French Braid

appearing to listen, but then he would pop up with something unexpectedly astute. She had worried he would find her dull by comparison. One-on-one, though, he turned out to be easy company. They went to a lot of movies together and to inexpensive restaurants; and her parents, who lived in town, had already had the two of them to dinner several times and said they liked him very much.

Philadelphia s train station was more imposing than Baltimore s. It was vast, with an impossibly high, coffered ceiling and chandeliers like upside-down skyscrapers. Even the passengers seemed a cut above Baltimore passengers. One woman, Serena saw, was followed by her own redcap wheeling a cartload of matching luggage. As Serena was admiring the luggage (dark-brown, gleaming leather, with brass fittings), she happened to notice a young man in a suit who had paused to let the cart roll past him. Oh, she said.

James looked up from his phone. Hmm?

I think that might be my cousin, she said in an undertone.

Where?

That guy in the suit.

You think it s your cousin?

I m not really sure.

They studied the man. He seemed older than they were, but not by much. (It might just have been the suit.) He had Serena s pale hair and her sharply peaked lips, but while her eyes were the usual Garrett-family blue, his were a pale, almost ethereal gray, noticeable even from several yards distance. He was staying where he was, looking up at the information board now, although the luggage cart had moved on.

It might be my cousin Nicholas, Serena said.

Maybe he just resembles Nicholas, James said. Seems to me if it was really him, you could say for certain. <

characters and decades to create what in the end is a deftly crafted family portrait that spans some 70 years . . . We read in fascination. Christian Science Monitor

French Braid is a family saga of uncommon subtlety and grace, a novel which shows that, at 80, Anne Tyler is still amongst the very best writers around. The Spectator

Tender and acute . . . French Braid is a novel full of compassion for the human condition by a writer confident enough not to pin everything down and to trust her story to work its quiet magic. Financial Times

Full of piercing observation. Minneapolis Star Tribune

Subtle and powerful . . . A multi-layered and masterly exercise in sympathy and understanding. Times Literary Supplement

A beautiful novel of family life as it unfolds over the years . . . There are many authors today who try to emulate her technique, but none of them comes close to the lightness of touch, the accuracy of her ear, or the profundity of her vision . . . Perhaps [her novels] will eventually come to be seen as one vast, panoramic portrait of life in one particular place, at one particular time, as accurate and resonant as similar series by Balzac or Trollope. Daily Mail

Enchanting . . . Though centered in Baltimore, the story nonetheless reaches out beyond it, just as the characters, deceivingly simple, reveal truths about life that are anything but. Washington City Paper

Lushly imagined, psychologically intricate, virtually inhalable . . . At every leap, Tyler balances gracefully between tenderness and piquant humor, her insights into human nature luminous. Tyler is a phenomenon, each of her novels feels fresh and incisive, and this charming family tale will be honey for her fans. Booklist (starred)

Well-crafted . . . Affecting . . . As always, Tyler offers both comfort and surprise. Publishers Weekly

Entrancing . . . Nobody writes better about families than Anne Tyler . . . She has the lightest touch . . . Tyler has that rare ability to do much with what seems little, to bring the ordinary and usually unregarded lives of ordinary people to life and make them matter. The Scotsman

More lovely work from Tyler, still vital and creative . . . In her 24th novel, Tyler once again unravels the tangled threads of family life. This familiar subject always seems fresh in her hands because Tyler draws her characters and their interactions in such specific and revealing detail . . . [She] understands that the domestic world can contain the universe. Kirkus Reviews