Download Clock Dance Anne Tyler 9780525563020 Books
Download As PDF : Clock Dance Anne Tyler 9780525563020 Books
New York Times Bestseller
A charming novel of self-discovery and second chances from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Spool of Blue Thread
Willa Drake has had three opportunities to start her life over in 1967, as a schoolgirl whose mother has suddenly disappeared; in 1977, when considering a marriage proposal; and in 1997, as a young widow trying to hold her family together. So she is surprised when in 2017 she is given one last chance to change everything, after receiving a startling phone call from a stranger. Without fully understanding why, she flies across the country to Baltimore to help a young woman she's never met. This impulsive decision, maybe the first one she’s consciously made in her life, will lead Willa into uncharted territory—surrounded by eccentric neighbors who treat each other like family, she finds solace and fulfillment in unexpected places. A bewitching novel of hope and transformation, Clock Dance gives us Anne Tyler at the height of her powers.
One of the Best Books of the Year O, The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, The Christian Science Monitor
Download Clock Dance Anne Tyler 9780525563020 Books
"Full disclosure: I’d call myself Anne Tyler’s “Number One Fan†if that line wasn’t so creepy (thanks a lot, Stephen King). So it’s no surprise that I adored “Clock Dance†and want everyone in the world to read it, and ALL of Tyler’s stellar oeuvre.
I’m not the only fan who has called Tyler the “Jane Austen of our timeâ€; the comparisons are obvious: beautiful writing, accessibility, colorful characters, perfectly pitched dialogue, and a focus on domestic stories. And woe be to anyone who considers “domestic stories†a lesser literary form, for it is in these stories of quotidian family life, punctuated by human drama, that we most recognize ourselves and develop empathy for others. If you never read a novel about the human condition, how would you learn to appreciate other people’s perspectives?
Ok – to the review: “Clock Dance†is about Willa Drake who finally “wakes up†to her life. We first meet Willa in 1967 at age 11, on a day that her mother has “run away from home†yet again. Willa, Dad Melvin, and 6 year old sister Elaine, try to “act normalâ€. In 1967 you might describe Willa’s mom, Alice, as “tempestuousâ€, “high strungâ€, or “mercurial†– today you might diagnose Bi-polar Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder.
The first half of the novel describes the few life-changing moments/decisions in Willa’s life in 1977 and 1997 - short sections, to set the stage and establish Willa’s character. We root for Willa throughout but it’s clear that she is “sleep-walking†through her life. It is in the second half of the novel, set in the present (2017), that Willa makes a bold decision to help a young single mother. That decision becomes the “wake-up Willa, call†and provides her a door to a different future than the path she was on. Will she walk through that door?
As in each and every Anne Tyler novel, there is a cast of characters that you will fall in love with and miss after you close the last page. Her characters are what make her novels SO “re-read-able†to me. I never read one just once."
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Clock Dance Anne Tyler 9780525563020 Books Reviews :
Clock Dance Anne Tyler 9780525563020 Books Reviews
- Full disclosure I’d call myself Anne Tyler’s “Number One Fan†if that line wasn’t so creepy (thanks a lot, Stephen King). So it’s no surprise that I adored “Clock Dance†and want everyone in the world to read it, and ALL of Tyler’s stellar oeuvre.
I’m not the only fan who has called Tyler the “Jane Austen of our timeâ€; the comparisons are obvious beautiful writing, accessibility, colorful characters, perfectly pitched dialogue, and a focus on domestic stories. And woe be to anyone who considers “domestic stories†a lesser literary form, for it is in these stories of quotidian family life, punctuated by human drama, that we most recognize ourselves and develop empathy for others. If you never read a novel about the human condition, how would you learn to appreciate other people’s perspectives?
Ok – to the review “Clock Dance†is about Willa Drake who finally “wakes up†to her life. We first meet Willa in 1967 at age 11, on a day that her mother has “run away from home†yet again. Willa, Dad Melvin, and 6 year old sister Elaine, try to “act normalâ€. In 1967 you might describe Willa’s mom, Alice, as “tempestuousâ€, “high strungâ€, or “mercurial†– today you might diagnose Bi-polar Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder.
The first half of the novel describes the few life-changing moments/decisions in Willa’s life in 1977 and 1997 - short sections, to set the stage and establish Willa’s character. We root for Willa throughout but it’s clear that she is “sleep-walking†through her life. It is in the second half of the novel, set in the present (2017), that Willa makes a bold decision to help a young single mother. That decision becomes the “wake-up Willa, call†and provides her a door to a different future than the path she was on. Will she walk through that door?
As in each and every Anne Tyler novel, there is a cast of characters that you will fall in love with and miss after you close the last page. Her characters are what make her novels SO “re-read-able†to me. I never read one just once. - Her books are definitely not what they used to be. I've read them all more than once but I can't get invested in the characters the way I used to. This one could have used another chapter to let us know what Willa's up to. That being said all her books are like putting on your old comfy sweatshirt and I'm sure I'll read the next one.
- Willa Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life. In 1967, she is a schoolgirl coping with her mother’s sudden disappearance. In 1977, she is a college coed considering a marriage proposal. In 1997, she is a young widow trying to piece her life back together. And in 2017, she yearns to be a grandmother but isn’t sure she ever will be. Then, one day, Willa receives a startling phone call from a stranger. Without fully understanding why, she flies across the country to Baltimore to look after a young woman she’s never met, her nine-year-old daughter, and their dog, Airplane. This impulsive decision will lead Willa into uncharted territory–surrounded by eccentric neighbors who treat each other like family, she finds solace and fulfillment in unexpected places. A bewitching novel of hope and transformation, Clock Dance gives us Anne Tyler at the height of her powers.
My Thoughts In our journey through Clock Dance, we leap ahead to those defining moments in Willa’s life, from preteen years to the current time. What we learn about Willa and what she needed is how hopeful she always felt, while being basically unsatisfied. Her first husband, Derek, seemingly hijacked her life and her decisions, and even in his death, he was thinking only of himself as he made some fatal choices.
Motherhood was also a time of meeting the needs of others, while ignoring her own. The realization of what she had given up for family and for husbands would later come to awaken her to those unmet needs and how very important they suddenly were to her. Her second husband could have been someone to fill in those blanks in her life, but again, he was someone who met his own needs first.
I liked how Willa finally started making choices based on what she wanted and needed. Would she finally start to feel that fulfillment? Would an unexpected trip to Baltimore to help out her son’s ex-girlfriend offer the opportunity to surround herself with a collection of people who would begin to feel like an extended family? Could she learn that just when she thought she had to pick up her same old life, she could visualize a very different kind of life? One with room for the people and activities she longed to enjoy. 5 stars. - My Thoughts Anne Tyler has been a longtime favorite author of mine, so I badly wanted to love Clock Dance. Sadly, I just didn’t. The synopsis speaks of the “defining moments†in main character, Willa Drake’s life, and for me that’s exactly where the story broke down. We all have defining moments, some we succumb to and others we rise from. From childhood until she was 60, Willa allowed everyone else to define her life. Her defining moments were ones in which she consistently remained passive, giving parts of herself up for the (often selfish) needs of others. By the time Willa began to show a little backbone, I’d given up on her. On a more positive note, I thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful, quirky group of neighbors that Willa finally found herself a welcome part of. Unlike the men in Willa’s life who all felt the same, these characters were original and real. Still, they weren’t enough to rescue this summer read for me.
- I felt the ending was abrupt.....I would have been so happy to read another twenty or so pages to smooth out Willa's transition. How about a sequel!
There were a few loose ends, but that's life. Every part of this novel is completely believable and offers no magical resolutions. I fell in love with the characters that were important to the story and their affections for Willa. Willa reminds me of Maggie in Breathing Lessons and Delia in Ladder of Years. I loved Clock Dance and read it in two days - who can put a new Ann Tyler novel aside?
