Whistler: a review by Kayne

I keep thinking about this book! It’s about Daphne Fuller, a lovely, caring person, and the people who influenced her life. One person in particular was Eddie, whom she dearly loved and who was her stepfather for a short time when she was young. Forty years later, she and her husband are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when they run into him! They are able to reconnect and grow close again and it’s a treasure to see.

Daphne and Eddie survived a traumatic event together when she was nine and had a special bond with each other. Soon after, her mother divorced him. Eddie was one of those special people that everyone loved and wanted to be around. He worked with Daphne’s mother at a big publishing house and encouraged Daphne, now a schoolteacher, to write a book.

There are lots of characters including Daphne’s self-absorbed mother who she learns more about, and her sister and nieces, whom she is close to. There is also her brother and his partner along with her supportive husband and stepdaughters. While some characters are challenging, most are loveable, especially Daphne and Eddie. As they reconnect, secrets from the past about their families and friends are revealed.

One funny scene is when Daphne and her husband are talking about how older men are attracted to Daphne. She jokes

“Old guys love me. They had always loved me. I never experienced a flick of interest from a man my own age, but show me a man ten or fifteen years older, twenty years older, and he’d be pulling me aside to tell me he couldn’t remember the last time he felt this way.”

Her husband is seventeen years older and it’s funny when he first meets Eddie, and thinks Eddie is another one of Daphne’s admirers, until he realizes that he was her stepfather.

Patchett shows us how having someone in our lives when we are young, who truly cares about us and supports us, can have a lasting impact. The story focuses on family, showing Daphne and her family, reflecting on their past, through adult eyes. For example, Daphne always worried that she caused her mother and Eddie’s divorce, but she learns there was more going on than she knew. The parts of the story with the horse were my favorites, but I dare not say more for fear of spoiling the plot!

Whistler has a theme about living and dying that was incredibly moving. It’s a quiet story that snuck up on me and I didn’t want it to end. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a heartfelt story about family, love and loss and the positive impact people can have on each others’ lives.

by Kayne Spooner