"A Spool of Blue Thread" by Anne Tyler

Title: A Spool of Blue Thread

Author: Anne Tyler

Publication Year: 2015

Pages: 358

My Rating: 5/5 stars

"A Spool of Blue Thread" was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2015. It was said that it was quite simple for a Man Booker nominee, but nevertheless people seemed to love it and I was intrigued to read it. I had never before read anything by Anne Tyler; I hadn't even heard of her - I must admit - even though it turns out she has published a lot of novels through the years and she's a highly acclaimed author. 

This specific story is about the Whitshank family who lives in America. In the first chapter, we zoom in on Abby and Red, and gradually more people and more generations come into the picture so that we get to know Abby and Red's children as well as their grandchildren. Not a lot happens, but at the same time so much happens through the flashbacks that we get during the novel. It turns out that even though the Whitshanks appear to live quite ordinary and simple lives, there's so much beauty to them that you can't help but finish the last page with tears in your eyes. 

"A Spool of Blue Thread" was one of the most beautifully written stories I've read for a long time! It was one of those books that made me want to immediately go out and get all of Anne Tyler's other books in order to dive into her authorship, because if all of her other novels are anything like "A Spool of Blue Thread", they are masterpieces! 

This is a very simple piece of literary fiction that focuses on its characters and their development. We get to know all of them gradually, because Anne Tyler has structured the storyline in a very interesting manner - she definitely knows how to master her plot! 

Furthermore, Anne Tyler's writing is beautiful! I had to highlight several sentences, and the way she wrapped up each chapter poetically made me think of Shakespeare and his wrapping up of each scene. The curtains are closed, but they are quickly opened again in time for a new chapter. 

As you can hear from my review and praise, I simply loved this book! I didn't want for it to end, and I was fearing the approaching wrap up chapters before it actually came. This was one of those novels that gives you amazing characters that you feel like you know and can't live without, and I call that talent! I did finish it, though, and now my biggest worry is where I'm going to start now with Anne Tyler and her other novels, because this one has left me eager to know more about her stories, her characters and her impeccable writing.