A Spool of Blue Thread
by Anne Tyler
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/Near Fine
- ISBN 10
- 1101874279
- ISBN 13
- 9781101874271
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
Item Price
$25.00$17.50
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Knopf, 2015-01-01. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Signed. New York: Knopf, 2015. Hardcover. First edition, first printing. Signed by Tyler on the title page. Near Fine with a hint of shelf wear; bookstore sticker on front panel.
Reviews
On Jan 28 2017, CloggieDownunder said:
"There was nothing remarkable about the Whitshanks. None of them was famous. None of them could claim exceptional intelligence. And in looks, they were no more than average…. But like most families, they imagined they were special. They took great pride, for instance, in their fix-it skills… all of them were convinced that they had better taste than the rest of the world…disappointments seemed to escape the family's notice, though. That was another of their quirks: they had a talent for pretending that everything was fine"
A Spool of Blue Thread is the twentieth adult novel by award-winning American author, Anne Tyler. The Whitshank House on Bouton Rd, lovingly, carefully and painstakingly built by Junior Whitshank for Mr. Ernest Brill, was eventually home to Junior, Linnie Mae and their children, Merrick and Redcliffe. Later, Red and Abby brought up their four, Amanda, Jeannie, Denny and Stem, within its walls. It was built for a family and stood the test of time. And here is where the family gathers when Red and Abby begin to cope less well than they always did.
The issue of how to manage ageing parents is something common to most families; after their first solution fails, another is decided upon, but frictions arise between siblings when the (sort of) black sheep turns up to help. Old jealousies and frustrations surface, and in the course of events, certain secrets are revealed. Tyler has a singular talent for taking ordinary people doing ordinary things and keeping the reader enthralled and endeared. Her pace is sedate, her descriptive prose, gorgeous, her dialogue, realistic.
The narrative is split into four parts: the first tells, from multiple perspectives, of present day events in the Whitshank family, with plenty of references to the immediate (and less immediate) past; the second is from Abby's viewpoint, and details the day she fell in love with Red; the third gives Junior's point of view of events surrounding his early encounters with Linnie Mae and the start of their family life; the last, again from several perspectives, describes the present-day leave-taking from the Bouton Rd house.
Another novel that is characteristically Anne Tyler: funny, moving, thought-provoking and, again, quite brilliant.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Vandello Books, Member IOBA (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 091222014
- Title
- A Spool of Blue Thread
- Author
- Anne Tyler
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 1101874279
- ISBN 13
- 9781101874271
- Publisher
- Knopf
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2015-01-01
- Keywords
- Literature|SABF 2022
- Bookseller catalogs
- Women Writers;
Terms of Sale
Vandello Books, Member IOBA
Returns accepted within 30 days of purchase.
About the Seller
Vandello Books, Member IOBA
Biblio member since 2005
Seattle, Washington
About Vandello Books, Member IOBA
Vandello Books is an online bookstore in Seattle, Washington. Our areas of strength include Modern Firsts, Textiles, Craft and the Arts. We carry inventory in numerous subject areas and are happy to advise our customers on building collections. We consider ourselves to be custodians of your books and treat each item with this philosophy in mind.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...