Book Review: Ladder Of Years

This Anne Tyler book was recommended to me (sort of) by EDW. It's a story similar to an idea I had for a story years ago. Delia, the heroine of the book, is a wife and mom who works in her husband's office in their home and is starting to feel lost in her own life. Her kids depend on her to do things for them, but also are old enough that they don't "need" her anymore. Her husband doesn't even seem to really see or hear her.

One day, after a frustrating argument, Delia gets up and stalks off - and basically just keeps going until she unintentionally finds herself in a new town, and sort of starts her life all over. She finds a place to live, buys a few clothes, seeming to think that both her family will come and retrieve her AND that she is here forever.

It's very easy to slip into Delia's shoes and I think we've all had moments where we've considered chucking it all moving to a new place and reinventing ourselves. Delia does it almost accidentally, but in a believable and charming way. The story really "flows", and I found it enjoyable. In fact, I really loved it, right up to the ending, which I am not sure I "got". I reread the last several pages at least 4 times trying to figure out what I'd missed. The ending also hit rather abruptly, as though Tyler simply ran out of pages and said "Oh, okay, then this is the end."

4 out of 5 stars