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My review of A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

I learned at a bookclub get together yesterday that this book was
discussed at a previous (before I joined) meeting. I mention this
because it sort of echoes a theme of the book: Denny's words, "Same old,
same old". Things that happen, happen again, and again.

This novel takes place over 4 generations, roughly from the 1930s to the
early 2000s. The location is mainly Baltimore, Anne Tyler's favorite
"stage." The Whitshanks, "Junior" and Linnie Mae, their children, "Red"
and Merrick, Red's wife Abby, Red and Abby's children, Amanda, Jeannie,
Denny, and "Stem", and their children, tell the story.

The novel is 358 pages long. It's divided into 4 parts. Part One (Can't
Leave Till the Dog Dies) is 221 pages long and has 8 chapters. Part Two
(What a World, What a World) starts chapter 9 and is 42 pages long and
is a single chapter. Part Three (A Bucket of Blue Paint) starts chapter
10 and and is 80 pages long and has 3 chapters. Part Four (A Spool of
Blue Thread) is a single chapter and is 17 pages long. So the first part
is the longest by far, the last part is the shortest, and the middle two
parts are roughly the same length. I mention these seemingly
insignificant details for a reason: the novel's timeline starts in 1994
and then shifts back to 1959. This device is an effective way to
introduce the reader to Red and Abby and their son Denny. We learn
something of the large home they live in. The house is really the
central "character" of the book. Who built it? Who owned it? How did it
change?

When Part Two starts, it's kind of a flash back because Linnie Mae and
Junior, Red's parents, take center stage. How did they meet? How old
(young) were they? We now see where Red got his builder skills from
(Junior). Linnie, a 13-year old girl seduces Junior. He has no clue she
is 13 (he's 26). He's mostly interested in making a success of himself
in the building business. He moves away on leads of work in Baltimore
and pretty much forgets about Linnie. Five years pass and she tracks him
down and ends up staying with him in a rooming house, despite his
objections. He (and she) get thrown out and she manages to find a place
to live for $5 per month. A love / hate relationship develops and will
continue for the rest of their lives.

A large house designed by a Mr. Brill and effectively built by Junior is
eventually purchased by Junior who is now married to Linnie Mae.

As Part Three unfolds, Junior is working on a swing on the front porch.
This swing is pretty much his favorite thing and he strips it and
varnishes it. Just before they move in, Linnie has it painted an awful
shiny blue. He spends a fortune having it stripped. Later, the walkway
up to the house is painted blue (again, Linnie's doing). This too is
undone.

Merrick, Red's older sister is to be married and Junior wants to have
photographs taken in front of his pride and joy. He now feels he has
raised his class status, a respected builder, an owner of the best house
in town. Red and his friend Dane have been hired to cut down a poplar
tree to open up the front yard. Abby accompanies Dane at the work site.
Dane is most interested in bedding Abby but Red invites her to the
wedding and she finally says yes, realizing Dane's a loser.

Abby and Red eventually marry and have children. They now live in the
house. Denny (whom we met at the beginning of the book!) continues in
his role as the "bad boy" of the family. He had declared to his family
that he was gay, lost several jobs, got a girl pregnant, and dropped out
of school. Susan is born and the mother is mostly absent.

As Abby and Red get older, Abby starts to "lose it." The kids all come
to the rescue. But Abby and Red (who can't hear well now) claim they
don't need help. All the siblings are in each other's way and are
jealous of each other, thinking the others needn't be there.

Spoiler alert: Abby dies when she's run over by a car when she is
chasing her runaway dog.

Everyone stays on. Even Denny is still there. "Stem," whose wife Nora
calls him Douglas, and Denny come to blows. Stem was one of Abby's
"orphans" and wasn't a blood brother.

The pages that cover how everyone divvies up the stuff when Red moves to
an apartment are classic: who gets what, what gets tossed etc.

The short chapter that ends the book finds Denny on the phone talking to
Allie, a woman we've never heard of ...

I have not mentioned how brilliant a writer Anne Tyler is. The dialogue
is often funny, sometimes sarcastic and biting, and shows us how we
often don't directly say what we feel or know.

I have tried to cover key things in this book. I hope I've got you
interested. Highly recommend.