Acton reviewed Earthly possessions by Anne Tyler
Review of 'Earthly possessions' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
The most important action takes place in Charlotte's head. As this short novel opens, Charlotte is standing in line at the bank, ready to withdraw funds so that she can leave her husband, her house, her entire way of life. However, once again, she's thwarted.
Once again. The chapters begin to alternate between flashbacks of Charlotte's past life and what is happening in the present. In the present, she has been dragged away, at gun point, as the hostage of a bank robber named Jake Simms.
During the flashback chapters, the reader gets the story of how a young woman tried to go off to college, but family events called her back. Then one thing led to another, like fences closing in on her, and Charlotte winds up corralled into the very spot she did not want to be in.
Meanwhile, on the run with Jake Simms, Charlotte is, once …
The most important action takes place in Charlotte's head. As this short novel opens, Charlotte is standing in line at the bank, ready to withdraw funds so that she can leave her husband, her house, her entire way of life. However, once again, she's thwarted.
Once again. The chapters begin to alternate between flashbacks of Charlotte's past life and what is happening in the present. In the present, she has been dragged away, at gun point, as the hostage of a bank robber named Jake Simms.
During the flashback chapters, the reader gets the story of how a young woman tried to go off to college, but family events called her back. Then one thing led to another, like fences closing in on her, and Charlotte winds up corralled into the very spot she did not want to be in.
Meanwhile, on the run with Jake Simms, Charlotte is, once again, not in control of events. Eventually, it becomes apparent that Jake isn't, either. The Jake chapters are an amusing comedy of errors. Jake is a man with a temper and impulse control problems. He's not the sharpest tool, either.
Wherever you go, there you are: Jake and Charlotte stay in character and play out their roles for awhile, but not forever. As in every Anne Tyler book, the main character finds a way to grow, to see things differently, and take back her life on her own terms.
This is superbly written and thought provoking in a number of ways. As Charlotte's life story starts in the 1950's and progresses into the '70's, I assumed that her limitations had to do mostly with being female, but in this novel, Tyler makes it clear that the male characters have their self-imposed limitations, too.
Excellent read, I'd recommend this to anyone!