I finished reading 'A spool of blue thread' some days ago and just sat stunned for a few minutes.This book was unsettling.I couldnt write what I felt about it straight away.I needed time to let it all sink in and gather my thoughts.
The story is set in Baltimore and chronicles the lives of the Whitshank family.It begins with Abby and Red Whitshank and their four children.The whole family is gathered on the porch and is listening contentedly as Abby tells the tale they have heard so many times before.Yet,this gathering is different-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.It is shown that while all families like to believe they are special,they do not always get along and have secrets from each other.Each member has their own hopes and fears,rivalries and tensions.This story starts in the present and goes back to the past when the children were younger and goes back a generation to Red's parents,so we spool back through three generations of the Whitshanks,witnessing the events,secrets and unguarded moments that have come to define who and what they are.
My Views:When I began reading this book,I thought it was about a dysfunctional family.Once I was done with it,I realised that this could be a story of any family because I think each family unit has its quirks and is dysfunctional in its own way.Anne Tyler does a great job at portraying the vagaries of human nature.I liked the way we were introduced to each character and were witness to their most private thoughts and nature.The characters seemed very real along with their quirks and eccentricities.Sometimes their stories revealed only to the reader were really shocking but totally believable.
It just made me think that every family is like a spool of thread,tightly wound around itself but once it unspools and things start unraveling ,there are a lot of surprises in store.Misgivings,Sibling rivalries which start off as small but reach new proportions in adulthood,stories narrated about events which change with each retelling,marital secrets,unexpected loss,love in the strangest of places,skeletons in the closet.These just change all the equations in the process and ultimately make us who we are.
This was a well-crafted story and I enjoyed reading it.Felt a bit disconnected in some parts but then nothing ever has a logical conclusion in real life.Does it?!So why expect it in fiction?!I was expecting something more about Denny or maybe I was expecting something different.We all have that one black sheep in the family and sometimes we never find out why they are the way they are.
I only just discovered Anne Tyler and somehow managed to read her last novel.Yes,she has said that this is going to be her last.All I have to say about this book is that it was a frank portrayal of human nature and families in general.The story took its own time to grow on me but it transported me to the Whitshanks home when it did.
Surely recommended!
I rate it a 4 out of 5.
This book was out in 2013 and I wanted to read it because I had never heard about Orphan trains before.Somehow it kept getting postponed and the book was lying on my shelf neglected until last week,when I decided to pick it up.
The book is set in both present day (2011) and the late 1920's 30's and 40's.It tells us the story of two different women 91 year old Vivian and Eighteen year old Molly,who build an unexpected friendship.Vivian travelled from NYC to Minnesota as an orphan-train rider with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.Molly a troubled-teen,is also raised by strangers and has spent all her childhood ,shuttling between foster homes.When she is asked to go to Vivians house to help her clean the attic as part of a community service program,Molly discovers parallels between Vivian and herself and realises that both have unanswered questions about the past.How both women unexpectedly help each other to find themselves while still holding on to their past is what the story is about.
My Views:Like I said,I had never heard about Orphan Trains before I came across this book.I like it when stories are set around actual events that have occured in the past.It enlightens you about so many things you would otherwise have no idea about.This story takes place in both the past and the present and is narrated by the two characters Vivian and Molly.I liked Vivians story.The historical details were so close to real and the way it was described from the view point of a child was heart-breaking.
I cannot even begin to imagine what a child went through when he/she realised that they were being picked up only after determining whether they were sturdy enough for field-work,or intelligent and mild-tempered enough to cook and clean.There was a brief trial period ,after which they became indentured to their families.If a child wasn't chosen,he/she would get back on the train to try again at the next town.Isn't that enough to break the spirit of an innocent child?!
However ,Molly's story seemed forced and I didnt find it engaging enough.I felt that the book started off well but it lacked the same pace as it progressed.Of course,the part about Orphan trains was very well written but in the latter part of the book there were too many coincidences.It also felt a bit hastily tied up toward the end.The ending seemed too good to be true,but it is a fictional account and of course an author has the right to decide the fate of their characters.However in reality only a fraction of the children on these orphan trains got the childhood they deserved.I cannot even begin to fathom how the Children's Aid Society came up with a plan like this.They might have had the best of intentions but I think these children suffered more than they benefited.
Coming back to the story,of course it is an inspiring one,about not losing hope,about resilience and unexpected friendship.However there was a niggling thought that was there all through that it seemed a bit too fictional.
I rate it a 3 out of 5.
