Ladder of Years

Delia Grinstead has decided to start again. Her kids are almost grown, and her husband is happily entrenched in his business. So Delia walks away, unsure of where she'll end up. Poignant, light and engaging, Tyler's remarkable book is about a woman's circular quest for herself. C.J. Critt's expert narration is astounding. Her aloof style heightens the story's drama, giving listeners empathy for Delia's detachment. Critt's vocal characterizations are very convincing; pacing and diction are top quality. Her narration is subtle, yet firm, always giving Tyler's plot and characters the limelight while she herself remains the skillful medium. J.S.G. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 3, 1995
At 40, Delia Grinstead seems more likely to have an attack of anxiety, or of whimsy, than to become a runaway wife. Yet, in Tyler's 13th beguiling novel, Delia's impulse to escape her disapproving physician husband and three surly children turns into an adventure that sweeps her from her staid Baltimore orbit into a new existence as Ms. Grinstead, spinster, in the Delaware community of Bay Borough. It's the unexamined life that's Delia's problem, and when she finally strips away layers of hurt, resentment, guilt and anger, she confronts her inner self and begins to deal with the chronic insecurity that has kept her childlike, flighty and dependent. Gradually, she becomes part of her new community, and has the courage to take a job caring for Noah Miller, an appealing 12-year-old whose mother has also run away from home and family. Over the course of a year, Delia discards her timorous personality and gains an understanding of the person she wants to be. One of the satisfactions of this novel is Tyler's evocation of typical family life. While in the past some of her characters have been too eccentric or fey, Delia and her family and friends all have both feet planted in the real world, even if their heads and hearts are sometimes elsewhere. Some readers may have difficulty accepting Delia's ability to absent herself from her children, but Tyler engages our sympathy and growing respect for a character who finally realizes that ``the ladder of years'' is a time trip to the future. BOMC main selection; major ad/promo; Random House Audio Book.