It's not very often I'm completely captured by a book from the very first chapter - that may have something to do with my incredibly short attention span - but A Spool of Blue Thread did just that. Following the Whitshank family back through three generations, describing the twists and turns that come with ordinary family life, I find it hard to describe A Spool of Blue Thread as anything less than absolutely lovely.
If you prefer fast-paced writing with plenty of action and suspense then this may not be for you, but Anne Tyler's writing is beautiful and keeps you wanting to read more. The way she writes characters you can both despise and adore is incredible; I cared about them despite the fact that they were hard work, selfish and sometimes unbelievably annoying.
Despite some people describing this as a slow read, I found it hard to put it down. I felt downhearted when I knew it was coming to an end, as I just wanted to carry on reading - and being a novel about not-so-exciting family life, that is a true indication of just how wonderful this book is.
*A Spool of Blue Thread was kindly sent to me for review purposes by Penguin Random House, but all opinions expressed are my own.
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