-
A Spool of Blue Thread
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 02-10-15
- Language: English
- Publisher: Random House Audiobooks
Regular price: $25.58
People who bought this also bought...
-
Clock Dance
- A Novel
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 435
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 393
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 390
Willa Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life. In 1967, she is a schoolgirl coping with her mother's sudden disappearance. In 1977, she is a college coed considering a marriage proposal. In 1997, she is a young widow trying to piece her life back together. And in 2017, she yearns to be a grandmother but isn't sure she ever will be. Then, one day, Willa receives a startling phone call from a stranger. Without fully understanding why, she flies across the country to Baltimore....
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
frustrated
- By Amazon Customer on 07-13-18
-
The Gap of Time
- A Novel
- By: Jeanette Winterson
- Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins, Mark Bazeley, Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 52
In The Gap of Time, Jeanette Winterson's cover version of The Winter's Tale, we move from London, a city reeling after the 2008 financial crisis, to a storm-ravaged American city called New Bohemia. Her story is one of childhood friendship, money, status, technology, and the elliptical nature of time. Written with energy and wit, this is a story of the consuming power of jealousy on the one hand and redemption and the enduring love of a lost child on the other.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The men are great
- By DRVanDyke on 03-14-16
-
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 205
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 203
Pearl Tull is nearing the end of her life but not of her memory. It was a Sunday night in 1944 when her husband left the little row house on Baltimore’s Calvert Street, abandoning Pearl to raise their three children alone....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Listen to it More Than Once
- By Babette on 06-13-11
-
The Accidental Tourist
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 654
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 597
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 599
Meet Macon Leary--a travel writer who hates both travel and strangeness. Grounded by loneliness, comfort, and a somewhat odd domestic life, Macon is about to embark on a surprising new adventure, arriving in the form of a fuzzy-haired dog obedience trainer who promises to turn his life around.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Extraordinary How Underwhelmed I Am
- By Gillian on 05-13-15
-
Ladder of Years
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kelly Lintz
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 82
"Baltimore woman disappears during family vacation" declares the headline. Forty-year-old Delia Grinstead is last seen strolling down the Delaware shore, wearing nothing more than a bathing suit and carrying a beach tote with five hundred dollars tucked inside. To her husband and three almost-grown children, she has vanished without trace or reason. But for Delia, "walking away from it all" is not a premeditated act, but an impulse that will lead her into a new, exciting, and unimagined life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My Favorite Book
- By Robyn Ringler, East Line Literary Arts on 06-10-17
-
Breathing Lessons
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 82
Maggie and Ira Moran have been married for 28 years...and it shows: in their quarrels, in their routines, in their ability to tolerate with affection each other's eccentricities. Maggie, a kooky, lovable meddler and an irrepressible optimist, wants nothing more than to fix her son's broken marriage. Ira is infuriatingly practical, a man "who should have married Ann Landers".
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Narration spoiled it for me
- By Rita on 05-01-13
-
Clock Dance
- A Novel
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 435
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 393
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 390
Willa Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life. In 1967, she is a schoolgirl coping with her mother's sudden disappearance. In 1977, she is a college coed considering a marriage proposal. In 1997, she is a young widow trying to piece her life back together. And in 2017, she yearns to be a grandmother but isn't sure she ever will be. Then, one day, Willa receives a startling phone call from a stranger. Without fully understanding why, she flies across the country to Baltimore....
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
frustrated
- By Amazon Customer on 07-13-18
-
The Gap of Time
- A Novel
- By: Jeanette Winterson
- Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins, Mark Bazeley, Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 52
In The Gap of Time, Jeanette Winterson's cover version of The Winter's Tale, we move from London, a city reeling after the 2008 financial crisis, to a storm-ravaged American city called New Bohemia. Her story is one of childhood friendship, money, status, technology, and the elliptical nature of time. Written with energy and wit, this is a story of the consuming power of jealousy on the one hand and redemption and the enduring love of a lost child on the other.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The men are great
- By DRVanDyke on 03-14-16
-
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 205
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 203
Pearl Tull is nearing the end of her life but not of her memory. It was a Sunday night in 1944 when her husband left the little row house on Baltimore’s Calvert Street, abandoning Pearl to raise their three children alone....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Listen to it More Than Once
- By Babette on 06-13-11
-
The Accidental Tourist
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 654
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 597
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 599
Meet Macon Leary--a travel writer who hates both travel and strangeness. Grounded by loneliness, comfort, and a somewhat odd domestic life, Macon is about to embark on a surprising new adventure, arriving in the form of a fuzzy-haired dog obedience trainer who promises to turn his life around.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Extraordinary How Underwhelmed I Am
- By Gillian on 05-13-15
-
Ladder of Years
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kelly Lintz
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 82
"Baltimore woman disappears during family vacation" declares the headline. Forty-year-old Delia Grinstead is last seen strolling down the Delaware shore, wearing nothing more than a bathing suit and carrying a beach tote with five hundred dollars tucked inside. To her husband and three almost-grown children, she has vanished without trace or reason. But for Delia, "walking away from it all" is not a premeditated act, but an impulse that will lead her into a new, exciting, and unimagined life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My Favorite Book
- By Robyn Ringler, East Line Literary Arts on 06-10-17
-
Breathing Lessons
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 82
Maggie and Ira Moran have been married for 28 years...and it shows: in their quarrels, in their routines, in their ability to tolerate with affection each other's eccentricities. Maggie, a kooky, lovable meddler and an irrepressible optimist, wants nothing more than to fix her son's broken marriage. Ira is infuriatingly practical, a man "who should have married Ann Landers".
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Narration spoiled it for me
- By Rita on 05-01-13
-
Little Fires Everywhere
- By: Celeste Ng
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21,157
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19,144
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19,101
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned - from the layout of the winding roads to the colors of the houses to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. Enter Mia Warren - an enigmatic artist and single mother - who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter, Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Just OK
- By Dana on 07-11-18
-
Before We Were Yours
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Wingate
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin, Catherine Taber
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37,258
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33,957
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33,826
Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge - until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents - but they quickly realize the dark truth.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
I was rivetted, finished in three days.
- By Lin Cloward on 06-26-17
-
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
- A Novel
- By: Gail Honeyman
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21,864
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20,321
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20,236
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Completely fine? No... Completely AWESOME
- By Janna on 07-15-17
-
The Great Alone
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18,563
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,978
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,899
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: He will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Riveting!
- By Deborah on 02-07-18
-
Something in the Water
- By: Catherine Steadman
- Narrated by: Catherine Steadman
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22,555
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20,939
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20,852
Erin is a documentary filmmaker on the brink of a professional breakthrough, Mark a handsome investment banker with big plans. Passionately in love, they embark on a dream honeymoon to the tropical island of Bora Bora, where they enjoy the sun, the sand, and each other. Then, while scuba diving in the crystal blue sea, they find something in the water....
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Give this a HARD PASS
- By 3dewdrops on 06-27-18
-
Educated
- A Memoir
- By: Tara Westover
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 14,918
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 13,609
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 13,541
Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches. In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Exceptional
- By Haley on 05-27-18
-
The Beginner's Goodbye
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 242
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 202
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 210
Anne Tyler gives us a wise, haunting, and deeply moving new novel in which she explores how a middle-aged man, torn apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored by her frequent appearances: in their house, on the roadway, in the market. Gradually he discovers, as he works in the family's vanity-publishing business, turning out titles that presume to guide beginners through the trials of life, that maybe for this beginner there is a way of saying goodbye.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Anne Tyler at her Best
- By Elizabeth Ward on 05-06-12
-
Where the Crawdads Sing
- By: Delia Owens
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,305
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,217
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,213
For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life - until the unthinkable happens.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Felt like I was there...
- By Linda Ottey on 08-19-18
-
Back When We Were Grownups
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Blair Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 203
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 56
Back When We Were Grownups is about one woman's search for who she really is. Listen as a 53-year-old grandmother tries to recover her girlhood self and that dignified grownup she had once been.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful characters
- By Barbara on 08-19-03
-
Fear
- Trump in the White House
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,934
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,469
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,437
With authoritative reporting honed through eight presidencies from Nixon to Obama, author Bob Woodward reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside President Donald Trump’s White House and precisely how he makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies. Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files, and documents. The focus is on the explosive debates and the decision-making in the Oval Office, the Situation Room, Air Force One, and the White House residence.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Extremely Depressing...
- By Sena on 09-11-18
-
Less
- By: Andrew Sean Greer
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,086
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,927
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,917
You are a failed novelist about to turn 50. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: Your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You can't say yes - it would be too awkward - and you can't say no - it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary events around the world. Question: How do you arrange to skip town? Answer: You accept them all.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Endearing, funny, but sometimes overly clever
- By Lili on 07-30-17
-
A Gentleman in Moscow
- A Novel
- By: Amor Towles
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19,889
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 18,447
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18,383
A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in an elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel's doors.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant, heartfelt, inspiring
- By Jon K. Rust on 07-24-17
Publisher's Summary
The Sunday Times best seller
Shortlisted for the Man Booker prize
Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Fiction prize
A Richard and Judy Book Club pick
"It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon..."
This is the way Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she and Red fell in love that summer’s day in 1959. The whole family on the porch, half-listening as their mother tells the same tale they have heard so many times before.
From that porch we spool back through the generations, witnessing the events, secrets and unguarded moments that have come to define the family. From Red’s father and mother, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to Abby and Red’s grandchildren carrying the family legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century - four generations of Whitshanks, their lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn Baltimore house that has always been their home....
Critic Reviews
"One of my favourite authors." (Liane Moriarty)
"She spins gold." (Elizabeth Buchan)
"Anne Tyler has no peer." (Anita Shreve)
"My favourite writer, and the best line-and-length novelist in the world." (Nick Hornby)
"A masterly author." (Sebastian Faulks)
"Tyler is not merely good, she is wickedly good." (John Updike)
"I love Anne Tyler." (Anita Brookner)
"Her fiction has strength of vision, originality, freshness, unconquerable humour." (Eudora Welty)
More from the same
Narrator
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
-
3.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars5
-
4 Stars8
-
3 Stars8
-
2 Stars2
-
1 Stars1
Performance
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars8
-
4 Stars6
-
3 Stars3
-
2 Stars2
-
1 Stars1
Story
-
3.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars5
-
4 Stars7
-
3 Stars5
-
2 Stars3
-
1 Stars1
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Heather
- 11-28-15
Superb
A deep and rich evocation of family. Anne Tyler creates yet another wonderful world full of the details that make fiction seem even more vivid than life. A writer at the peak of her imaginative powers sharing with us her wisdom and insight on the frailty and wonder of what it means to belong to the people we are related to.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- BanksiaMama
- 06-17-15
Great!
Ah, Tyler does it again! So satisfying and complete. Heart filled and sweeping extended family drama with unexpected forays and a good ending.
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Alison
- 05-23-16
Not For Me
I love many of Anne Tyler's books and have read almost of them I think. But this is the second audio book of hers I have bought and I didn't enjoy either of them. Maybe I chose the wrong books, or maybe they work better for me 'in my head' rather than being read to.
I see from the reviews of this recording that views are polarized - but several reviewers said they found it boring and so did I.
The gentleness of her writing and skillful character drawing are both present in this book - the problem really began with me realizing about 25% of the way in, that I didn't like any of the characters she had drawn, except maybe one of Abby's daughters. The elder son just annoyed me, as did the family's rather pathetic 'fear' of him and his casually nasty behaviour. Then we veered off into a distant back-story...I was bored by this point and I considered abandoning it, but I kept going.
The story goes back and forth and though there are some plot twists, nothing much really happens. I don't usually mind that, as long as the journey is rewarding but for me, it was not.
The narration was OK; it did seem to match the dull, rather whiny tone of the book. No-one was ever really happy it seemed; but no-one was unhappy enough to tackle it. So the family, much like the book, just drift.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- M. Price
- 06-05-16
Seamless Sewing at it's Best!
I absolutely loved this book in all its multi-layered glory.Kimberly Farr does an exquisite job of the narration, each character's voice clearly resounding, making the story come alive. I won't talk about the plot as it would spoil Ann Tyler's twists and turns, but the writing is beautiful and the characters take on a life of their own. Suffice to say that if you purchase this book you won't regret it.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- P1955
- 04-17-16
Well worth the listen.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Itntook me a little whilento get intomit but gradually I was drawn in completely. The narrator enhanced my experience as her voice was so interesting to listen to.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Musicista
- 02-04-16
GREAT FAMILY SAGA
Would you consider the audio edition of A Spool of Blue Thread to be better than the print version?
I have not read the book. I prefer audible books because they are performed. I do not have to read and imagine. I can just listen and see.
What was one of the most memorable moments of A Spool of Blue Thread?
The moment when the relevance of the spool of blue thread is revealed. This author is exceptional. I was moved without a point being hammered home.
What about Kimberly Farr’s performance did you like?
A good narrator. Made me believe the story and the characters.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-14-15
Brilliant
I got really absorbed in this book and recommend to anyone who enjoys a good family drama. It was thought provoking and emotionally charged. Anne Tyler is skilled contemporary writer, offering a humorous, moving and clever tale, woven back and forth across different generations. The narrator did a good job of bringing the characters to life .
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- LS
- 10-08-15
Utterly gorgeous!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I would have loved to listen to it all in one setting but it's very long. It's like a long luxurious bath or a delicious meal. This is a tale of family life - very descriptive of the location and the characters.
Any additional comments?
I listened to this on holiday - very soothing and relaxing
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- S. D.
- 07-25-16
Nothing much happens
I had to read this for a book club meeting. I found the book hard to get into so I bought it on Audible because I was going on a long journey. It passed the time but nothing really happened. I won't be reading any more books by this author.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mr. P. D. Selman
- 07-05-16
Unwinding
I don't have too much to say about this one other than that I really, really, really liked it.
I've not read any Anne Tyler before but she was recommended to me by a friend, so when I saw this in a sale I snapped it up. I'm so glad I did.
This book tells the life story of an extended family who are a perfectly normal family in as much as there is such a thing (I'm pretty sure there isn't). The characters aren't exceptional people but they are exceptionally well developed and written. They became so real to me that I kept forgetting this was fiction!
Tyler's writing is nothing short of beautiful. She has a rhythmic, lyrical prose style that sucked me in and wouldn't let go. I'll definitely be reading more of her work. Everything comes together perfectly and I found myself deeply moved in a number of places. I'll admit it; there were tears!
If, like me, you read a lot of fantasy, horror and science fiction but occasionally like to read about a world that's a little closer to the one you actually live in, you could do worse than to give this a try.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- J C Forbes
- 06-29-16
Spool of blue thread
I loved it. Beautifully crafted writing and well read. It wouldn't suit anyone who likes a fast moving plot but if you enjoy the intricacies of family relationships, it's for you
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anna
- 06-23-16
lovely, funny, warm and nicely written story
I enjoyed this book very much. read printed version and bought audiobook as loved book so much. It was my first book of this author but not last for sure.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Belinda
- 05-15-15
Loved it!
An excellent and intriguing story of an ordinary family.
Spans across generations to show what makes us who we are.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jane
- 03-12-16
Fascinating and engaging read
Would you consider the audio edition of A Spool of Blue Thread to be better than the print version?
I have only listened to the audio edition
Who was your favorite character and why?
Linnie Mae, I think because of her innocence at some level and her strength to follow through with her love for Junior no matter what - I saw her as a strong character who did not succumb to Junior's authority but worked her wishes around the relationship.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
Many, the swing on the porch story! There was also a lovely point where Abbey is welcomed by Linnie in the kitchen.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Not sure really
Any additional comments?
I would have liked the book to have developed the characters further, I would have liked to hear Nora's voice, what were her thoughts, I would have liked to have heard more of Denny's voice - the ending seemed to leap and be a bit hurried. I think there could have been more development of the overall story to bring it together a bit more some aspects seem to be brushed over so why where they in the story - on the other hand, is this not what families are like over time, some people are not remembered as well to all members and their lives are hidden for no special reason other than what some people focus on as having meaning to them.
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Kate
- 07-08-15
Not Anne Tyler's best work
Kinda blanked out for long periods and was looking forward to it being over. Which is very rare for me and my audio books. Tyler has always been one of my all time favorites and this was a disappointment.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sam Still Reading
- 05-24-15
Wonderful story about the nuances of family
I seem to be saying this a lot lately, but although this is my first Anne Tyler book, it definitely won’t be the last. Two things enticed me to read A Spool of Blue Thread – the gorgeous cover and the fact that it was longlisted (and now shortlisted) for the Baileys Prize. I think I need to thank the Baileys Prize for such a stunning longlist this year, as it’s been the best ever for me in terms of finding new authors that I adore.
I listened to A Spool of Blue Thread in the car and it almost had me hoping I’d end up in a traffic jam so I could listen to more. The story is so good that I just wanted to devour the whole thing (perhaps binge listen is the right term). Kimberly Farr’s narration is spot on and I’m always impressed by narrators that can produce different nuances of speech for each character. She is Abby, Red, Junior, Stem, Denny and Nora. My only critique of the audiobook is that I don’t know how some of the characters’ names are spelled – is it Linney Mae or Linnie Mae? Jeanie or Jeannie? Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Anne Tyler has taken one family with its own quirks and skeleton (no matter how much they try to hide them) and created a wonderful story over three generations of the Whitshank family that is never dull. It’s comical, sad, thought provoking and downright crazy at times, but it shows the love that the family have for each other.
Of course, no family is perfect (even though Junior, Red’s father, did try to build the perfect house). The story opens as Red and Abby, now elderly, get a phone call from black sheep son Denny. He says he’s gay – maybe. The family aren’t sure if they’ve heard correctly. Denny’s an enigma to the rest of the open Whitshanks – he doesn’t live nearby, doesn’t have a steady job (they think) and doesn’t really partake in family gatherings wholeheartedly. The Whitshanks are pretty damn hot in their own eyes – it’s not flaunted, but the family are secure in their love for each other. But it’s not as simple as that. There’s Stem, who was taken in as an orphan and his wife Nora, who the family see as a bit different. But daughters Jeannie and Amanda have their own issues with their Hughs (love that Anne Tyler took what happens so commonly in real families, that two people have the same name) and Denny’s life isn’t that straightforward. But now Abby and Red are getting old – Abby’s memory isn’t too good and Red is getting frail. Will the family bond over this?
We also learn more about the previous generation of Whitshanks – Junior and Linnie Mae. How did Junior go about acquiring such a grand house in Baltimore? How did he and Linnie Mae meet?: How did Red and Abby meet? It’s a wonderful journey across the generations proving that no family is ever straightforward or boring. And as for the Whitshank house…it sounds amazing. (How dare that real estate agent complain so much?) It was built with love and an aim for perfection, just like the family.
Anne Tyler’s prose is wonderful, enveloping and warm. She tells simple things so well, with honesty and an eye for the detail of families – long buried grudges, adult siblings that can still bicker and the bonding that occurs during hard times. This is a wonderful read and I’m crossing my fingers it wins the Baileys Prize this year.