As you might guess from the August prompt, I’m thinking about POV (point of view) lately, and working on a lengthier post on this topic, which I hope to complete soon. (Interesting task—weaving writing through hiking mountains and trips to Seattle for music. We are so fortunate that writing is an art form that can be practiced in snippets of time!)
I really enjoy this post, which I've read twice now. I love how you call out moments that, as you say, keep bringing readers back to Anne Tyler.
I have read a lot of Tyler's books, but didn't fully appreciate her craft and her depth of understanding until I read A Spool of Blue Thread. That sent me back to her older work, and I went on a real two-year Tyler binge. I do enjoy her craft a lot, and I was delighted to read this post about that aspect of her work. But what keeps me so enthralled with her is the depth of compassion and understanding, and the way she sometimes makes me gasp in moments of that. There's a moment in French Braid that literally made me gasp. I won't identify it here because I hate spoilers, but readers may know which scene I mean if I simply say I love cats.
There's another Tyler novel that I've re-read several times now, and I think it's my favorite: The Amateur Marriage. In this also, she shifts POV, and I also really love the fact that each chapter or section can be a stand-alone story. Though the book really functions like a novel, I do like this feeling of it being linked short stories (not so very short). I also love the sharpness of each character, how well developed each and every character of this novel is. It feels economical and yet rich and full.
Thank you for such a great post. You've given me lots today.
I really enjoy this post, which I've read twice now. I love how you call out moments that, as you say, keep bringing readers back to Anne Tyler.
I have read a lot of Tyler's books, but didn't fully appreciate her craft and her depth of understanding until I read A Spool of Blue Thread. That sent me back to her older work, and I went on a real two-year Tyler binge. I do enjoy her craft a lot, and I was delighted to read this post about that aspect of her work. But what keeps me so enthralled with her is the depth of compassion and understanding, and the way she sometimes makes me gasp in moments of that. There's a moment in French Braid that literally made me gasp. I won't identify it here because I hate spoilers, but readers may know which scene I mean if I simply say I love cats.
There's another Tyler novel that I've re-read several times now, and I think it's my favorite: The Amateur Marriage. In this also, she shifts POV, and I also really love the fact that each chapter or section can be a stand-alone story. Though the book really functions like a novel, I do like this feeling of it being linked short stories (not so very short). I also love the sharpness of each character, how well developed each and every character of this novel is. It feels economical and yet rich and full.
Thank you for such a great post. You've given me lots today.