30 pages • 1 hour read
Anne TylerA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Tyler narrates the story through Bet, in third-person limited point of view. This means that readers are privy to Bet’s thoughts and observations but no one else’s. Being bound to her perspective is more intimate than an omniscient point of view would be, but it still offers readers some distance from her. That small separation allows readers to identify with Bet without having to metaphorically be the character, as would be the case with a first-person narrator. The gap between reader and protagonist also permits Tyler to be slightly less specific in delineating Bet’s identity, setting her up as more of a model or archetypal character.
Readers might question whether Bet is a reliable narrator. She is an exhausted, feeble woman in a life moment overwrought with conflicting emotions. Some of the key information Bet reveals comes from her memories, which are inherently fallible. While Bet may not be completely dependable regarding the truth, however, she is the only one who can convey her truth, which further develops her persona as an archetype.
By Anne Tyler
A Patchwork Planet
Anne Tyler
A Spool of Blue Thread
Anne Tyler
Breathing Lessons
Anne Tyler
Clock Dance
Anne Tyler
Digging to America
Anne Tyler
Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant
Anne Tyler
French Braid
Anne Tyler
Redhead by the Side of the Road
Anne Tyler
Saint Maybe
Anne Tyler
Teenage Wasteland
Anne Tyler
The Accidental Tourist
Anne Tyler
Vinegar Girl
Anne Tyler