, the writing is always comforting and there is just enough challenge to make it interesting.
Very lightly recommended.
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LibraryThing member shazjhb
Amazing book. Always fun to follow her from x to z to who knows where enjoying the characters and the non plot which is a family drama
LibraryThing member froxgirl
Strictly for Anne Tyler fans, in her usual calm and relaxing gentle style and maybe even less fraught than some of hers, this novel deals with three generations of the Garrett family of Baltimore, from the 1950s through the pandemic. Marital estrangement, coming out, and the drive for independence
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occurs throughout, and there are a few heart-catching and tearful moments. I get the feeling Tyler herself is winding down herself and that is just fine. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dianekeenoy
Anne Tyler is a treasure! I loved every word of this book!
LibraryThing member Kris_Anderson
French Braid by Anne Tyler is an unusual story. The first chapter has Serena and her beau heading back to college after visiting his parents for the first time. They are discussing Serena’s family and how they are not a close-knit unit (she failed to recognize a cousin at the train station). The
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second chapter goes back in time to 1959 when the Garrett family took their first (and only) vacation. I felt the first chapter was a poor lead into the rest of the book. A prologue set in the present day told from David’s point-of-view would have been a better way to start off French Braid. The rest of the book tells the story of the Garrett family. The characters were not developed. We are told about them, but the are not brought to life. We are not given enough details on any one of the family members. David is the most fleshed out character with Mercy a close second. I did not like Mercy at all. She is a selfish woman who never should have had children. Mercy preferred painting to dealing with her kids. I was shocked (some might consider this a spoiler) when she took the sweet cat and dropped it off at the shelter. She wanted peace restored to her studio (the cat made no noise and did not disturb her). I wish Mercy had taken the cat home to Robin (he would have liked a companion). Robin and Mercy are lucky none of their children were hurt by their lack of attention (especially Lily). They are fortunate that their children turned out to be good parents. The story spans from 1959 through the present day. The story meanders along going from one generation to the next. I felt the pacing was sluggish (snails move faster). I kept hoping something interesting would happen (anything to happen). I did not feel that the story came together as a whole. When I finished French Braid, I was left feeling that I had just wasted three hours of my time. I thought the story was depressing. Near the end, we see how the title ties into the story. It is a strange analogy that I would not see someone from the present day making (maybe in the early 80s when French braids were popular). French Braid was not my kind of book. I failed to get into the story, and I was not a fan of the characters. I had not read a book by Anne Tyler previously which is why I picked up French Braid (I have been trying to expand my horizons). While French Braid was not for me, it will appeal to other readers. I suggest you obtain a sample to see if it is your type of story. French Braid tells us about the Garrett family from Mercy and Robin down through the grandchildren. Show Less
LibraryThing member tibobi
The Short of It:
Families. They expand, and evolve but not always in good ways.
The Rest of It:
The Garretts take a family vacation. Their first and last one in the summer of ’59. Mercy and Robin’s marriage is strained by Mercy’s desire to paint again. Paint again, in another house, away from
This was a strange little read. The family dynamic was interesting but I didn’t find myself pulling for anyone in this story, really. It seemed to span too many years, decades actually and as the story unfolds it meanders along until it wraps up, in what I felt, was a very abrupt way. I think I would have liked it better if the story centered around Mercy and Robin’s marriage alone.
Anne Tyler is a great storyteller. I’ve enjoyed many of her novels but this one left something to be desired.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.
Families. They expand, and evolve but not always in good ways.
The Rest of It:
The Garretts take a family vacation. Their first and last one in the summer of ’59. Mercy and Robin’s marriage is strained by Mercy’s desire to paint again. Paint again, in another house, away from
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her husband, for days on end. Their adult kids are all living their own lives but in a detached, “from afar” way. All of them linked by blood but communication is not their strong suit. They find out about each other’s big life events from others.This was a strange little read. The family dynamic was interesting but I didn’t find myself pulling for anyone in this story, really. It seemed to span too many years, decades actually and as the story unfolds it meanders along until it wraps up, in what I felt, was a very abrupt way. I think I would have liked it better if the story centered around Mercy and Robin’s marriage alone.
Anne Tyler is a great storyteller. I’ve enjoyed many of her novels but this one left something to be desired.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.
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LibraryThing member brangwinn
Anne Tyler continues to bring the everyday family to life, with all its disfunctions and love. The Garretts live in Baltimore. Robin runs the family plumbing store, although the store is in his wife, Mercy’s name and they live in the house Mercy grew up in. Mercy, isn’t the model wife. She’s
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not a great cook. She would rather be painting. It’s 1959 and Mercy and Robin have two girls. The older girl, Alice, seems to be more a mother figure than Mercy. The younger girl, Lilly, is boy crazy, and flighty. David, the youngest of the three children struggles to find his place in the family. His father loves working with his hands, but David is much more interested in theater and reading. The story follows the family as the children marry and have children of their own. David’s wife, Greta, sums up the family relationship best when she says “That’s how families work. You think you’re free of them, but you’re never really free…this is what families do for each other—hide a few uncomfortable truths, allow a few self-deceptions. Little kindnesses.” Show Less
LibraryThing member Hccpsk
With French Braid, Ann Tyler gives us another quiet but thoughtful family novel that focuses on the Garretts from Baltimore, MD, and moves from the 1950s up to Covid-centered 2020. Tyler captures what makes a family function — and not function — through brief glimpses of members at various
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stages in life. This is a deceptively simple novel not particularly focused on any one character or plot, but as the story continues to unfold Tyler manages to build in some insights into family dynamics and personalities. Tyler fans will not be disappointed with French Braid, and other readers looking for a thoughtful, family novel should definitely give it a try. Show Less
LibraryThing member kayanelson
Another great book by Anne Tyler. Anne Tyler has a formula that works. She explores the workings and personalities of families. Despite the fact she has written many books, she always has a new take on the topic. In this book, I could really relate to Mercy, the matriarch and grandmother in the
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story. She was just done taking care of people and pets. ( I however, would never return a pet to the shelter for that reason.). I will continue to read Anne Tyler. Show Less
LibraryThing member Doondeck
Wonderful family story that easily moves through the generations. Mercy was a unique character.
LibraryThing member nyiper
What a perfectly lovely story of family relationships over generations. Tyler really lets you get to know each of the family members and so many things that can happen as any family experiences life---ups, downs and sideways......
Just had to add that I now have looked at what others have
Just had to add that I now have looked at what others have
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said....and we mostly agree....a "lovely book!!!" Show Less
LibraryThing member ccayne
Tyler never disappoints. I love her quiet observations about people, their families, loves, hopes, assumptions and sorrows..
LibraryThing member nivramkoorb
I have read Anne Tyler since the early 80's(probably 10+ novels). For the most part she always writes about families and usually in her hometown of Baltimore. So once you know what to expect then you have the fun of meeting her characters. In this novel about the Garrett family, Tyler moves from
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1959 until the present and in 10 year intervals. She gets into the head of many of the characters but she centers on Mercy, a mother and then a grandmother. Tyler does not create stock characters but ones that are very unique and also very quirky. Although she ultimately applauds families, Tyler also focuses in motherhood not being for everyone and family secrets that take awhile to be revealed. If you have never read Tyler, this is the perfect introduction to her. I usually don't rate Tyler higher the 3.5-4 stars because her prose in very basic. For her it's the story and the characters and she does a great job with both. 80 years old and she continues to produce excellent books. Show Less
LibraryThing member pgchuis
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.
This is beautifully written and characterized, although I'm not sure what it is about exactly. It covers the story of a family from 1959 to the beginning of the pandemic, although the opening chapter (for reasons I do not understand)
This is beautifully written and characterized, although I'm not sure what it is about exactly. It covers the story of a family from 1959 to the beginning of the pandemic, although the opening chapter (for reasons I do not understand)
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harks back to 2010. After that it goes forward in time with leaps of years to next generations. I seem finally to have got to the point where references to the pandemic are bearable and would recommend this as a thoughtful and gentle read. Show Less
LibraryThing member nancyadair
After opening and abandoning several books, I settled into French Braid by Anne Tyler for my next December TBR shelf read. It was just what I needed: an ordinary family and yet magnificently messed up. It was cozy and calming and comic and interesting and surprising all at once.
We are formed–or
Then, Tyler takes us back to 1959 and the one and only Garrett family vacation to a cabin at lake, introducing us to parents Robin and Mercy and their three children, teenagers Alice and Lily, and the youngest, David. It isn’t really a family vacation, the kind where everyone enjoys time together. Lily finds a boy and disappears all day. David is afraid of the water and feels judged by his father. Mercy paints, unconcerned that Lily is hanging with an older boy. Robin is unconcerned by Lily’s broken heart. And we understand the basic disconnection of these people.
These people never talk about their problems with each other. They just drift apart into their own lives. When Mercy moves out, little by little, into an art studio apartment, her separation from her husband is never recognized. Her own children don’t even think of it as a separation.
Tyler’s understated style is not for everyone. There are no horrendous events or compulsive story arcs. Just life, like yours and mine, and a shared recognition. And perhaps, some healing knowing all families leave their indelible marks.
We are formed–or
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deformed– by our families. The Garrett family is no different. They are such a fractured family that in the opening scene, a woman isn’t sure if a man she sees is her cousin. It had been years since they had last seen each other at their grandfather’s funeral. Serena’s boyfriend has a close family, but she realizes that hers “never seemed to take” when they did gather at weddings or funerals.Then, Tyler takes us back to 1959 and the one and only Garrett family vacation to a cabin at lake, introducing us to parents Robin and Mercy and their three children, teenagers Alice and Lily, and the youngest, David. It isn’t really a family vacation, the kind where everyone enjoys time together. Lily finds a boy and disappears all day. David is afraid of the water and feels judged by his father. Mercy paints, unconcerned that Lily is hanging with an older boy. Robin is unconcerned by Lily’s broken heart. And we understand the basic disconnection of these people.
These people never talk about their problems with each other. They just drift apart into their own lives. When Mercy moves out, little by little, into an art studio apartment, her separation from her husband is never recognized. Her own children don’t even think of it as a separation.
Tyler’s understated style is not for everyone. There are no horrendous events or compulsive story arcs. Just life, like yours and mine, and a shared recognition. And perhaps, some healing knowing all families leave their indelible marks.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
Appealing family saga where each time period focuses on a different family member.
Awards
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Fiction — 2023)
NPR: Books We Love (2022)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — Hall of Fame — March 2022)
BBC 50 Best Books of 2022 (2022)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2022
Physical description
256 p.; 9.52 inches
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |
ISBN
059332109X / 9780593321096
Other editions
French Braid: A novel by Anne Tyler (Hardcover)
Similar in this library
Pages
256