Ladder of years

Anne Tyler specializes in female characters who don't have much control over their lives. The protagonist in Ladder of Years leaves her family - just wanders down the beach - on day, sure that they won't care, and that they probably won't notice for days.

The characters are well-developed over time, and described in an amusing tone of voice. “Her hair curled at the bottom like the S-hole in a violin” (paraphrase) comes to mind first.

I particularly appreciated how the protagonist comes to terms with herself as a person, after many years of seeing herself as an extension of others: her father's receptionist, her husband's wife, the mother of three. She learned to be comfortable by herself and with herself, which helped her be better in her roles as parent, wife & employee.

This was my second reading of this book, and this time, I upgraded from 4 stars to 5 stars.