Clock Dance
Easy read

Clock Dance A Novel

Anne Tyler2018
Willa Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life. In 1967, she is a schoolgirl coping with her mother's sudden disappearance. In 1977, she is a college coed considering a marriage proposal. In 1997, she is a young widow trying to piece her life back together. And in 2017, she yearns to be a grandmother, yet the prospect is dimming. So, when Willa receives a phone call from a stranger, telling her that her son's ex-girlfriend has been shot, she drops everything and flies across the country to Baltimore. The impulsive decision to look after this woman and her nine-year-old daughter will lead Willa into uncharted territory--surrounded by eccentric neighbors, plunged into the rituals that make a community a family, and forced to find solace in unexpected places.
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Reviews

Photo of MK
MK@easyfriday
3.5 stars
Jan 6, 2025

It’s okay. A bit saviour-y a bit poverty tourist-y but not the worst.

+1
Photo of Julie Twist
Julie Twist@julietwist
1 star
Jul 10, 2024

Personal opinion - didn't enjoy it

Photo of Patrick Book
Patrick Book@patrickb
3 stars
Jul 5, 2024

I liked this quite a lot! I’d give it a 3.75. There was too many threads I would’ve rather seen explored, like her relationship with her sister through the years. Willa seemed far too oblivious as an adult compared to her inquisitive and incisive younger self. The narrative came down too simply; yes, all men are disappointing and all women are inconsistent. I’d have liked something a little deeper than that. But I’m also a sucker for stories about families.

Photo of Sarah Sammis
Sarah Sammis@pussreboots
4 stars
Apr 4, 2024

Clock Dance by Anne Tyler is about a woman trying to find her way in a life that seems to be taking her along for the ride. The book is set in four distinct time periods, with the last one being the meat of the plot. 666666 - marginalized home offroad http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...

Photo of Julie Anne Robson
Julie Anne Robson @soundslikeaplan
3.5 stars
Apr 9, 2022

As usual Anne Tyler delivers in the realness of life and human interaction. There are moments that build and then dissipate as it does in everyday life. Moments that happen and become a story that will be told in conversation throughout one’s life. As mundane as some parts were they tell an overall story of how a persons life passes in a blink and you’ll miss it way. It describes perfectly how we are shaped by the people who surround us from early childhood and how that comes into play further down the line. It was also interesting to see the main character eventually become the person she had been all along but was always holding back to put others first. The ending was disappointing, or so I thought at first. On reflection the ending is perfect. It’s true to life, it’s how it is ,and it stays perfectly true to the book as a whole. If you read it and find it a little meh then I guarantee that on mulling it over you will come to understand how completely brilliantly the book has been written to evoke that feeling of a very true to life experience of true to life people living an ordinary life.

Photo of Kim
Kim@skullfullofbooks
3 stars
Nov 15, 2021

What...what did I just read? I don't know, but I know I wouldn't have read it if I didn't want to join the Barnes and Noble book club this month. It was so well written in the beginning! I was ready to run out and buy all of her books! But something between the jumps in time, the apathetic nature of the characters, and the vague and open ended conclusion lost me. The characters all turned ibto horrible people at the end, which was very laborious to read.

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Ana Couto@inquisitivebookworm
2 stars
Aug 30, 2021

Not a big fan of this book...I simply couldn’t get into the plot or the characters. But I’ve enjoyed other works by Anne Tyler.

Photo of Rachel
Rachel@wellreadcatlady
4 stars
Aug 13, 2021

Clock Dance is a book about people and not knowing what you want in life, but slowly realizing what your life is right now is not what you want. Willa hasn't been in control of her life since she was a kid to older middle age. When Willa is contacted by accident when one of her son's ex-girlfriends needs help after being shot in the leg, she and her husband fly out to a practical strangers house to take care of her daughter and end ups finding reasons to stay longer. This is a light hearted book that is filled with relatable characters and seeing how they came to be the person they are.

Photo of Abigail Yoder
Abigail Yoder@abigailyoder
3 stars
Mar 24, 2022
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Erin G.@toughcakes
4 stars
Jul 4, 2024
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Amelia C @coffeewithamelia
4 stars
May 20, 2024
Photo of Molly Shipley
Molly Shipley@mollyship
3 stars
Jun 12, 2023
Photo of Rosie Yakob
Rosie Yakob @rosieyakob
3 stars
Mar 1, 2023
Photo of Emily Robles
Emily Robles@emilyarobles
4 stars
Jan 15, 2023
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Jen@fierycracker81
3 stars
Oct 20, 2022
Photo of Abby T. Miller
Abby T. Miller@hairboat
5 stars
Sep 25, 2022
Photo of Rosie Yakob
Rosie Yakob @rosieyakob
3 stars
Aug 12, 2022
Photo of Liz Prinz
Liz Prinz@prinzy
3 stars
Apr 4, 2022
Photo of Maggie Horikawa
Maggie Horikawa@maggiehorikawa
4 stars
Feb 16, 2022
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Samantha Wheeler@ballycumbered
4 stars
Feb 6, 2022
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Steffi@perksofstef
4 stars
Feb 2, 2022
Photo of Corey White
Corey White@mswhiteandherlibrary
3 stars
Jan 13, 2022
Photo of Summer Stanley
Summer Stanley@sgs
3 stars
Jan 3, 2022
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Jennifer Rittall@jdrlovestoread
4 stars
Dec 10, 2021