A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler

The story opens with Denny's phone call to his parents, Red and Abbey, telling them that he is gay, and ends with a conversation some years later to his girlfriend promising her that he is going to change and 'do things differently'. Denny is travelling back to live with her after an extended stay at his parents' house to support his elderly parents. When his mother dies, the family are obliged to sell the family home and go their separate ways. Denny travels back to his girlfriend and while he is desperately trying to convince her of his commitment to their relationship,  his seat mate is in in floods of tears. Denny doesn't address the crying person, but it reminds him of the painful times when he himself felt totally alone and desperate as a child.
Denny is the third child of Abbey and Red's four children. He has two older sisters and a younger brother, Stem. Denny is problematic as a child and an adult, and his father never really acknowledges him as a son he can be proud of. In addition, it turns out that Stem, though he has a close relationship with his parents, is not actually their child. .  .
The story unravels with the lives of Abbey and Red, bringing up a family in the house built by Red's father, Junior. The family home was carefully crafted and provides an idyllic setting for bringing up a family. The first part ends some 40 years later with Abbey's death. She is ageing and getting forgetful, but she can never truly relax from her duties as a mother and grandmother. The second part relives the time when Abbey chose Red a her preferred partner. Was she attracted to him by his good looks or his upstanding moral principles - his calm and considerate behaviour? Or was it his unpretentious manner that made her feel appreciated and loved. After Abbey's death the kids rally round and the family home is vacated.
Then we travel back to the story of Junior, the builder of the family home. Surprisingly we find out how much he hated his wife Lennie Mae. Why did he resent her? They met when Lennie was thirteen, an illegal entanglement, and when she was old enough she escaped her village life and followed him to Baltimore where Junior was working as a house builder. Though she embarrassd him, he felt obliged to look after her. The truth was that she was more than capable of looking after herself. Both Lennie and Junior come from humble beginnings but they manage to get themselves into a respectable neighbourhood and take the family a step up in social standing. It's a hard process, and we discover that this family home is fraught with plenty of bitterness, resentment, disappointment, and psychological trauma.
The colour blue weaves its way into the story; the blue shirt that Red wears to Abbey's funeral, the blue paint that is used on the swing (and then washed off in rage). Denny's memory of the his mother's sewing basket when he looks for the blue thread to mend his father's shirt, clearly illustrates  the notion of family ties. The characters are all connected by the invisible thread that binds them through the dramas of family life that are played out in the family home.
A beautifully written account of family dynamics through the generations. Anne Tyler gives us some wonderful observations, amusing yet poignant, of the highs and lows of regular family life - observations that we can probably all recognise.
Chosen and reviewed by Merinda Wilson, 31 December 2015.