Anne Tyler, French Braid

Cecilia Donohue (Independent Scholar - North America)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2022

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

French Braid (2022), Anne Tyler’s twenty-fourth novel, revisits the subject matter her readers have come to expect: the multigenerational extended family whose members negotiate the reality of unraveling ties, individuals taking unexpected steps in search of self-fulfillment, opportunities for a second (and for one character in this book, a third) chance at happiness, and a dénouement of reconciliation for a surprising member of this novel’s ensemble.

While French Braid’s issues may be familiar to the author’s fans, their presentation differs somewhat here. Instead of Tyler’s usual laser-sharp focus on one particular protagonist, as in 1985’s The Accidental Tourist …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1965 words

Citation: Donohue, Cecilia. "French Braid". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 July 2022 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40907, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Save this article