Excellent novel following a Baltimore marriage’s ups and downs and the intervening tales of the three children. The focus is on the couple itself and it both critical yet supportive of each side, with the narrative sympathetic to each. Similarly, the plot is eventful, yet has a pace and is written in a non-sensationalist way which moves the story along and pulls the reader into Tyler’s world. A treat of a story which unfolds gently and comments plenty on the twentieth century as it does so, with the hang-ups shot through the Anton family narrative.