A cosy read

Clock Dance, Anne Tyler


I'm not sure that this worked out quite like the author intended.

Beginning as a series of short, decade-spaced interludes in the life of Willa Drake, it hits the temporal brakes to focus on a short interlude in her early retirement. There (or "Then" I suppose), she becomes accidentally embroiled in the domestic life of Denise, her son's ex-girlfriend, when the latter is shot and injured. Flying halfway across the country to assist this near-stranger, Willa is slowly entrained into the lives of Denise, her daughter, Cheryl, and an extended community of quirky (naturally) neighbours.

This is an easy, rather enjoyable read, though it's very difficult to see what Tyler was aiming for. The opening interludes don't establish much other than the general feeling that Willa's life is mostly scripted by those around her. So her self-discovery when helping Denise seems to be what Tyler's after, but it's rather clichéd if so. She's usually got a bit more depth going on.

But, as I say, a warm and cosy read all the same, full of the sorts of recognisable oddball characters that you just know you'll come to love by the end.

(Finally, I should add that I'm also rather unclear on quite what the title of the novel is referring to. Sure, there's some passing of time, but it involves calendars, and not clocks.)