About this title: Delia Grinstead, a 40-year-old mother of three almost-grown children, abandons her family impulsively in search of an entirely new life a few miles from home, becoming secretary to a lawyer. Gradually, she begins to return to her old life--first for her daughter's wedding, then for small occasions, finding that the people she left behind have ...
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"This is a story of a 40 year old woman who walks away from her husband and her 3 children to start a new life for herself. I guess she felt unappreciated and unfulfilled. I do not have much sympathy for her because I think all wives and mothers sometimes feel unappreciated and unfulfilled, yet would never leave their children. She finds that her new life has problems also and luckily for her, when she is invited back to her daughter's wedding, she sees that her family has really suffered in her absence and that they do love her and need her very much."
"I just love how Anne Tyler writes, how she describes things. I read this while we were at the beach on vacation... maybe not the best time to read a book about a mom who takes a walk on the beach and doesn't return. There's something alluring to me about leaving it all behind and starting over from scratch, and the more I read, the more I just liked Delia, like getting to know a friend. It ended a little abruptly for me, and I was left feeling really sad for Noah and Joel. (And I note that I did not take any long, long walks on our vacation, 4 and 7 year old boys notwithstanding.)"
"The author has a natural writing style and just pulls you into the story. At the start of this story I totally understood Delia, I couldn't really blame her for leaving. With that being said, by the middle of the book I was screaming in my head, "They are your children, no matter what, they are your children! You have to go back to them. No matter how old they are, they are your children." I could understand why she wasn't responding to her husband, he should have asked her to come home. Honestly, why didn't anyone in her family just ask, that is obviously what she wanted to do deep down. Anyway, the story of Delia who leaves her family while on vacation. Delia finds and makes herself a new life. SPOILER: I had to reread the last pages over and over again to figure out what Delia was going to do: go back to her new life, or come home. The fact that the ending is up in the air and that I didn't like Delia at all by the end of the book is why I gave the book 4 stars. Because it was a really great story and so well written."
"I had never read anything by Anne Tyler although she has been recommended to me by several people. I found her easy to read but also honest. The main character was a woman who seemed to let life happen to her and suddenly leaves her own comforts to try to be on her own. It wasn't even a conscious decision to leave, she just started walking and kept going. I found this premise remarkable. You mean other women have fantasies of walking away from it all without as much as a change of underwear? Although Delia was initially portrayed as a subordinate character who did everything for her family and eventually became a door mat, she really changes. Or rather, she finds herself in a place, living a life where her talents are appreciated by others around her who value her ability to not talk about herself, her reliability, her lack of materialism. The story also had many colorful characters who although were not essential to the story, showed us more about Delia in the ways she interacted with them. I am not sure I like the ending. And perhaps that has more to do with where I am at this time. It was "romantic" in a true sense, not a soap opera. Perhaps if I was reading this at a different time, I would think this was the perfect happy ending."
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