Too Cute for Words

Cute for Words

IF ANNE Tyler has a fault, it is a tendency to cuteness. Usually this is kept in check by a clear-sighted view of the pain that lies just over the horizon for her placid and decent Middle American characters. But in Ladder of Years she is like Delia Grinstead, her middle-aged heroine, who is tempted by a good-looking young man she meets in a supermarket: she flirts shamelessly with cuteness without ever quite committing herself to an affair. But, like Delia too, she goes right to the brink.

About the Author

James Bowman

Cute for Words

IF ANNE Tyler has a fault, it is a tendency to cuteness. Usually this is kept in check by a clear-sighted view of the pain that lies just over the horizon for her placid and decent Middle American characters. But in Ladder of Years she is like Delia Grinstead, her middle-aged heroine, who is tempted by a good-looking young man she meets in a supermarket: she flirts shamelessly with cuteness without ever quite committing herself to an affair. But, like Delia too, she goes right to the brink.