Anne Tyler, Ladder of Years

Cecilia Donohue (Independent Scholar - North America)
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Published in 1995,

Ladder of Years

was the thirteenth of Anne Tyler's novels. Upon its debut, it received critical notices that spanned the spectrum, and this seriocomic novel of the Grinstead family was not fĂȘted with prestigious awards, as Tyler's

The Accidental Tourist

(1985) and

Breathing Lessons

(1988) were. However,

Ladder of Years

remains a popular choice to this day for both academic and library book-group reading lists.

Students of contemporary United States literature debate Tyler's commentary on American family life. Those who read this work in Women in Literature classrooms engage in sometimes heated debate about the protagonist's motivations and actions. Scholarly readers revel in the novel's apparent ties to traditional works of literature, while both serious and casual

1484 words

Citation: Donohue, Cecilia. "Ladder of Years". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 October 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=9093, accessed 29 March 2024.]

9093 Ladder of Years 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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