Rating: 
Summary: Woman of steel, wrapped in terry cloth.
Review: Was she her father's Cordelia? Was she Sam's Dee? Was she the aloof Miss Grinstead? While Delia is an odd character, her blandness allows the reader to "wear her" for the moment, just like a new grey dress from downtown Bay Borough. Who has not left the house to take walk, a drive, a cool down? The temptation of one foot before the other, to keep going.... Lesson's learned: You can go home again, so long has home adapts to the new you wanderlust created and your spouse has not legally filed yet. Also, when planning to run away, take underwear.
Rating:
Summary: Great Characters
Review: "Ladder of Years" by Anne Tyler I've been rereading Anne Tyler's novels, which I originally read when they were first published. I just finished "Ladder of Years", which is about Delia, a 41 year old woman. Delia is a doctor's wife and the mother of three children who have reached that irritating but important stage of life when they must separate from their parents and appear, to themselves, and especially to their mother, to have little need or interest in her. Her husband, of course, being a man, doesn't communicate much on the emotional level. One ordinary day, during a family beach vacation, Delia wanders away and ends up in another town, where she makes another life for herself. Eventually she returns with a greater understanding of the nature of men and women and life in general. It occurred to me that Tyler shares a characteristic I first noticed when rereading Charles Dickens' novels. That is, she creates a plethora of characters. Most novelists, while they often have multiple plots, can create only one, or perhaps two real characters. Tyler, like Dickens, positively overflows with them. Since her prose is not so grand and her subject matter is personal, and primarily of interest to women, she is not likely to be considered in a class with Dickens, but as I completed my rereading this morning, the resemblance struck me.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I got to the end of this book wondering why I had got there. It can't have been totally terrible or I would have given up before the end, but it left me with nothing much. The story is about a woman (who happens to be a wife and mother) who on impulse walks away from her life for a year or so and does something else. A "finding oneself" story? Maybe. A story of establishing that the grass is not really greener anywhere else? Maybe. It is slightly dull, probably by design, and I think one reason I kept reading was because there had to be more, right?.... So the denouement (a damp squib), coupled with a number of loose threads left untied, made me feel the whole experience was an unsatisfying one. Shame. "The Accidental Tourist" was an excellent book, however.
Rating:
Summary: Ladder of Years
Review: This was my moms boook that i just happened to pick up and start to read. Its a great book but a lot of things were dissapointing in it. I would have liked Delia to have gotten in touch with Adrian when she was away from her family. I was dissapointed with the ending but loved the boook in general.
Rating: 
Summary: A circular route to a new life
Review: Anne Tyler's "Ladder of Years" is the story of Delia Grinstead's circular route to a new life. She commits the shocking act of simply walking away from her family on the beach one day, hitching a ride to wherever seems far away enough, and beginning a new life at the town of Bay Borough, Maryland. One by one, different members of her family track her down and she is drawn to them while simultaneously becoming more and more part of Bay Borough life. It's a fascinating account of a momentous decision, and the many repercussions of that decision. When Delia finally returns to her family's home in Baltimore for an important family occasion, we want to see the tension either drawn tight (yes, she was right to leave!) or dissipated (of course, here's where she really belongs). Unfortunately, Tyler fails to really expand upon this theme and because of this, the ending is not only abrupt, but startling. This is the only Anne Tyler novel I ever finished with a feeling of dissatisfaction and disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth your time
Review: Another mid-life crisis goes wrong book. The plot is implausible, most of the characters are not fully developed, and you finish the book wishing for a better ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Taking a Trip Through Time
Review: Delia Grinstead never had much experience in life. She went from "her father's house to her husband's house" (actually, the same house!), without pursuing an independant life; even her secreterial work was connected to her father's/husband's medical practice. Delia decides to live her life over again, first by pursuing a man who reminds her of her only teenage boyfriend, then by travelling to a town that at first glace seems to be preserved from the early twentieth century. As her personal life proceeds, so does the "age" of the town and her various attempts at change, moving forward from an idealic past to a flawed present and future. Delia is forced to take notice of the true nature of her life.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD UNTIL THE VERY END
Review: I've read a few of Anne Tyler's novels and I would say this is the weakest of the lot. It's about a woman who wanders away from her husband and family on an ostenisble journey to find herself. As the book progresses, you can assume that the themes of an unhappy marriage will be explored, and on the surface they are. I found the husband/wife relationship in "Breathing Lessons" to be a much more satisfying read. Also, this book totally falls apart at the end. You spend your time with the book, thinking the threads will form some beautiful tapestry at the end, but all you're left with is a bunch of frayed yarn. I would recommend this for hard-core Anne Tyler fans ONLY.
Rating: 
Summary: boring
Review: Being in the mood for an easy read,I picked this up from my friend's bookshelf. It was more like a Danielle Steel novel, and the only reason I kept reading was to find out what happended at the end. There was nothing deep or meaningful,it wasn't even an enjoyable "easy" read.
Rating:
Summary: Tired of writing at the end?
Review: I have to admit that I was glued to this book from the first sentence. I could not put it down. I was transfixed by the idea of a married woman with children simply walking out of one life and into another. Even the minute details of her new (extremely boring) life were delectable because they seemed to signify such richness ahead of Delia. I was bucketing along at the end of the story, certain that the plot would resolve in a deep and meaningful way, but the swift and startling wrapup at the end simply blindsided me. After careful reflection I have decided that I never understood why Delia left her family (although I never really warmed up to her husband, not even at the very end of the story) and I certainly don't understand why the story ends the way it does. I felt that there were so many loose ends left flapping forlornly in the breeze that I can't say that I really enjoyed this entire novel, although I was completely captured by the characters. I feel that the author may have had some deep meaning in mind that didn't make it to the page. "Ladder of Years" is a beautifully crafted, suspenseful story that ultimately fails to deliver the real goods.
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