Ann S. Epstein Writer

My Goodreads and Amazon review of French Braid by Anne Tyler (Rated 4) – Form Follows Function. French Braid, the title of Anne Tyler’s latest novel, refers to the structure of the book as well as the nature of families. A French braid is constructed by plaiting a handful of tresses and working your way along the scalp, adding others to create one multi-level integrated structure. The more you add, the sturdier the braid, with thicker hairs holding thinner ones in place. Such is the nature of four generations of the Garrett family, their forebears, and those who will follow. They don’t always agree with, understand, or even like, one another, but they are nonetheless interwoven. This theme is perhaps best illustrated in the recurring scenes of children bringing their “intended” spouses home to meet their parents and siblings. Approval is not required but the ritual must be observed. It is in capturing the small details of family life — both intimacies and irritations — that Tyler excels. The Garretts are essentially well meaning, if occasionally clueless, people. In other words, they’re your average American family. Readers will warm to them, some individuals more than others, and not always the ones you initially expect to take a shine to. My only criticism is that it is sometimes hard to keep the cousins straight; some are mere wisps and their nature, like fly-away hairs, don’t add to the braid. As a novelist myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I wish Tyler had given these secondary characters more substance or snipped them out altogether. Wisps aside, French Braid is a small but satisfying novel with deep and enduring truths about the strands that inevitably draw families together.

Plaited people in plaited chapters

Why writers read: “If I could always read I should never feel the want of company.” – Lord Byron

My Goodreads and Amazon review of Laughing in Her Sleep by Alycia and Jon Vreeland (Rated 5) – Laughing in Heaven. There are two ways to read Jon Vreeland’s poems in Laughing in Her Sleep: One at a time or via total immersion. Either way, pause over the penetrating illustrations by Alycia Vreeland. Unlike her colorful paintings, her line drawings are as dark and dense as Jon’s poems. Some are as whimsical as his words. Jon is obsessed with Death and Drugs (D & D). Some poems surrender to the depths; others are aspirational. Jon reaches for something better or (literally) higher. His judgements are harsh (especially toward himself) but his sympathies are generous. He can also be very funny! Jon sees, hears, and smells beauty as well as ugliness. Wherever he aims his senses, Jon doesn’t shy away from life’s crazy mixture. As a prose fiction writer (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I revere Jon’s storytelling talents. Each poem has a setting, salient details, and characters whose interactions are “small” but never insignificant. Jon imbues them with meaning, be they comforting or confrontational. His self-written obituary is as refreshingly arrogant as Jon himself, according him the glory he wasn’t granted in life, except by those who knew and loved him. And for whom, if not them, is the obit written? I won’t comment on the life review that ends the book (since I compiled it) except to say I was honored to be asked and entrusted with the precious memories his family and friends shared. Jon’s death is both a personal and a literary loss. We are fortunate his words live on. I trust he and Hemingway are laughing together in writers’ heaven.

Wrenching words, penetrating pictures

Why writers read: “Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends’ insane behavior, or better yet, your own.” – John Waters