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Product Description
Book Description
One of eight Anne Tyler novels reissued in September 2008 with stunning new jackets
Product Description
Another quiet masterpiece from the author of THE ACCIDENTIAL TOURIST-a funny, poignant and unsettling novel about marriage, families and the triumph of hope over experience. On a beach holiday, 40-year-old Cordelia Grinstead walks away from her family, and just keeps walking. She re-invents herself in a new town as a serious-minded woman without ties. But gradually the messy emotions of family life catch up with her once more.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book starts off with every woman's secret fear - that in amongst all her duties and tasks and routines that she has become invisible. This is borne out by the "Every woman" missing person's description of her. The journey is an interesting one - perhaps the ending is a little neater than life. But many of us dont in the end want to throw it all away - but re-establish ourselves in our current lives. So if you have kids and are married there are moments of smiles, joy, empathy and quiet bravery in this book. It was my first read by this author and it got me hooked on her....
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Delia, short for Cordelia, is the central character of Anne Tyler's Ladder Of Years. As usual for Anne Tyler, Delia is a Baltimore resident, a wife, a mother and probably, at least from the outside, a pillar of strength and dependability in both family and community. The children are growing up. Which children don't? Bet then it's how they grow up that matters, isn't it? Sam, the husband, is doing moderately well. Moderate seems to be the word, as far as Sam is concerned. He's hardly made a success of the business he inherited from Delia's father, but the family survives to inhabit a middle class, rather liberal niche in the common psyche. As Ladder Of Years opens, the family is holidaying by the sea and Delia is dressed, mentally, for the beach.
And then, without warning, even to herself, she takes off. Just like that, whatever "that" might be. She absconds. Goes missing. Disappears. There's suspicion of drowning. A report appears in a Baltimore paper. The family fears she has come to harm. But no, she hasn't. In fact, still dressed for the beach she is heading off to a place she doesn't know with a stranger. It's no particular stranger, just a stranger.
Quite soon, and with new clothes, a new address and a changed life, Delia takes on a new identity. Though Baltimore wife and mother still lives in her head, she's become a new Delia, single, independent and employed. In this new guise, she inter-reacts with her new community and gradually becomes part of it. Why did she leave the apparent safety, security and responsibility of her family? Not even she can answer.
What slowly begins to emerge, however, is that Delia's choice of opting out becomes increasingly one of opting in. By degree the characters in her new life start to become more demanding. Without needing to state everything explicitly, they start to assume Delia's support and claim reliance upon her. She, of course, responds and finds that she now has two levels of responsibility created out of the demands of her new life and continued contact with her family. Interestingly, Delia, this pillar of support, never feels either at home or secure in either role.
And so it is via this scenario of identity change, relationships of dependency, insecure self-image, alongside a fixation of demand that Anne Tyler relates how Delia's life unfolds. Delia notices a lot about people, but she's no great analyst. Surely she's the type to apologise before expressing an opinion, but would harbour unspoken bigotries like the rest of us. At the start of the book she seems confused. By the end, a few more rungs along the ladder of life, she apparently remains so. Perhaps the ladder is horizontal ... and with irregular spacing... But then Delia has little time to consider such arcane ideas. After all, there are things to do, people to talk to, arrangements to be made, jobs to be done...
And then, without warning, even to herself, she takes off. Just like that, whatever "that" might be. She absconds. Goes missing. Disappears. There's suspicion of drowning. A report appears in a Baltimore paper. The family fears she has come to harm. But no, she hasn't. In fact, still dressed for the beach she is heading off to a place she doesn't know with a stranger. It's no particular stranger, just a stranger.
Quite soon, and with new clothes, a new address and a changed life, Delia takes on a new identity. Though Baltimore wife and mother still lives in her head, she's become a new Delia, single, independent and employed. In this new guise, she inter-reacts with her new community and gradually becomes part of it. Why did she leave the apparent safety, security and responsibility of her family? Not even she can answer.
What slowly begins to emerge, however, is that Delia's choice of opting out becomes increasingly one of opting in. By degree the characters in her new life start to become more demanding. Without needing to state everything explicitly, they start to assume Delia's support and claim reliance upon her. She, of course, responds and finds that she now has two levels of responsibility created out of the demands of her new life and continued contact with her family. Interestingly, Delia, this pillar of support, never feels either at home or secure in either role.
And so it is via this scenario of identity change, relationships of dependency, insecure self-image, alongside a fixation of demand that Anne Tyler relates how Delia's life unfolds. Delia notices a lot about people, but she's no great analyst. Surely she's the type to apologise before expressing an opinion, but would harbour unspoken bigotries like the rest of us. At the start of the book she seems confused. By the end, a few more rungs along the ladder of life, she apparently remains so. Perhaps the ladder is horizontal ... and with irregular spacing... But then Delia has little time to consider such arcane ideas. After all, there are things to do, people to talk to, arrangements to be made, jobs to be done...
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anne Tyler has a special skill - the ability to weave words to magically create characters whose breath you can all but feel off the page. This book, the third of hers I've read, is no exception.
I admit I had a little difficulty understanding Delia at the start, but really got under her skin when she left her family to carve a new life for herself. Her world seemed to suddenly be filled with colour, the small town full of life. I still didn't feel Delia was being necessarily true to herself however... I think maybe that is the woman we see in the opening sequence in the supermarket, full of excitement at the subterfuge she becomes embroiled in.
Now to the tricky part - the ending. Much as I admire Tyler, I can't help feeling she wimped out here. I just didn't find it particularly credible, hence the three star review. Interesting to note this was written more than 25 years ago - the Tyler of her later novels has much more confidence.
I admit I had a little difficulty understanding Delia at the start, but really got under her skin when she left her family to carve a new life for herself. Her world seemed to suddenly be filled with colour, the small town full of life. I still didn't feel Delia was being necessarily true to herself however... I think maybe that is the woman we see in the opening sequence in the supermarket, full of excitement at the subterfuge she becomes embroiled in.
Now to the tricky part - the ending. Much as I admire Tyler, I can't help feeling she wimped out here. I just didn't find it particularly credible, hence the three star review. Interesting to note this was written more than 25 years ago - the Tyler of her later novels has much more confidence.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Looking forward to reading more from this author
I only came across this book when it was reviewed in a recent BBC programme as a celeb's favourite book. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Mads West
Ladder of Years
I heard about this book on a TV book show. I had never read any Anne Tyler books before, but I really enjoyed this and thought the storyline was very clever. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. J. B. Schofield
I couldn't stop reading
I agree with the other reviewer who said that you have to be a certain age to enjoy this book, I'm not sure it would have resonated with me when I was a teenager but as a Mum with... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Charlie&Molly
First page intrigued me...Second page had me hooked.
The first page was a police report of the disappearance of Cordelia Grinstead, last seen walking along a beach. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Bizgen
Most of us need to escape - if only for a few hours!
I came across this book shortly after reading 'The Amateur Marriage' which I found very memorable. I thought 'Ladder of Years' was going to be very sad i.e. Read more
Published 5 months ago by L. George
A good read, let down by the conclusion
Anne Tyler always writes a good book, and this is one of her more memorable ones. Her style is enjoyable, her characters believable, her dialogue and situations generally spot on. Read more
Published 7 months ago by BookWorm
Ladder of Years, Anne Tyler
I love Anne Tyler's books and this one was no exception. This second-hand copy was in good condition and arrived promptly.
Published 8 months ago by J. Williams
Ladder of years - 1st book from Anne Tyler
I have to say after watching my mum reading Anne Tyler for many years I asked to borrow one of her books - she handed me Ladder of years and said see how I get on with it! Read more
Published 12 months ago by Jodez mondez
The book is great but the typos in the Kindle edition are HORRIBLE
I love Anne Tyler books and I've read Ladder of Years before. I bought the Kindle edition thinking I'd like to revisit an old friend. Read more
Published 12 months ago by KA Arnold
Awful
Whilst Anne Tyler is a good writer, and I wanted very much to like this book, I never did understand the point of it all. The further the book went on, the less I like Delia.
Published 18 months ago by C. A. Ives
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