French Braid
- Downloads：4104
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-06 04:52:46
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Anne Tyler
- ISBN：1784744638
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A major new novel from the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author—a freshly observed， funny， joyful， brilliantly perceptive journey deep into one family’s foibles， from the 1950s up to our pandemic present。
The Garretts take their first and last family vacation in the summer of 1959。 They hardly ever venture beyond Baltimore， but in some ways they have never been farther apart。 Mercy has trouble resisting the siren call of her aspirations to be a painter， which means less time keeping house for her husband， Robin。 Their teenage daughters， steady Alice and boy-crazy Lily， could not have less in common。 Their youngest， David， is already intent on escaping his family's orbit， for reasons none of them understands。 Yet， as these lives advance across decades， the Garretts' influences on one another ripple ineffably but unmistakably through each generation。
Full of heartbreak and hilarity， French Braid is classic Anne Tyler: a stirring， uncannily insightful novel of tremendous warmth and humor that illuminates the kindnesses and cruelties of our daily lives， the impossibility of breaking free from those who love us， and how close—yet how unknowable—every family is to itself。
The Garretts take their first and last family vacation in the summer of 1959。 They hardly ever venture beyond Baltimore， but in some ways they have never been farther apart。 Mercy has trouble resisting the siren call of her aspirations to be a painter， which means less time keeping house for her husband， Robin。 Their teenage daughters， steady Alice and boy-crazy Lily， could not have less in common。 Their youngest， David， is already intent on escaping his family's orbit， for reasons none of them understands。 Yet， as these lives advance across decades， the Garretts' influences on one another ripple ineffably but unmistakably through each generation。
Full of heartbreak and hilarity， French Braid is classic Anne Tyler: a stirring， uncannily insightful novel of tremendous warmth and humor that illuminates the kindnesses and cruelties of our daily lives， the impossibility of breaking free from those who love us， and how close—yet how unknowable—every family is to itself。
Reviews
MDNewbie
，
This book was awful。 I don't what's got into Anne Tyler。 She keeps rewriting the same characters and the same plot over and over。 This book was awful。 I don't what's got into Anne Tyler。 She keeps rewriting the same characters and the same plot over and over。 。。。more
Sophia
，
I feel a bit badly giving this book 3 stars when the writing was actually quite good。 It kind of reminded me of “The Glass Menagerie。” The book gave depth to the seemingly mundane family life。 Some of the issues I had with it were that there were too many characters and some were focused on a lot more than others。 There was also this random COVID part in the end that kinda came out of nowhere。
Lormac
，
French Braid is one of the author's dysfunctional （but not really） family sagas。 Many members of the Garrett family think that their family is not a typical family when， really， they are a completely normal family - a group of unique individuals who are bonded by blood and not much else。 Tyler starts with a woman， Serena， and her boyfriend bumping into Serena's cousin who she hasn't seen in years， and then bounces back in time to the only family vacation that Serena's grandparents ever had with French Braid is one of the author's dysfunctional （but not really） family sagas。 Many members of the Garrett family think that their family is not a typical family when， really， they are a completely normal family - a group of unique individuals who are bonded by blood and not much else。 Tyler starts with a woman， Serena， and her boyfriend bumping into Serena's cousin who she hasn't seen in years， and then bounces back in time to the only family vacation that Serena's grandparents ever had with their children， and then moves forward from there。 After meeting the cousin， Serena laments the fact that her family is not close， but as you spend more time with the Garretts， you see that they were a fairly normal family。 Anyway， I am always a sucker for Tyler's family stories， so of course I liked this one！ 。。。more
Allyson
，
The beginning had not enough to do with the middle， and even the end seemed disjointed to me。 3 separate stories， all good， but not tied together enough for me。
Kimberley
，
Nope。 No。 This book was absolutely not for me。 It was tiresome and not the least bit enjoyable。 Also， I listened to it and the narrator just added to the dreary nature of the story that can only be described as “beige。” I didn’t connect with a single character and that’s saying something considering this book was so character heavy。 I didn’t feel like a single character in the book was really fleshed out。 I just didn’t care about a single one of them。 I typically like family drama but this parti Nope。 No。 This book was absolutely not for me。 It was tiresome and not the least bit enjoyable。 Also， I listened to it and the narrator just added to the dreary nature of the story that can only be described as “beige。” I didn’t connect with a single character and that’s saying something considering this book was so character heavy。 I didn’t feel like a single character in the book was really fleshed out。 I just didn’t care about a single one of them。 I typically like family drama but this particular book just missed the mark。 It read like a family history lesson。 Just a brutal read for me。 。。。more
Barb
，
I enjoy Anne Tyler's look on life。 And now that I've read French Braid， I understand her even better。 We， as families， are mixed in with each other， a little bit from here， a little bit from there， woven to make something stronger， but each playing our own part in the process。 This is a novel about nothing， and EVERYTHING。 She is a master of observation。 She gets the quirkiness found in each family and describes it so that we embrace it。 We always find something of ourselves in her writing。 Ther I enjoy Anne Tyler's look on life。 And now that I've read French Braid， I understand her even better。 We， as families， are mixed in with each other， a little bit from here， a little bit from there， woven to make something stronger， but each playing our own part in the process。 This is a novel about nothing， and EVERYTHING。 She is a master of observation。 She gets the quirkiness found in each family and describes it so that we embrace it。 We always find something of ourselves in her writing。 There is no real mystery， or discovery to be made in this book， except that we are who we are brought up with and to some degree we carry the genes of those before us and sometimes they present themselves in ways both welcomed and dreaded。 。。。more
Linda Devendorf
，
I love all of Anne Tyler's novels， and "French Braid" was no exception。 This superb novel really packs a powerful punch in the final ten pages！ I love all of Anne Tyler's novels， and "French Braid" was no exception。 This superb novel really packs a powerful punch in the final ten pages！ 。。。more
Penelope
，
Another wonderful book from this author。 Just love Anne Tyler！
Gail M
，
“This is what families do for each other — hide a few uncomfortable truths， allow a few deceptions。 Little kindnesses。”Quirky and kind of sad， good characters。
Linda
，
Just okay。 I like her older books better they seem to have more depth。 No real plot。 What does it all add up to？ Just fun quirky characters so odd that I couldn’t like them much。
Kendall Sicnolf
，
Anne Tyler is such a comfort read for me。 So simple， never splashy。 And I can’t resist a multi-generation family novel。
Becky
，
Family dynamics。。。rather melancholy but I enjoyed and read to the end！
Sarah
，
Slow moving but very enjoyable 。 I love the character of Mercy & her ‘second life。 ‘
Sonia
，
3。5， rounded down。 It was very well done and I will say that Tyler's style always "goes down easy"， but I could not warm up to any of the characters。 The word clueless perfectly describes every one of them。 3。5， rounded down。 It was very well done and I will say that Tyler's style always "goes down easy"， but I could not warm up to any of the characters。 The word clueless perfectly describes every one of them。 。。。more
Deb （Readerbuzz） Nance
，
Oh， Anne Tyler， you get people like no other writer。 You see their vulnerabilities。 You see their （sometimes hidden） strengths despite their （blatant） weaknesses。 And you share these with us， tenderly。The Garrett family is the central cast in this book。 Mom and dad and their kids and their kids。 A story that goes through several generations。 It starts with a scene between one of the grandkids of the story with her boyfriend。 She sees a man she thinks might be her cousin， and her boyfriend is str Oh， Anne Tyler， you get people like no other writer。 You see their vulnerabilities。 You see their （sometimes hidden） strengths despite their （blatant） weaknesses。 And you share these with us， tenderly。The Garrett family is the central cast in this book。 Mom and dad and their kids and their kids。 A story that goes through several generations。 It starts with a scene between one of the grandkids of the story with her boyfriend。 She sees a man she thinks might be her cousin， and her boyfriend is struck by this， finding it odd that she doesn't even recognize her own cousin。 And the story draws on this， the connections between family members， their disconnections， their own varying perceptions of their relationships。 It's completely fascinating。Oh， and what does the title have to do with the plot？ It was almost at the end before David was having a conversation with his wife about French braids， how his daughter wore them and when she undid the braids， her hair would still be in ripples for hours and hours afterward。 "That's how families work， too。 You think you're free of them， but you're never really free; the ripples are crimped in forever。" Lovely。 。。。more
chey
，
whatever happened to poor desmond :（ i love generational books so much， will definitely be reading more of this author
Alyse
，
Back to basicsThis warm story was like a blanket wrapped around me。 Ms。 Tyler has returned to her simple story telling style and brought me along with her。 I appreciated that the book had no crescendos， just a lovely story of family， every family， with their bumps， bruises， love and loss。 This book filled a long flight to see my dearest best friends and couldn’t have done it better。
Jennifer Novak
，
I was very disappointed in this book。 I could not connect with it and had a hard time getting interested in picking it up to continue reading。 I found it， quite frankly， dull and hard to engage in。 I loved A Spool of Blue Thread and was hoping the story of this family would be similar。 I did not like Mercy at all…not a likable character at all…so self-absorbed。 In the end， I made it through but was definitely not one of Anne Tyler’s best stories。
Sally
，
I did not want this book to end！
Nancyann
，
A simple， lovely story of the multigenerational Garrett family。 Each chapter gives us a different snapshot in time of these quirky characters who clearly love each other。 Much like a Seinfeld episode， it is a book about nothing but in a very good way。
Ann
，
A boring book about boring people。 This was a story about a family that really didn't like each other and had trouble communicating。 There were so many characters that I had trouble remembering who they all were。 I think of Isabel Allende who can do complicated family narratives about fascinating complicated characters who were so memorable。 This was a big disappointment for an Anne Tyler book。 A boring book about boring people。 This was a story about a family that really didn't like each other and had trouble communicating。 There were so many characters that I had trouble remembering who they all were。 I think of Isabel Allende who can do complicated family narratives about fascinating complicated characters who were so memorable。 This was a big disappointment for an Anne Tyler book。 。。。more
Heather
，
4。5 rounding up because it's Anne Tyler and I'm gonna put some respect on her name。 4。5 rounding up because it's Anne Tyler and I'm gonna put some respect on her name。 。。。more
Elizabeth
，
Not my favorite novel by this author。 Bittersweet story of a family that could have been closer-maybe a warning to us all。 A bit frustrating for me。
Sue Johnson
，
I LOVE Anne Tyler’s novels！ She has a gift for bringing out sterling qualities in the most seemingly ordinary characters who shine through their flaws！ We follow the Garrett family from the 1950s to the present pandemic era。 And in typical Anne Tyler prose， through happy times and sad， we fall in love with all the quirky members of this clan。 I finished the book in one day and could’ve happily started over！
Nickole
，
。
Marti Mart
，
Return to form after the letdown of Clock Dance and Redhead。 Enjoyed it very much。
Molly Bridgeforth
，
Would expect nothing less from Ann Tyler。 Reading her novels feels like coming home to me。 She has a keen eye for family dynamics and is always fair to her characters， the good and the bad--because what does that even mean in a family， good ones and bad ones？--which is something that the novel tries to get at， families that work and families that kind of don't。 I like the sweeping timeline all the way up to the 2020 pandemic; it's been interesting seeing it represented in fiction and art。 I wish Would expect nothing less from Ann Tyler。 Reading her novels feels like coming home to me。 She has a keen eye for family dynamics and is always fair to her characters， the good and the bad--because what does that even mean in a family， good ones and bad ones？--which is something that the novel tries to get at， families that work and families that kind of don't。 I like the sweeping timeline all the way up to the 2020 pandemic; it's been interesting seeing it represented in fiction and art。 I wish even a little more time/pages had been spent on the present bc it seemed a little too romanticized or breezed over， but fabulous nonetheless。 。。。more
Kathy Yamaoka
，
my favorite genre， dysfunctional families。。。fun！
Monica Andrews
，
This was a great family story。 It show how families can be so complicated， but in the end they are connected and will always be connected。
Janell
，
Sorry， quit reading about three quarters through。 Ho hum。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=French Braid
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=French Braid&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,French Braid&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0