A Spool of Blue Thread
by Anne Tyler
On This Page
Description
"From the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author--now in the fiftieth year of her remarkable career--a brilliantly observed, joyful and wrenching, funny and true new novel that reveals, as only she can, the very nature of a family's life. "It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon." This is the way Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she fell in love with Red that day in July 1959. The whole family--their two daughters and two sons, their grandchildren, even their show more faithful old dog--is on the porch, listening contentedly as Abby tells the tale they have heard so many times before. And yet this gathering is different too: Abby and Red are growing older, and decisions must be made about how best to look after them, and the fate of the house so lovingly built by Red's father. Brimming with the luminous insight, humor, and compassion that are Anne Tyler's hallmarks, this capacious novel takes us across three generations of the Whitshanks, their shared stories and long-held secrets, all the unguarded and richly lived moments that combine to define who and what they are as a family"-- show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
RidgewayGirl Both books focus on ordinary lives and families with a strong sense of place. Both are written by a master at the top of her game.
30
BookshelfMonstrosity These character-driven novels sensitively present elderly protagonists whose memories unfold to reveal the charms and struggles of family life. Both have a strong sense of place: Baltimore in A Spool of Blue Thread; Manitoba in The Stone Angel.
20
thea-block Common themes and tones run throughout both stories: home-town feel; descriptions of the lifetimes of somewhat ordinary/somewhat extraordinary people; love and loss, regret and gratefulness, parents and children.
by zhejw
Member Reviews
I have been waiting months for the Kindle price of this novel to drop into the realms of sanity, and then the instant I plump for the paperback, the ebook is suddenly half price! Anyway, I don't begrudge paying more after reading and enjoying this long, meandering tale of the Whitshank family - which might have been much longer, had the author not called time at three generations - and would definitely recommend to others who enjoy reading about characters more than action-packed plotlines.
At the heart of the story is the Whitshank's house on Bouton Road, in Hampden, Baltimore - or more accurately, the wide porch at the front of the house, which made Red's father Junior fall in love with the plans for a house he was building for someone show more else. Junior and Linnie Mae raised Red and his sister Merrick in the house, and Red eventually came home to roost with his own brood of children, dogs and Abby's 'orphans'. The third and final generation of Whitshanks, with assorted husbands and grandchildren, are drawn back home when Abby's memory becomes a cause for concern.
I most enjoyed the 'now' portion of the story, and was absolutely gutted by one key event, but all of the Whitshanks are sympathetic, believable characters, drawn together by the 'heart' of the novel, the family home. I didn't want to leave! Like all memorable fictional families, the Whitshanks are suitably dysfunctional, with their share of skeletons in the closets - and decorating the porch - but they band together admirably in times of tension and grief. I think everyone can relate to this family - I know I certainly could! Not a lot happens - and when something did, I was shocked! - but a lot of family history is covered, explaining the characters and their relationships in vivid colour and depth.
A heartwarming story, beautifully told. show less
At the heart of the story is the Whitshank's house on Bouton Road, in Hampden, Baltimore - or more accurately, the wide porch at the front of the house, which made Red's father Junior fall in love with the plans for a house he was building for someone show more else. Junior and Linnie Mae raised Red and his sister Merrick in the house, and Red eventually came home to roost with his own brood of children, dogs and Abby's 'orphans'. The third and final generation of Whitshanks, with assorted husbands and grandchildren, are drawn back home when Abby's memory becomes a cause for concern.
I most enjoyed the 'now' portion of the story, and was absolutely gutted by one key event, but all of the Whitshanks are sympathetic, believable characters, drawn together by the 'heart' of the novel, the family home. I didn't want to leave! Like all memorable fictional families, the Whitshanks are suitably dysfunctional, with their share of skeletons in the closets - and decorating the porch - but they band together admirably in times of tension and grief. I think everyone can relate to this family - I know I certainly could! Not a lot happens - and when something did, I was shocked! - but a lot of family history is covered, explaining the characters and their relationships in vivid colour and depth.
A heartwarming story, beautifully told. show less
This is the first time I've ever put an Anne Tyler book aside unfinished. I'm five hours into a thirteen hour book and I've lost the will to continue.
As you would expect with an Anne Tyler book, "A Spool Of Blue Thread" is very well written. The language is precise but accessible, the dialogue is authentic and nothing is pretentious. The life of the family at the centre of the book spilled into my imagination, like toys falling from an over-stuffed wardrobe, from the first page onwards.
There are no characters in this book, only people. Characters have back-stories and personal quirks that move a plot along. Each one has a narrative that you know the author will disclose in a way that gives the most dramatic effect. I learned about the show more people in this book the way I would learn about anyone else: by repeated exposure, by shared stories, by watching how they treat each other and guessing how they see themselves. They have lives, not back-stories and this means they are messy, not easily defined, constantly changing and fundamentally incomplete.
I think I understand what Anne Tyler is doing with this book and I can see that she's doing it well. "A Spool Of Blue Thread" frees itself from the conventions or narrative without falling into the vertiginous giddiness of continuous stream of consciousness. Anne Taylor seems to be setting out not to tell a story but to share the life of a family. She does this exposing us to the family in a variety of situations without establishing a dominant character or allowing the authorial voice to fill in the blanks. She invites you to immerse yourself in the lives of these people and form your own conclusions.
At first I was fascinated. I'd never seen anything like this before. It was like watching Japanese artist bringing an object to life by adding layer after layer of paint and being amazed at the supernaturally bright finish her produces on what started as a simple piece of wood.
Unfortunately, after a while, reading the book became as compelling as watch lacquer dry to a fine finish. I began to understand why fiction and real life differ: real life happens and you make the best of it; fiction is designed to produce a particular effect. Real life is endured. Fiction should be enjoyed.
I stopped reading "A Spool Of Blue Thread" once I realised just how much like real life it was. There were parts of it that grabbed my attention and parts that slipped by me and some it that puzzled me but it wasn't taking me anywhere. In the absence of a narrative thrust, I was stuck on a hamster wheel, watching everyone run in place. I was enduring it, not enjoying it.
So I've set it aside, conscious that I'm giving up on something unique and well crafted in favour of simple entertainment. If I was younger, I might see that as a character flaw. At this stage in my life, it just seems like being realistic about what I want. There are many parts of my life where I have to take things as they come but I'm not going to let reading become one of them. show less
As you would expect with an Anne Tyler book, "A Spool Of Blue Thread" is very well written. The language is precise but accessible, the dialogue is authentic and nothing is pretentious. The life of the family at the centre of the book spilled into my imagination, like toys falling from an over-stuffed wardrobe, from the first page onwards.
There are no characters in this book, only people. Characters have back-stories and personal quirks that move a plot along. Each one has a narrative that you know the author will disclose in a way that gives the most dramatic effect. I learned about the show more people in this book the way I would learn about anyone else: by repeated exposure, by shared stories, by watching how they treat each other and guessing how they see themselves. They have lives, not back-stories and this means they are messy, not easily defined, constantly changing and fundamentally incomplete.
I think I understand what Anne Tyler is doing with this book and I can see that she's doing it well. "A Spool Of Blue Thread" frees itself from the conventions or narrative without falling into the vertiginous giddiness of continuous stream of consciousness. Anne Taylor seems to be setting out not to tell a story but to share the life of a family. She does this exposing us to the family in a variety of situations without establishing a dominant character or allowing the authorial voice to fill in the blanks. She invites you to immerse yourself in the lives of these people and form your own conclusions.
At first I was fascinated. I'd never seen anything like this before. It was like watching Japanese artist bringing an object to life by adding layer after layer of paint and being amazed at the supernaturally bright finish her produces on what started as a simple piece of wood.
Unfortunately, after a while, reading the book became as compelling as watch lacquer dry to a fine finish. I began to understand why fiction and real life differ: real life happens and you make the best of it; fiction is designed to produce a particular effect. Real life is endured. Fiction should be enjoyed.
I stopped reading "A Spool Of Blue Thread" once I realised just how much like real life it was. There were parts of it that grabbed my attention and parts that slipped by me and some it that puzzled me but it wasn't taking me anywhere. In the absence of a narrative thrust, I was stuck on a hamster wheel, watching everyone run in place. I was enduring it, not enjoying it.
So I've set it aside, conscious that I'm giving up on something unique and well crafted in favour of simple entertainment. If I was younger, I might see that as a character flaw. At this stage in my life, it just seems like being realistic about what I want. There are many parts of my life where I have to take things as they come but I'm not going to let reading become one of them. show less
A lyrical, almost musical quality to the writing makes this journey through the lives of the Whitshank family totally enjoyable. We move back and forward in time to see different times in their lives and to learn more about certain characters, all while wondering where the story is going. The story moves slowly, but there is a languidness (sic) to the feel of the writing that makes you feel as though you are sitting on a porch drinking homemade lemonade, with the story washing gently over you like a summer breeze. A delight.
I love a family saga, and Anne Tyler excels in this genre. The more dysfunctional the family the better. So I had high hopes for A Spool of Blue Thread, even more so because of the prize nominations it earned back in 2015. The book delivered in some ways, and fell short in others.
The first half of the book is the story of Abby and Red, and their adult children. Both parents are showing signs of age, cognitively and physically. Their children–2 daughters and 2 sons–are justifiably concerned and everyone plays a part in looking out for them. Even their son Denny, who has a habit of coming in and out of their lives, moves into their house and shares duties with his brother Stem. There’s a lot going on in this family, borne of good show more intentions, poor communications and unmet expectations. They seem to be just barely holding things together when suddenly a major event turns their world upside down.
At that point, Tyler takes the narrative back in time, first telling the story of Abby and Red’s early days as a couple, and then the story of Red’s parents. These were interesting character studies in their own right, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the present-day family. When Tyler finally returned to them, it was more of a denouement which resolved a few questions but left much of the family’s future uncertain. In the end, I was left wanting more from this novel. show less
The first half of the book is the story of Abby and Red, and their adult children. Both parents are showing signs of age, cognitively and physically. Their children–2 daughters and 2 sons–are justifiably concerned and everyone plays a part in looking out for them. Even their son Denny, who has a habit of coming in and out of their lives, moves into their house and shares duties with his brother Stem. There’s a lot going on in this family, borne of good show more intentions, poor communications and unmet expectations. They seem to be just barely holding things together when suddenly a major event turns their world upside down.
At that point, Tyler takes the narrative back in time, first telling the story of Abby and Red’s early days as a couple, and then the story of Red’s parents. These were interesting character studies in their own right, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the present-day family. When Tyler finally returned to them, it was more of a denouement which resolved a few questions but left much of the family’s future uncertain. In the end, I was left wanting more from this novel. show less
A Spool of Blue Thread is about family and the joys and challenges of growing and living as a unit. Red and Abby Whitshank raised their four children in the house on Bouton Road (in Baltimore) where Red spent his own childhood. In fact, the house was built with loving (some would say obsessive) care by Red's father, Junior Whitshank. The story begins in the 1990s with Red and Abby trying to figure out their feckless son, Denny, who has left home and whose unanchored style of life, which follows no dicernable pattern and includes long periods with no communication, is a constant source of worry. Later, Red and Abby, now in their seventies, are beginning to come to terms with the process of aging. This is when tragedy strikes and show more everything changes. The novel then switches gears and we return to the late 1950s, with Red and Abby in their teens and just starting to know one another and fall in love. The story then jumps further back in time to Depression-Era Baltimore, where Junior Whitshank has gone in an attempt to find work and make something of himself. And lastly, we return to the contemporary and post-tragedy Whitshanks, who are facing the questions and challenges that all families face when people get old and have to accept unwelcome changes in their lives. This bare-bones description makes it sound like Tyler has taken a scattershot approach to constructing her novel, but this is not the case at all. She is simply dramatizing the past in order to bring the present more fully to life, and in this she succeeds magnificently. Nobody is better at depicting family in all its peculiar, maddening and messy particulars than Anne Tyler. By the novel's end we probably know the Whitshanks better than we know our own family, because their secrets have been exposed and we've seen them at their very best and very worst. It is testimony to this author's talent that her characters can be mean and generous, suspicious and unguarded all within a single scene, and are more believable for it. In Tyler's world spouses defy one another, daughters argue, sons come to blows and yet the relationships survive and people are still capable of laughter. A Spool of Blue Thread demonstrates that twenty novels into her career, Anne Tyler remains a witty and observant student of the human heart. show less
Utterly absorbing family saga that completely wraps you up. When you've finished, you think "not a great deal really happened!" But that doesn't stop it being totally engrossing.
The narrative opens with the middle-aged Whitshanks and their four grown-up children. They almost seem a Waltons type family, headed by builder Red and social-worker Abby...and yet, there seem to be tensions, imperfections, notably in their distant, drop-out son Denny. We follow them through the years, into old age...their changing relationship to their kids, the characters and situations so plausible.
Then Tyler drags us back in time: to the (often described by Abby) beautiful afternoon when the pair met. But the anecdotal glories of a time and a place are never show more exactly true; always there are undercurrents, flaws...the people beaming out of a photograph aren't REALLY having a perfect day. This is the actual day, related by an impartial narrator.
And then back again: Red's parents (who we met in the previous section, where his mother describes the Romeo and Juliet romance of her husband and herself) are re-visited in their youth, to see just how their relationship began.
Before shifting back to the Whitshanks; a situation that doesn't all come to a satisfying and implausible conclusion, but sort of drifts on, as life does.
The Sunday Express describes it as 'Effortlessly enthralling' and I don't thnk I can improve on that. show less
The narrative opens with the middle-aged Whitshanks and their four grown-up children. They almost seem a Waltons type family, headed by builder Red and social-worker Abby...and yet, there seem to be tensions, imperfections, notably in their distant, drop-out son Denny. We follow them through the years, into old age...their changing relationship to their kids, the characters and situations so plausible.
Then Tyler drags us back in time: to the (often described by Abby) beautiful afternoon when the pair met. But the anecdotal glories of a time and a place are never show more exactly true; always there are undercurrents, flaws...the people beaming out of a photograph aren't REALLY having a perfect day. This is the actual day, related by an impartial narrator.
And then back again: Red's parents (who we met in the previous section, where his mother describes the Romeo and Juliet romance of her husband and herself) are re-visited in their youth, to see just how their relationship began.
Before shifting back to the Whitshanks; a situation that doesn't all come to a satisfying and implausible conclusion, but sort of drifts on, as life does.
The Sunday Express describes it as 'Effortlessly enthralling' and I don't thnk I can improve on that. show less
A leisurely character-driven story that recounts the detailed relationships and lives of the Whitshank family in Baltimore. Nothing spectacular happens, yet it is filled with the ordinary happenings of an ordinary family, that we can all understand and appreciate. I recommend reading this novel slowly, savouring it, instead of a non-stop feast, so that the wonderful characters can take up residence in the mind like friends. A fantastic novel that highlights Tyler’s exceptional writing.
Members
- Recently Added By
Published Reviews
ThingScore 90
Readers anticipating an easy “domestic” novel will be terrifically surprised...Tyler’s genius as a novelist involves her ability to withhold moral judgment of her characters.....Tyler is in full command of her scenes and her characters, grounding her reader in time and space in every sequence of this tightly written and highly readable novel. .....Breaking with a conventional linear show more structure, the final and most compelling chapters belong to Abby and relay the series of events that led to her falling in love with Red, a story that exists only in Abby’s memory, told here to the reader. The discoveries in these final pages are likely to force readers to reflect back on the earlier chapters and view them in an entirely new — and much darker — light. Here we see the truth about every love story: It was merely an accident of chance. show less
added by vancouverdeb
Readers of any age should have no trouble relating to Abby's complaint that "the trouble with dying ... is that you don't get to see how everything turns out. You won't know the ending." Her daughter protests, "But, Mom, there is no ending." To which Abby replies, "Well, I know that." And then Tyler adds the unspoken kicker her fans have come to look for: "In theory." We can only hope that show more Tyler will continue spooling out her colorful Baltimore tales for a long time to come. show less
added by vancouverdeb
Now 73, Tyler has hinted that this might be her last novel. If so, she may not have ended with a masterpiece, but she has given us plenty of reminders of her lavish strengths: the quiet authority of her prose; the ultimately persuasive belief that a kindly eye is not necessarily a dishonest one; and perhaps above all, the fact that, 50 years after she started, she still gives us a better show more sense than almost anyone else of what it’s like to be part of a family – which for most of us also means a better sense than almost anyone else of what it’s like to be alive.
And if all that’s not enough to earn a top-table place, then maybe it’s time to rethink the criteria for qualification. show less
And if all that’s not enough to earn a top-table place, then maybe it’s time to rethink the criteria for qualification. show less
added by vancouverdeb
Lists
2016 Tournament of Books
17 works; 20 members
Your favorite books from the 2015 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction
20 works; 13 members
Man Booker Prize Longlist 2015
13 works; 9 members
Female Author
1,235 works; 67 members
Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction Winners and Shortlisted Books
61 works; 11 members
Booker Prize
491 works; 62 members
Top Five Books of 2015
811 works; 241 members
Best Family Stories
241 works; 22 members
50 Books from the Past 50 Years
50 works; 8 members
Kirkus Starred Fiction Reviews of Books Published in 2015
310 works; 6 members
Carole's List
445 works; 13 members
Books Read in 2016
4,666 works; 199 members
International Dublin Literary Award Longlist 2017
147 works; 3 members
Dublin Literary Award Longlist 2017
147 works; 2 members
Secrets Books
94 works; 3 members
Most Frequently Tagged "Read in 2015"
70 works; 1 member
Books Read in 2024
4,623 works; 126 members
Library List - Pulitzer Adjacent
39 works; 1 member
Author Information
62+ Works 56,019 Members
Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 25, 1941. She graduated from Duke University at the age of 19 and completed graduate work in Russian studies at Columbia University. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a librarian and bibliographer. Her first novel, If Morning Ever Comes, was published in 1964. Her other works show more include Saint Maybe, Back When We Were Grownups, Digging to America, Noah's Compass, The Beginner's Goodbye, A Spool of Blue Thread, and Vinegar Girl. She has won several awards including the PEN Faulkner Award in 1983 for Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, the 1985 National Book Critics Circle Award for The Accidental Tourist, and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Breathing Lessons. The Accidental Tourist was adapted into a 1988 movie starring William Hurt and Geena Davis. In 2018 her title, Clock Dance, made the bestsellers list. (Bowker Author Biography) Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. "Back When We Were Grownups" is her 15th novel; her 11th, "Breathing Lessons", won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland. (Publisher Provided) show less
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Distinctions
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A Spool of Blue Thread
- Original title
- A Spool of Blue Thread
- Original publication date
- 2015-02-10
- People/Characters
- Abby Whitshank; Red Whitshank; Denny Whitshank; Stem (Douglas) O'Brien (Douglas); Jeannie Whitshank; Amanda Whitshank (show all 9); Linnie Mae Inman; Junior Whitshank; Nora O'Brien
- Important places
- Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- First words
- Late one July evening in 1994, Red and Abby Whitshank had a phone call from their son Denny.
- Quotations
- And then that clear-eyed, calm-faced boy would shine forth from Red's sags and wrinkles, from his crumpled eyelids and hollowed cheeks and the two deep crevices bracketing his mouth and just his general obtuseness, his stubbo... (show all)rnness, his infuriating belief that simple, cold logic could solve all of life's problems, and she would feel unspeakably lucky to have ended up with him. (p. 166)
"There, there," Nora told her. "This will get easier, I promise. God gives us never more than we can handle." Jeannie only cried harder. "Actually, that's not true," Denny said in an informative tone of voice. He was leaning ... (show all)back against the fridge with his arms folded. Nora glanced at him, still smoothing Jeannie's shoulder. "He gives people more than they can handle every day of the year," Denny told her. "Half the world is walking around just... destroyed, most of the time." (p. 175)
And meanwhile Linnie Mae was heading up the walk with her spine very straight and her hat level, all innocent and carefree. Not even a glance backward to find out how he was taking this. Why had he worried for one second abou... (show all)t abandoning her at the train station? She would have done just fine without him! She would do just fine anywhere. (p. 337) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Focus purely on the scenery, which had changed to open countryside now, leaving behind the blighted row houses, leaving behind the station under its weight of rolling dark clouds, and the empty city streets around it, and the narrower streets farther north with the trees turning inside out in the wind, and the house on Bouton Road where the filmy-skirted ghosts frolicked and danced on the porch with nobody left to watch.
- Original language
- English US
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 3,586
- Popularity
- 4,524
- Reviews
- 221
- Rating
- (3.57)
- Languages
- 12 — Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 55
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 14