David becomes a teacher and marries the school nurse. They are called Robin-the-boy and Robin-the-girl.

They each name a baby Robin, after their Dad. By now, the children have married and have homes of their own. He is hurt, but tries to keep it secret from their now grown kids. She eventually spends so much time in her studio that she is only staying a few nights a week at home with Robin. She sells only a few of these over the years. These are very abstract paintings of a house detailing only one item in the painting, like a door knob, or a planted pot, etc. In her studio, Mercy paints what she calls 'house' paintings. They are all separate, while being together.īecause Mercy wants to paint, she convinces Robin to rent a nearby shed that she can turn into her studio. He spends the trip by himself, playing with the sand at the water's edge. He refuses to let his father teach him to swim. David, the youngest child is fearful and afraid of the water. Lily, who is a young teen, meets a teen-aged boy and spends most of the week hanging out with him and his friends. Alice swims a while and then unpacks their things and starts fixing a meal. Robin stays at the water's edge, visiting with another vacationing father. At the lake, Mercy swims briefly and then returns to their cabin to paint. This vacation demonstrates the family dynamics and shows us each member's personalities. Near the start of the book, the Garretts take their first and only family vacation.

In the course of the story we meet the three Garrett children Alice, Lily and David and watch them mature and eventually become parents themselves.

The father, Robin, runs the family plumbing supply store. The mother, Mercy, is an aspiring artist. We, the readers, can never predict what will happen.įrench Braid, Tyler's latest novel is about the Garrett family. Tyler remains popular after all these years because each novel is unique and each is a new adventure in reading. Each of her books are about families in Baltimore and each story is different, because each family is separate. Anne Tyler has just written her 24th novel.

The french braid book review