Ladder of Years: A Novel

4 4 out of 5 stars | 2,083 ratings

Price: 1.99

Last update: 08-31-2024


About this item

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Breathing Lessons

"BALTIMORE WOMAN DISAPPEARS DURING FAMILY VACATION."

The headlines are all the same: Beloved mother and wife Delia Grinstead was last seen strolling down the Delaware shore, wearing only a bathing suit and carrying a beach tote with five hundred dollars tucked inside. To the best of her family's knowledge, she has disappeared without a trace. But Delia didn't disappear. She ran.

Exhausted with her routine and everyone else's plans for her, Delia needed an out, a chance to make a new life for herself and to become a different person. The new Delia can let go of all the hurt and resentment that left her stuck in her past. As she eagerly sheds the pieces of herself she no longer needs, Delia discovers feelings of passion and wonder she'd long since forgotten. The thrill of walking away from it all leads to a newfound sense of self and the feeling that she is, finally, the star of her own life story.

Top reviews from the United States

Gardner W. Skinner
5.0 out of 5 stars Odd characters that come to life
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2022
Anne Tyler always seems to write about odd characters; just like in Accidental Tourist. They come to life and it is so refreshingly different than other writers do with their characters. Her books are so fun and interesting and again, I find her refreshing. A different view point of life that makes us look at any subject with a certain amount of humor. This one, in my opinion, should be made into a movie. I laughed so hard when reading the scene around that Thanksgiving dinner and absolutely fell in love with these odd people, especially, Belle. I would suggest that this is a must read and we must expect that it is different. Thank God, because reading always the same linear things gets a bit boring. Read it for enjoyment
and with a different slant that this author offers. Jeannette Skinner
Readergurl
4.0 out of 5 stars Well - I Liked It...
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2008
This was my first Anne Tyler book, so i guess i didnt know what to expect. I actually couldnt put the book down, and stayed up wayyy late two nites in a row just to finish it. I thought the writing was really good. I agree that alot more of her feelings could have been explored, alot more of the family's feelings - but all in all i liked the story. It just could have gone alot further and deeper, and been a much longer and more involved story. I will check some reviews and see what others think are her better books, because i do like her style of writing.
Judith C.
3.0 out of 5 stars Ladder of Years
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2024
Just could not get into it. Print very tiny. Only read 1/3 of book.
sue ann gordon
5.0 out of 5 stars Fast deliverey.
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2024
Building a library.
Super condition.
Will order again because
Of excellent service.
Claudine Wolk
5.0 out of 5 stars Every Mother's Dirty Little Secret
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2010
I first read Ladder of Years when I was a young mother in my thirties. I loved the book but didn't quite get it. I felt a little upset with the main character, Delia, for taking off and leaving her family while on vacation. Fast-forward 10+ years and I read the book again, (Yes, it is that good) and this time, after the first few chapters, I'm begging Delia to walk away from her family. I totally get it. Anne Tyler reveals every wife and mother's dirty little secret. Oh, how we would all love to take a walk away from what seems like an ungrateful (one reviewer described them as acrimonious), self-centered family and just keep on walking! Even though we might never actually do it, the percentage of women who have had that fantasy has got to be in the top percentages.

But Tyler doesn't stop there. We are slowly and cleverly getting to know Delia. She is NOT a cold-hearted, closed-off person. Even though she has a new way of dressing, a new job, and a new residence, she still cries herself to sleep every night. It's clear she is desperate for her family to reach out to her and tell her that they need her, but that message is not forthcoming. Delia copes the only way she knows how by getting up everyday and following the routine she has established for herself. Inevitably, Delia meets and forms relationships in the little town where she settles. She even tires of her first job and searches for another. Just as her life may take an irreversible turn, she is summoned back home for the wedding of her daughter. Tyler's portrayal of events when Delia returns home is nothing short of brilliant.

Some feel the ending is lacking in answers. I thought so, too, at first glance but on second thought (and this is the kind of book you have lots of second thoughts about), the ending is perfectly fitting and the answers have been revealed along the way.
Beth & Jung Park
4.0 out of 5 stars Leaving home
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2011
Have you ever had the fantasy of walking away from your life? This story explores what happens when that fantasy is followed. Like other Anne Tyler novels, I felt the central character exists in a grey fog, unaware of self and lacking the ability to take control. The first 1/4 of this book was spent delving into a potential affair, and seemed too drawn out. The conclusion was also unsatisfying, since the main character returned to her life without sharing with her family why she had left them for another life. A good read, but one that left me cold and sad.
TLC
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Anne Tyler novel
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2011
I have read every novel by Anne Tyler, and just re-read this one on my Kindle. It is my favorite. So poignant, funny, and real. Tyler's characters are always people you know and recognize. But Delia, the main character, is possibly her most fully formed and relatable ever. I love Delia--BECAUSE of her flaws, not in spite of them. This is a coming-of-age book...about a middle-aged woman. It's also a story about the intricate relationships among women. The women in this book overlap--each "taking over" something from another. If it hadn't been called "Ladder of Years," it could very well have been called "The Interwoven Lives of Women," (or something more creative).

I savored every page in this second reading, and, as usual, was sad to see the book end. Tyler's realism is always both satisfying and frustrating. Things change, but they don't. The nature of her characters never changes. There's never a magical ending. Life moves forward in a slightly different direction, but with the knowledge that circumstances have not changed all that much.

I don't know of a mother who has not fantasized about doing what Delia does in the book (although it is not easily admitted). Read the book. See what happens to one woman who--mistakenly or not--takes a mid-life adventure. It's a joy.
Anne L. Watson
2.0 out of 5 stars Very Strange Book
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2024
Obviously well written -- that's what earned the two stars. But I ended up with a bad taste in my mouth. The characters all treat each other as disposables. Someone annoys you? Throw them away. Including friends, spouses, relatives, kids, fiancés...no one is more than one mistake away from the dumpster.

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