Overall it was agreed that this book would encourage us to read more from this author whose simple style has been honed to leave the reader some work to do in getting to know the characters.

We had a good discussion about the book and decided that Anne Tyler (who is in her 80s) makes the characters come to life with her use of dialogue. She has good observation of everyday life and doesn't burden the reader by being over-descriptive. Some felt that it took a while for the book to 'grab your attention' and possibly had it not been a novel chosen by book club not everyone would have read the whole thing.