I absolutely loved Anne Tyler's French Braid. Had to try and mete it out lest I galloped through too quickly. Loved getting to know the Garrett family. Wonderful.

'French Braid' is another stunning novel from Anne Tyler which explores the lives of the Garrett family from different perspectives from the 1950s right up to the present. The novel starts in 2010 with a chance encounter in a railway station between two cousins who barely recognise each other and then spools back to their parents' childhood to explore how families might gradually drift apart and become virtual strangers to each other. This makes it sound very sad, and it is certainly frequently poignant, but Tyler's writing is, as ever, suffused with such wisdom, tenderness and compassion for all of her characters, and there are moments of healing and connection throughout the novel: a grandmother and granddaughter sharing a love of painting; the gentle companionship of aunt and nephew; a family coming back together during lockdown. The action of the novel is for the most part quiet and undramatic, but as ever Tyler locates the extraordinary within the ordinary. One of the most moving scenes happens as a grandfather re-watches home video footage from when his children were young: "The sight of those children shocked him. They were back! They'd returned! He'd forgotten they'd ever existed, but all at once they'd rematerialized." This is another masterpiece which I would recommend to all fans of Anne Tyler's work and of other writers such as Elizabeth Strout and Mary Lawson. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review!

It is coincidental encounter at a station: Serena sees a young man and is not sure if he’s her cousin. Her boyfriend cannot believe this, how can she not know her own cousin? Well, family matters have never been easy with the Garretts. Robin and Mercy have married at a young age, their two daughters Alice and Lily could hardly be more different from each other and their son David, a couple of years younger than the girls, even as a boy, was rather withdrawn. As the years pass by, the kids get older and independent, have their own families, make mistakes, Mercy follows her artistic works and drifts apart from Robin. It is only rare events that bring the whole family together for brief moments, but then, they remain on the surface and the important things are left unsaid. Anne Tyler has been writing books for almost six decades, but I have only come to detect her work a couple of years ago. What I liked from the start was her relaxed tone which takes life just as it is, acknowledging the ups and downs, knowing that the show has to go on. Her latest novel, too, “French Braid” is wonderfully narrated capturing the small but decisive moments. It is the portrait of a family, not the totally average one but nevertheless one that could just live next door to you. Again, Tyler finds the interesting points in those at the first glance totally average lives. “What’s the name of that braid that starts high up on little girls’ heads?” David asked Greta one night (...) “Oh a French braid,” Greta said. “That’s it. And then when she undid them, her hair would still be in ripples, little leftover squiggles, for hours and hours afterwards. “ “Yes...” “Well,” David said, “That’s how families work, too. You think you’re free of them, but you’re never really free; the ripples are crimped in forever.” None of the Garretts have ever been close, not even the married couples, but nevertheless, they are family and therefore gather from time to time. They may not even like each other, but they like to stay informed. Some of them try to break out, especially the women, but just like the French braid, they cannot really free themselves, some things just stick. Anne Tyler surely is a most accomplished writer, how else would it be possible to totally enjoy a novel and at the same time feel a little bit uncomfortable due to the extent you can recognise yourself in her writing. She does not focus on the exceptional, the outstanding, but finds the aspects worth mentioning in the ordinary, in the well-known and hardly ever actually noticed. It is with her soft voice and quite narration that she hints at what you should look at and think about. Another though-provoking, simply marvellous novel.

4.5 rounded up In the summer of 1959 the Garrett family take their first and last family vacation to sleepy woods but this holiday is pivotal to future events. There is father Robin who is definitely not a born vacationer as you can see, they only have the one. His wife Mercy just wishes for time to devote to painting and takes every opportunity to escape. There are two teenage daughters, steady, sensible Alice who seems to be the only adult present (!) and boy mad Lily who are absolutely poles apart in every possible way. Finally, there is seven year old David who is a very perceptive child and especially smart about people. You could describe this as a typical Ann Tyler novel with it incisive look at extended family situations and their dynamics. The storytelling seems so natural that when they are bickering you feel as if you are ear-wigging! Their history is told from 1959 through to the pandemic and is written in the third person but keeps switching character perspective which is fantastic as the views and perceptions constantly changes. I love how Anne Tyler turns the every day ordinary (maybe even mundane)into something extra-ordinary. It should be dull but it’s riveting because of how she writes so you are drawn into the dynamic, fly on the wall style. It’s amusing and droll in parts, there is tenderness and empathy for the characters and what emerges is a gentle tale showing moments of genuine connection between the characters. The one I especially like is that of grandmother Mercy with granddaughter Candle (Kendall) which is very heartwarming. The book examines how actions and interactions have lasting consequences which you see vividly especially through Mercy and the siblings.They love but they don’t necessarily like or understand.The characterisation is masterful. You empathise with Mercy as she slowly drifts away to pursue her passion for art, you wince at Alice’s judgements and kind of applaud Lily for doing it her way. I love how it rounds off the end so you finally really ‘see’ sensitive and lovely David for what he is. It’s interspersed with family memories that pulls them back together albeit temporarily, which is so true to life. My one reservation is the start of the novel in 2010 begins with two interesting characters we don’t really see again and it’s just used as a vehicle to introduce the Garretts. It didn’t quite work for me hence the 4.5 not the full five stars though it’s well and truly worthy of the rounding up to 5 stars. Finally, nobody can write about family dynamics as well as Anne Tyler, she weaves magic into the every day elevating it into something special. In my view she is one of the most skilful writers of her generation.

It’s been a while since I read Anne Tyler and oh what an utter joy this book is. An all-absorbing, beautifully crafted family saga that weaves its way through the decades, French Braid really is a book that you lose yourself in. Starting in the recent past with a young couple travelling by train back home to Baltimore from Philadelphia, a chance encounter with a cousin sees us swept back in time to follow the story of the Garrett family. The narration changes perspective throughout, focusing in turn on each member of the family, constantly giving different perspectives of both events and characters. I really enjoyed this and the very different personalities of the family members. Anne Tyler gives a fantastic observation of family life and her metaphor of the French braid with its ripples and waves left long after it’s undone. I shall definitely be returning to more Anne Tyler very soon. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a review.