Ein warmesherziger Roman, besonders am zum Ende. Eine wirklich tolle Geschichte über das Leben von Willa, was nicht immer leicht war, aber dennoch geprägt war von wunderbaren Menschen. Anna Tyler schafft es über die Themen Verlust, Einsamkeit, Familie und die 'Launen der Zeit' zu sprechen.

Willa has four defining moments in her life: they occur when she's 11, 21, 41, and 61. Each of these has set the tone for how she will continue to experience and move through her world in a way that's cautious, caring, and hopeful. Her compassion for others is what makes her stand out as a character. Not to mention that she almost became a linguist and then ended up teaching ESL, which is fitting, given that I'm studying linguistics and currently teach ESL. But as much as she changes and grows, Willa gets distant, even stuck, almost. Will she change what she has gotten used to? I could only hope for a sequel, but since Anne won't be writing one, I only hope that she may.