If you don’t buy Whistler for any other reason, buy it for the scene in which a man and a young girl discuss books while trapped in a wrecked automobile. It’s a literary gift you will treasure.

Ann Patchett’s latest novel begins when Daphne Fuller accidentally encounters Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, after a lapse of more than 40 years. Everyone loves Eddie, but no one more than Daphne, our narrator, who recounts her mother’s unfortunate history of failed marriages. Daphne and Eddie have so much in common that their reunion is one of old friends catching up on the past.

This is a novel about relationships, a subject at which Ann Patchett excels. Daphne, a schoolteacher, is happily married to Jonathan, a retiree almost twenty years her senior. But Daphne retains a special place in her heart for Eddie, although his careless driving left her with a facial scar. She thinks the accident is the reason her mother divorced him. But there was another reason, which emerges as Daphne and Eddie get reacquainted. 

I can’t begin to describe how magnificently Patchett leads us through the car wreck experience, during which Eddie tells Daphne about a manuscript proposal he’s been reading at the office. I can only repeat that if you love books, you owe it to yourself to read that scene. It’s one of the most enthralling moments of my entire reading life.

Much of the book’s poignancy lies in how its characters value each other. A metaphor for this lies in the experience of Jonathan, whose effort to help his sister rid their childhood home of memorabilia arouses a blend of strong emotions. Some things are hard to let go of, even things that are hurtful, because they are part of what we are. As Daphne puts it, she and her sister had only ringside seats at the edge of her mother’s life. They were left to adjust on their own and learned independence in doing so.

Although Whistler contains a homosexual relationship and a few profane words, I’m happy to give it a five-star rating.

Chevron Ross's novels include Weapons of Remorse, The Seven-Day Resurrection, and The Samaritan's Patient. Click here for more information.