Readers of Anne Tyler’s sixteenth novel, Back When We Were Grownups (2001), will encounter many of the plotline elements present in her previous works. These include: suburban Baltimore, Maryland, USA, as the setting; a traffic jam of unique, offbeat characters who say and do the unexpected; extended family celebrations that include non-related acquaintances and engender a sense of reconciliation; the theme of travel through time; and, most importantly, a fork in life’s road providing the opportunity for a second chance or major life transition for the central character.
Widowed for many years, 53-year-old Rebecca Holmes Davitch laments the fact that she has “turned into the wrong person” (3). This discovery c…
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Citation: Donohue, Cecilia. "Back When We Were Grownups". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 December 2007 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=14605, accessed 23 November 2024.]
