The Tin Can Tree

Written by Anne Tyler

Narrated by Tara Ward

In the small town of Larksville, the Pike family is hopelessly out of step with the daily rhythms of life. Mrs. Pike seldom speaks, while Mr. Pike maintains a forced stoicism. Only their ten-year-old, Simon, seems able to acknowledge that their world has changed. He just doesn’t understand why.

The Pikes may choose to stand still, to hide from an unnameable past, but the strange shroud over their home cannot be contained. Soon it’s inching its way toward their neighbors, where brothers Ansel and James will have to confront their own dark secrets if they want to bring their neighborhood back out into the light.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781705016411

Reviews for The Tin Can Tree

[hardlyhardy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Photographs represent attempts to stop time, which is why we get out our cameras on Christmas morning, at birthday parties, at family reunions and when children and pets do cute things more than we do at funeral homes and in hospital rooms. Some moments we want to stop more than others.Anne Tyler seems to have this thought in mind when she uses photography as a metaphor in one of her earliest novels, "The Tin Can Tree" (1965). James, the designated photographer, twice takes photos at gatherings of friends and family. One is soon after the shocking death of little Janie Rose, when smiles prove hard to find. Later he tries again, more successfully, after Simon, Janie Rose's runaway brother, is found and returns home.Simon feels ignored and unloved after his sister's death. His mother, who hardly even gets out of her bed, ignores him, leaving him in the care of Joan, a young adult relative with a crush on James. Meanwhile Joan herself feels unloved and unappreciated, as James devotes himself to Ansel, his hypochondriac brother. So she runs away, too, later returning with hardly anyone even noticing she had left, finding the party for Simon, the young prodigal, already in progress.Other times, both past and future, and other places, where the grass appears more green, have their appeal. Yet Tyler's familiar but timeless message seems to be that what we have in this moment's photograph, the place where we are and the people we still have with us, can be worth celebrating.

[moonshineandrosefire · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the small town of Larksville, the Pike family is in the midst of terrible crisis. They are hopelessly out of step with the rhythms of daily life after the tragic, accidental death of six-year-old Janie Rose. Janie Rose's absence is keenly felt by everyone and her family will never be whole again.Lou - Janie's mother - blames herself for her daughter's death, and so has retreated into her own private world of grief. She seldom speaks to those around her and is barely aware of her surroundings. Roy - Janie's father - has been forced to emerge from his many years of long, comfortable silence. Janie's ten-year-old brother, Simon, is suddenly without his baby sister or any proper understanding of why she's gone.Those closest to this shattered family must learn to comfort them - as well as confront their own private shadows of hidden grief. If time cannot draw them out of the dark, and thus foster any expectation of creating a meaningful future, then love just may be their only hope...In my opinion, this was a gripping story. The plot was thoroughly engrossing and I was completely captured from the first page. I wanted to see how each character would cope with their grief. I give this book an A!As I may have said before, I think that Ms. Tyler is an excellent writer. Those books of hers that I've read, have been filled with characters that you can't help but care for, going through circumstances that are absolutely plausible. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

[hazelk_9 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Having come to this work after having read her later novels I realise that this was a work 'in progress' which I found quite boring.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn’t think that this novel lived up to the strength of Tyler’s other publications. It concerns the aftermath of a little girl’s accidental death and its effects on the people who live in the same house: her family and neighbors. While the prose and characterization, as always, are strong, the story isn’t that compelling. It just seems to amble along to no spot in particular.

[mhgatti · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not a very strong plot, but Tyler puts strong characters around it and creates a yet another remarkable novel.

[alirambles · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was underwhelmed by this story of a community coping with their grief after a child dies. It was extremely slow moving, especially the dialogue, in which people find many uses for the word, "Well," and decide out loud what to have for dinner and where to sit. It's all very poignant but after a while you just want them to get on with things. Which is sort of Tyler's point--that the people need to get on with things. So, she makes that point. Because these people don't. Well.Eventually things happen to the people and you begin to see movement and character development but in the meantime there are pages and pages of people having tea and then the book ends and you put it down and say: "Well. Another book, read."