French Braid

A new family saga from a Pulitzer Prize laureate about family ties—where “everything is complicated.”

In a distant sunny summer of 1959, the Garrett family sets off on their first—and last—joint vacation, which will leave a mark in their lives for many years to come. Mercy and Robin are an ordinary couple, at first glance; they have wonderful children—responsible Alice, impulsive Lily, and dreamy David. They are almost always together, but at the same time they don’t feel connected to one another. Time passes: the children grow up, leave the house, and make families of their own. Gradually, without the dramatic surge of passion, the family relationships begin to fall apart unnoticed by outsiders. So what holds the Garretts together?

“French Braid” is a new family portrait from a master of subtle psychological prose. A complex tapestry of relationships, incredibly realistic characters, and the unchanging setting of Baltimore. A piercing story about kindness and cruelty in everyday life, about family abysses, and about the impossibility of freeing oneself from those who love us.

“Family, as I see it, always remains an island of stability in any situation: we can break up with friends, but relatives always stay with us. What holds together such different, unlike people—what threads tie them?—that is the question I’m trying to answer…” — Anne Tyler.

The audio version of the novel was performed with impeccable literary accuracy by Natalia Lomyakina, a book reviewer for Forbes, a professor at the journalism faculty of Moscow State University, and a radio host.