Anne Tyler is a great writer!  Most of you may already know this, but for those of you who have never read her, or haven’t read her in a long time, French Braid is a great place to start. This is a story of a family, its secrets, its pain, and the ties that connect them through generations.

The Garrets are a quintessential working class Baltimore family who decide to take a family vacation during the summer of 1959.  Robin, who runs the family business is like a fish our of water, unable to relax or enjoy the time away. Mercy, his wife, is so focused on her art that she is does not see what is happening with her daughter Lily. Alice who is fearfully watching Lily and her boy crazy ways, keeps hoping that one of her parents will notice. Lily, completely in the throes of what she thinks is love ignores everyone. David, the youngest, is afraid of the water, and does everything he can to avoid it.

Tyler is adept at her examination of this family and each one of its members. Was it the vacation itself that revealed the fault lines or were the fault lines already there? What makes a family close or distant and how do we negotiate that history with each succeeding generation? Tyler’s questions are pertinent and her answer hopeful:The permutations of family are infinite, and the ties that bind us are extraordinarily strong.

Brenda’s Rating; *****(5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Marian, and Keith

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in e- library format.