A Spool of Blue Thread: A Novel
by Tyler, Anne
- Used
- Condition
- UsedGood
- ISBN 10
- 0553394398
- ISBN 13
- 9780553394399
- Seller
-
Imperial, Missouri, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
UsedGood. The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
Reviews
On Jan 28 2017, CloggieDownunder said:
"There was nothing remarkable about the Whitshanks. None of them was famous. None of them could claim exceptional intelligence. And in looks, they were no more than average…. But like most families, they imagined they were special. They took great pride, for instance, in their fix-it skills… all of them were convinced that they had better taste than the rest of the world…disappointments seemed to escape the family's notice, though. That was another of their quirks: they had a talent for pretending that everything was fine"
A Spool of Blue Thread is the twentieth adult novel by award-winning American author, Anne Tyler. The Whitshank House on Bouton Rd, lovingly, carefully and painstakingly built by Junior Whitshank for Mr. Ernest Brill, was eventually home to Junior, Linnie Mae and their children, Merrick and Redcliffe. Later, Red and Abby brought up their four, Amanda, Jeannie, Denny and Stem, within its walls. It was built for a family and stood the test of time. And here is where the family gathers when Red and Abby begin to cope less well than they always did.
The issue of how to manage ageing parents is something common to most families; after their first solution fails, another is decided upon, but frictions arise between siblings when the (sort of) black sheep turns up to help. Old jealousies and frustrations surface, and in the course of events, certain secrets are revealed. Tyler has a singular talent for taking ordinary people doing ordinary things and keeping the reader enthralled and endeared. Her pace is sedate, her descriptive prose, gorgeous, her dialogue, realistic.
The narrative is split into four parts: the first tells, from multiple perspectives, of present day events in the Whitshank family, with plenty of references to the immediate (and less immediate) past; the second is from Abby's viewpoint, and details the day she fell in love with Red; the third gives Junior's point of view of events surrounding his early encounters with Linnie Mae and the start of their family life; the last, again from several perspectives, describes the present-day leave-taking from the Bouton Rd house.
Another novel that is characteristically Anne Tyler: funny, moving, thought-provoking and, again, quite brilliant.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Off The Shelf LLC (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 4WILKM00JQIX
- Title
- A Spool of Blue Thread: A Novel
- Author
- Tyler, Anne
- Book Condition
- UsedGood
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0553394398
- ISBN 13
- 9780553394399
- Publisher
- Ballantine Books
- Place of Publication
- New York, New York
- This edition first published
- 2016-04
Terms of Sale
Off The Shelf LLC
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Off The Shelf LLC
Biblio member since 2021
Imperial, Missouri
About Off The Shelf LLC
Hello! We are a used book seller out of St Louis Missouri.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....