Whistler, by Ann Patchett: Are All Happy Families Happy In the Same Way?

One thing I've learned over the years from reading a lot novels is that if I ever lose touch with someone who I used to be close to and want to reconnect, I'll just go hang out in New York City for a while, ride the subway, go to a museum, maybe catch a ballgame at Yankee Stadium, and eventually I'll just randomly bump into that person again. 😁

This is of course tongue in cheek, but Ann Patchett's sweet new novel Whistler is the second novel I've read this year (The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the other...and there are a TON more, Martyr! also comes to mind) in which a random reconnection in a city of 8.5 million people is the plot catalyst. Generally speaking, this bugs me. 

It bugged me a little bit here, but I'm not going to let my own silly hang ups prevent me from enjoying an Ann Patchett novel, for goodness sake. Ann Patchett has earned the right to do whatever she pleases. And the good news here is that even if you're not totally vibing with a Patchett plot, her prose is engaging and endearing enough to keep you reading. Some writers you just connect with. Ann Patchett is one of those writers for me, and I know this is a common refrain among readers. 

Anyway, so here's what happens: Daphne and her husband Jonathan are at the Met, when Jonathan notices a seemingly creepy old guy following them. He confronts the guy and learns he's Daphne's stepfather! Eddie and Daphne's mother were briefly married when Daphne was 9, and Daphne has all but forgotten about him -- it's been 44 years, after all. But the two did share a traumatic event -- a car accident, in which they were trapped overnight -- the accident being the on-the-surface reason Daphne's mother divorced Eddie. She couldn't trust him anymore. But of course there is much more to it. And so the novel chronicles the story of their reconnection while delving into the past.  

Another thing I've learned reading a lot of fiction: Happy characters usually make for boring novels. But dammit if Ann Patchett isn't a rule-breaker. This novel is full of jolly, well-adjusted characters without much friction between them. There is one big family secret, but it's revealed reasonably quickly and the fallout isn't huge. Indeed, throughout this novel, there's hardly any of the conflict or big blowouts you'd normally see in family dramas. 

What is Patchett up to here, then? At its core, this is a novel about the nature of memory and how perspective changes over time. It's about a second chance at family, when a second chance isn't something you even knew you needed. Also, there's a story about a horse named Whistler. It's related, trust me.

If you've read this far, you've probably gotten the sense that this isn't my favorite Patchett novel. I'm in the minority, I think -- so many other readers seem to have loved this book. But what do we say in situations like this? A mid-tier Patchett is still better than a top-tier novel from 90 percent of other writers. And that's a hill I'll die on.