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A Spool of Blue Thread

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2015
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( 100,386 ratings, 11,187 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler delves into the intricacies of the Whitshank family, spanning several generations. Through a tapestry of familial interactions and hidden pasts, the narrative explores themes of love, secrets, and the bonds that both unite and challenge them. It offers a poignant reflection on the complexities of family life.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you like exploring complex family dynamics and appreciate richly developed characters. This story delves into the life of an American family across generations, capturing both the mundane and profound moments in their lives with warmth and insight. Its intricate portrait of relationships might captivate those who relish stories about the bonds that hold us together.

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A Spool of Blue Thread

The whole family on the porch, half-listening as their mother tells the same tale they have heard so many times before. From that porch we spool back through the generations, witnessing the events, secrets and unguarded moments that have come to define the family.

'A new novel from Tyler is always a treat and this is her best in years' Mail on Sunday

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A new novel from Tyler is always a treat and this is her best in years Mail on Sunday

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2015

‘It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon...’

This is the way Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she and Red fell in love that summer's day in 1959. The whole family on the porch, half-listening as their mother tells the same tale they have heard so many times before.

From that porch we spool back through the generations, witnessing the events, secrets and unguarded moments that have come to define the family. From Red's father and mother, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to Abby and Red's grandchildren carrying the family legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century - four generations of Whitshanks, their lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn Baltimore house that has always been their home...

ANNE TYLER HAS SOLD OVER 1 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE

'One of my favourite authors' Liane Moriarty

'She spins gold' Elizabeth Buchan

'Anne Tyler has no peer' Anita Shreve

'A masterly author' Sebastian Faulks

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Anne Tyler's work is praised as a superb depiction of family dynamics and insightful storytelling. Critics appreciate her natural writing, which draws deeply from real life, avoiding clichés. Her portrayal of American family life is both touching and humorous, with skilful characterisation and a rich examination of relational intricacies. Her novel is hailed as a beautifully written piece with finesse and vitality.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099598480

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 September 2015

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 334g

Pages: 480

About the Author

Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her bestselling novels include Breathing Lessons, The Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Ladder of Years, Back When We Were Grown-ups, Digging to America, A Spool of Blue Thread, Clock Dance and Redhead by the Side of the Road. In 1989 she won the Pulitzer Prize; in 1994 she was nominated by Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby as 'the greatest novelist writing in English'; and in 2012 she received the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence. In 2015 A Spool of Blue Thread was shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction and the Booker Prize; and in 2020 Redhead by the Side of the Road was longlisted for the Booker Prize.

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