Ann Patchett is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I loved The Dutch House and Whistler is also a new favorite of mine. In the nature of full disclosure, I love literary fiction about families and this is most assuredly what this novel is.
This novel focuses on the relationship between Daphne Fuller and Eddie Triplett, who are a daughter and stepfather with a love that transcends trauma, a divorce and a weird twist. They reunite after a span of 45 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in what is one of the most serendipitous moments that I can remember. The precipitating event was a car accident on a snowy road that left both Eddie and Daphne trapped inside and a divorce very shortly thereafter which Daphne believes is her fault (I mean, Eddie crashed the car with her inside and they could have died, so it's a reasonable assumption). We learn about Eddie and Daphne during dialogue between the characters that contain vague references and flashbacks to the actual accident. I LOVED this - it was perfect in keeping me interested and wanting to know more, the pacing was on point and, as usual, Patchett's writing is just lovely.
I felt like the characters were very real and relatable characters. They were well developed and I found myself often nodding along with them and their statements. The whole book also felt just very...KIND and it shown in how the characters interacted with each other. I loved the themes of love within families and how that can look differently to different people within different relationships or even within the same relationship. It is also about second chances.
I cherished this lovely book and I hope that you will too.
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