French Braid by Anne Tyler

DREAM ON

Hosting our bookclub at @futuredreamscharity is genuinely a monthly highlight for the both of us. We love chatting to an amazing group of women and hearing their views on each book — and it also gives us the chance to revisit some of our favourite reads including The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which we discussed last night. And let’s be honest, some in-depth chat about all things Bridgerton featured too, obvs. 

Outside of bookclub, we are both currently reading Anne Tyler’s new novel, French Braid, and spent a good while after our get together last night raving about the magic of her writing. We don’t often find ourselves reading the same thing at the same time these days (mainly due to the ridiculous pace of my dear friend Chaya) so this was a pleasure in and of itself. Both of us are in no doubt that Tyler is surely one of our living greatest novelists with truly prolific talent. We can’t wait to post our joint review on this one over the next few days.

~ Sophie

Later on…

In 2015, Anne Tyler suggested that A Spool of Blue Thread was going to be her last book. Thankfully, this — French Braid — is her fourth one since. One of us loved every letter of every word of every sentence in these pages. The other found the start slow but the end — well, it made it all worth it. 

Check in with us tonight to hear our thoughts on Tyler’s latest novel, which centres on the story of the Garrett family. We meet them on a rare lakeside holiday and a moment on that trip changes everything, instilling a tension into the their dynamics that will simmer on for decades to come. 

Number two in the Saturday Times bestseller charts this week, you’ll want to get the lowdown on this one so do make sure to stay tuned.

~ S & C

Order your copy of ‘French Braid’ here.