Una vita allo sbando

This is the twelfth Anne Tyler novel I've read, and it's not among my favourites. Although it's unlike any of her other novels, there's something slight and tentative about it. I'd chalk it up to Tyler's age – she was in her 20s when she wrote it – if I hadn't really liked her first novel, If Mornin Leggi tutto

This little book has a punch; the feel of a Carson McCullers story with the descriptive flair of Markus Zusak. Zusak from the Book Thief; "The day was gray, the color of Europe. Curtains of rain were drawn around the car". Tyler from A Slipping-Down Life; "While she was waiting on the front porch, clu Leggi tutto

Near the end of Anne Tyler's A SLIPPING-DOWN LIFE, I felt the needle on my care meter move. I hadn't expected to be touched by "Drumstrings" and Evie or their dreams and needs. And then the moment came when I stopped feeling as if I were taking a Rorschach test with this "odd couple" on every card.

I read this book having failed to complete a viewing of the movie; reading the book has put me more firmly in the "what on earth were they thinking" camp. It is, I think, the worst film adaptation I have ever encountered. It succeeds on no level. I suppose I suggest you watch it, try to guess what t Leggi tutto

"I'll never get anywhere. I ain't but nineteen years old and already leading a slipping down life." Ok, not to spoiler your reading experience to come but this line was my favorite moment in this book and made me think of my favorite novel about the anticlimactic reality of adulthood, Rabbit, Run . Thi Leggi tutto

If you are wanting to read any Anne Tyler novels, do NOT start with this one. I would encourage you to check out her later works and after you've read a few, then you should read this and her earlier two works. In an interview, Tyler mentioned that she does not really acknowledge these first three b Leggi tutto

It was really interesting to read one of her early novels (her third, published in 1970, when she was 29. Crazy that she’s the same age as Bob Dylan!! And that she’s basically Peggy’s age in Mad Men). Anyway, this was a fun read. Really fun, quirky dialogue (the best friend Violet in particular is c Leggi tutto

Evie Decker is 17-years-old - a painfully shy, slightly plump teenager whose mother died in childbirth, and she lives with her father. All in all, Evie's life is terribly lonely - until she hears the voice of 'Drumstrings' Casey on the radio. She is completely captivated and is resolute in her desir Leggi tutto

3.5 stars A very eccentric tale about a 17 year old plump average looking girl who is apparently obsessed with a struggling guitarist nicknamed Drum, and carves his name on her forehead. Therein starts a slow and steady drumroll of events which culminate abruptly. This is not a love story, neither is Leggi tutto

3.2*** Edie is a relatively unmotivated teen until she discovers the singer Drumstrings Casey. In a violent out of character move she captures his attention, only to eventually begin to wonder if he was work it. Edie is at once bland and fathomless, I kept reading to see what she would do next.