17 Jun / French Braid by Anne Tyler [in Booklist]
*STARRED REVIEW
Okay, Anne Tyler devotees and newbies (are there any?): settle in for another utterly engrossing multi-generational saga of Baltimoreans (who scatter), gently, absorbingly read by versatile Kimberly Farr. In her third iteration as Tyler’s cipher, Farr effortlessly adapts to Tyler’s distinct phrasings and rhythms, inviting listeners with welcoming intimacy to get to know the Garrett family.
By the time Robin, Mercy, and their three children take their first and only vacation together, in 1959, familial bonds are already fraying. Older daughters Alice, 17, and Lily, 15 – so unlike each other – are already distanced from 7-year-old brother, David. Their week at the lake expose fissures that only widen as the years pass.
While Robin’s hard work has ensured the success of Mercy’s family’s plumbing supply store, Mercy just wants to paint. She moves into her studio in such small increments that no one seems to acknowledge her absence. Alice and Lily each marry, have their own families, but remain nearby enough. David heads to college in Pennsylvania and rarely returns to Baltimore.
Tyler follows the various branches over the decades through the Covid-19 pandemic, finding regular, albeit brief, connections because, despite everything, “you’re never really free [of family].”
Tyler illuminates; Farr elucidates.
Review: “Media,” Booklist, June 1, 2022
Readers: Adult
Published: 2022