Ladder of Years

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and her divorced sister, Linda (an adamant Francophile who's brought along her twin daughters, Marie-Claire and Therese), Delia sits on the sand feeling more and more distant. Her husband irritates her, the way he pats water "so Why doesn't any member of Delia's family ask her to come home? Do you think it would have made a difference?

Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler - Publishers Weekly Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler - Publishers Weekly

In Ladder of Years, a familar Tyler theme is given free reign. Thats the examination of under-the-surface discontent, and furtive rebellion. "Moms” are all too frequently regarded as a piece of the household furniture. Uncomplaining, dutiful, sexless, predictable...?? Wrong. - Look more closely and there’s a more carefree individual, not so blankly compliant, fuelled by bodice ripping literature, wanting to express, and free herself. She saw herself riding in the passenger seat, Sam behind the wheel. Like two of those little peg people in a toy car. Husband peg, wife peg, side by side. Facing the road and not looking at each other; for why would they need to, really, having gone beyond the visible surface long ago. No hope of admiring gazes anymore, no chance of unremitting adoration. Nothing left to show but their plain, true, homely, interior selves, which were actually much richer anyhow.”

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AT: Every example Joel objects to, I object to, but I agree when Delia points out that some of our most vivid language is the language that evolves from everyday usage. And I profoundly disapprove of Joel’s correcting poor Noah in mid-sentence–a habit that I hoped would suggest a certain authoritarian quality in Joel that parallels Sam’s.

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AT: Her sisters would say he was sexist and domineering; Sam would no doubt bring up Dr. Felson’s post-retirement habit of listening in on patients’ phone calls. I particularly enjoyed writing the scenes where these facts emerged so clearly but remained unremarked upon by Delia.

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Anne Tyler was very clever: ironically, Delia left her unhappy family home behind, only to find herself living in the town her ancestors originally came from! Delia was able to observe other relationships in the new town that had adopted her: everyone had their own set of burdens to carry. Sam, Joel and Nat all shared the same unconscious flaw: they were intolerant of their offspring's every action, constantly criticized and corrected them, and did their unwitting best to alienate their children's affections. This is rich material here, a story filled with twists and turns that could make your book club of 40+ women argue with delight. For her walk," Ms. Tyler writes, "she wore her Miss Grinstead cardigan, which clung gently to her arms and made her feel like a cherished child." And that reassurance extends to readers, allowing us to enjoy the Q: You capture perfectly teenagers’ cruelty to their parents in this novel. Do you think such behavior is a necessary rite of passage to adulthood?

Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler | Goodreads

Q: Your novels are filled with fascinating characters. Have you ever been tempted to change your protagonist in the midst of the writing process?

Anne Tyler

This book feels as if it is set in the 1950s rather than the 1990s. Delia's attitude is basically that she doesn't have a voice, or she doesn't choose to use it, she lets everyone bulldoze over her. From the first encounter with Adrian in the grocery store to her family, she just goes along with whatever, not even thinking about what she herself wants. At the beginning of the novel, Delia sees herself as "a tiny gnat, whirring around her family's edges"? How does her perspective change over the course of the novel? It's been a long time since I read this book, but unfortunately it was my first Anne Tyler book and I did not care for it.