French Braid by Anne Tyler
When Mercy Garrett moves herself out of the family home, everyone determines not to notice.
All she wants is space and silence. No clutter. Not even their cat, Desmond.
But it turns out family life is impossible to escape – particularly when it’s in your past. For Mercy it all begins in 1959, with a holiday to a cabin by a lake. It’s the only one the Garretts will ever take, but its effects will ripple through the generations
Comments
This book was described by a number of readers as a very “ordinary” and slow moving story.
A polarising book, it was either enjoyed or disliked by our readers.
Many readers felt there were very few “stand out” likable characters in this novel, a novel that is all about family relationships and family secrets.
The story line seemed to go nowhere and was very frustrating for many readers who described a narration that just went on and on building to nowhere.
A few readers did enjoy this low key story of an average family making their way through life although they did also state they were half through the book and were asking “is this story going anywhere?” It is only at this lengthy point in the story that the enjoyment kicked in.
The story is a narration of various family member viewpoints about their lives and their relationships within their family.
Robin and Mercy are the parents of three children. The early years are told as a family unit but moves on as the children mature to each of their lives being told individually.
Some are likable and relateable, some are found wanting in character by our readers.
Unfortunately the mother, Mercy, was found to be very unlikable by most readers. This was quite off putting to some readers who found her character to be self absorbed and selfish. This aspect strongly affected how they felt about the book.
Anne Tyler does write in a unique style and some of our readers have read her books and enjoyed them.
This one was felt to be not one of her best.
Read by MJ Readers Book Club