Whistler by Ann Patchett
They say no great story ever began with a salad, but how about a museum? It’s not any garden-variety museum; we’re talking about the Metropolitan Museum of Art smack-dab in Central Park, New York. You know, the one famous for the Met Gala.
On a whim, Jonathan and Daphne Fuller decide to spend the day at the Met, and while they are enjoying themselves with the art therein, Jonathan catches a man stealing glances at his wife. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, who was married to Daphne’s mother for a while. Eddie was Daphne’s stepfather when she was nine years old.
The casual encounter starts a snowball effect with Daphne’s memories of the past, mainly about the reasons why she had completely blocked out her memory of him until now and, most important, the experience of the two of them being in a car accident in the early 80s, when no cell phones were available, and the deserted road could mean certain death if they didn’t take matters into their own hands.
A Chance Encounter Rekindles the Past
Daphne is now 53 years old, while Eddie is in his late 70s, but they reconnect as father and daughter in a way that is beautiful to read through. The story alternates the story in the present with some flashbacks to the car accident, and slowly, but clearly, we are allowed to see the impact the incident had on their lives and how their decisions from that day shaped their core beliefs.
On yet another deeper level, there is the story of Whistler, the horse in the cover artwork, that comes as a tale sprinkled throughout the novel that gives the overall arc a sense of balance and cohesion. It’s a story within a story within a story, not unlike the sleep levels in the film Inception. However, in the novel Whistler, they are all realities in their own set timeframes.
Whistler is about reconnecting with your inner self; it’s about forgiveness and, to a certain point, redemption. It’s no wonder the book is already “A GoodReads Most Anticipated Book of Summer” or the pick for two important book clubs like Katie Couric and Good Housekeeping.
A Reader Steps Outside Her Comfort Zone
Before going on to wrap this review, I believe some confession is due: I’m the author of mysteries and thrillers, by choice rather than by design, and thus I was hesitant when asked to review Ann Patchett’s new novel, Whistler. She’s known for her literary acumen.
Never one to back out from a challenge, and with the worthy goal of reading outside of my comfort zone, I plunged into Ms. Patchett’s world.
I was swept away by the first page.
I was smitten by the end of the first chapter.
In short, Whistler is a story to be savored with a side of a steaming coffee, tea, or a glass of Chardonnay (to be in tune with Eddie’s preference). The end is a tearjerker that borders on meta, but to be honest, it is the perfect ending to the tale.
About Ann Patchett:
Ann Patchett is the author of novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, works of nonfiction, and children’s books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women’s Prize for Fiction in the UK, and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.
