French Braid
by Anne Tyler Chatto & Windus (Vintage – Penguin) RRP $35
In a rented studio in a backyard in Baltimore, Mercy Garrett paints portraits. Not of people, but of houses, with one specific element – a grandfather clock that has initials carved into one corner; the gnarled, knobbled focuses on a different member of the clan and paints an episode, a moment, a whisper, a glimpse of a life in excruciating, gorgeous, enthralling, heart-breaking detail.
