CLOCK DANCE

by Anne Tyler
 
Anne Tyler has written more than 20 novels and after reading Clock Dance, I’m wondering why I haven’t read more of them.  This is a quick and easy read with a really good story line. 
 
Our main character, Willa, receives a phone call from across the country asking her to come care for her granddaughter, because her single mother has been shot and is in the hospital.  Willa hesitates, since she really doesn’t have a granddaughter.  The nine-year-old girl in question is the daughter of her son’s ex-girlfriend.  But for reasons she can’t articulate, Willa goes.  What follows is the charming story of Willa bonding with this young girl, her mother and many of their quirky neighbors. 
 
Over the course of the novel, Willa comes to question what actually constitutes a family and what love and loyalty should look like in that family.  By the end of the novel, Willa is transformed. No longer a passive observer,  she decides what she wants her life to look like and she charts her own course.
 
I recommend Clock Dance whole-heartedly.  It is well written and will fill your heart. (Liz)