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A Spool of Blue Thread

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A Spool of Blue Thread

By: Anne Tyler
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
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About this listen

The Sunday Times best seller

Shortlisted for the Man Booker prize

Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Fiction prize

A Richard and Judy Book Club pick

"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....

©2015 Anne Tyler (P)2015 Random House Audiobooks Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

"She’s changed my perception on life." (Anna Chancellor)

"One of my favourite authors." (Liane Moriarty)

"She spins gold." (Elizabeth Buchan)
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I never really cared about the characters so was not gripped by the story. would not recommend

spool of blue thread

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I read this because it was on everyone's must read list. I never felt as though it really got going. I have read several books which focus on the minutiae of life and thoroughly enjoyed them. This was kind of meh.

Okay

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I really enjoyed this book. There were some surprises, but it described the sadness and unpredictability of life very poignantly.

Enjoyable read.

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I loved it. Beautifully crafted writing and well read. It wouldn't suit anyone who likes a fast moving plot but if you enjoy the intricacies of family relationships, it's for you

Spool of blue thread

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Beautiful attention to detail in dialogue, characterisation and description. Relates the everyday drama and highs and lows of family life.

Wonderful characters and absorbing story

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I got really absorbed in this book and recommend to anyone who enjoys a good family drama. It was thought provoking and emotionally charged. Anne Tyler is skilled contemporary writer, offering a humorous, moving and clever tale, woven back and forth across different generations. The narrator did a good job of bringing the characters to life .

Brilliant

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I enjoyed the story very much but then suddenly it finished! Less a story more a winding series of events.

Ended too abruptly!

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Beautifully crafted characters. I was hooked from start to finish. Don't expect an action packed story line, just an emotional, gentle tale of family.

wonderful

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Where does A Spool of Blue Thread rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I loved this book, and I was sad when it ended. But it took me a while to settle to the slow pace and time switches. In the end the characters became very real in my mind, and related well to my own family saga.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Red Whitshank was the most likeable character in my mind. As a man he reminded me a lot of my father. But then Abby Whitshank was a lot like my mother. Although my parents only lived in America briefly, they had a lifestyle very much like the Whitshanks with hospitality, hard work, family and church at the centre of their lives.

Have you listened to any of Kimberly Farr’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I would like to hear more from her - I loved her accent and voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, this is a book to savour and re-read slowly to prolong the pleasure.

Any additional comments?

I would love to listen to another book by Anne Tyler read by Kimberly Farr.

Stick with it for your reward

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Would you listen to A Spool of Blue Thread again? Why?

Yes, it's filled with humour and sharp observation.

What other book might you compare A Spool of Blue Thread to, and why?

None springs to mind

Which character – as performed by Kimberly Farr – was your favourite?

I enjoyed them all. Great narration with excellent character voices.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I literally gasped with shock and surprise when there's an unexpected death half way through. Didn't see that coming!

Any additional comments?

The first I've read/listened to by Anne Tyler. I was captivated from start to finish; such a simple premise and an engagingly eccentric cast of characters. I'm aware that some reviews suggest that this isn't Tyler's best work; in which case I have further delights in store, because I so enjoyed this. It's quirky, observational and in many ways, very ordinary. But her writing takes it into the realms of the extraordinary.. I enjoyed the way the narrative weaved back and forth across the years, with the same events recounted from more than one perspective.
It's a family saga, filled with disparate characters. None are overly endearing, but they interact so well, the story flies by and I didn't want it to end. Tyler's writing is never over complicated, but always sharp, truly observational and it made me laugh out loud a few times. It's also filled with shrewd observation about human nature. I enjoyed it and don't know which of her books to try next.

Funny, observational and occasionally poignant

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