This is vintage Patchett ... Patchett in a lighter register, its tempo brisk as a short story’s. It’s a drama of manners, a nostalgic interpretation of what family looks like in a rarefied space far removed from soaring gasoline prices, populist anger and Trumpian rage. It’s also a lament for our vanishing literary culture. It may lack the narrative heft of The Dutch House and Bel Canto, but it scatters a similar fairy dust across its pages, delivering its pleasures with wit and panache.
The dramatic tension,...isn’t interpersonal but man versus the inexorable march of time ... Absence of edge can at times lead to a lack of narrative tension in her fiction ... Charm is less plot-driven than dialogue-driven. Daphne’s repartee with her entourage keeps the sentimentality just about in check.
Is there such a thing as too perfect? Enter Whistler, Patchett’s new novel ... The past is held up and examined like a snow globe, given a pretty little shake. But what matters is the perpetual, beautiful now ... Whistler is top-shelf comfort food, the literary equivalent of pricey ice-cream. We almost care about these vanilla-bean people. Their floral arrangements; their silk blouses; their dinky sailboats. But it’s all so neat ... Often reads like a gratitude journal.
Salvation in various modes propels this resplendent novel rich in hilarious and poignant dialogue, cascading realizations, and profound and surprising moments of kindness, forgiveness, and love.
Patchett is a clarion voice who can persuade any reader to devour her books without pause. Her latest is no exception, with strong characters, compelling circumstances, and the one detail on which lives can pivot to ruin or to happiness.
Exceptional ... The plot whisks along, its satisfying full circle returning to the Met, and incorporates a clever metanarrative twist. Whistler is quiet but surprising, witty yet heartrending.
Perfectly executed and quietly profound ... Like many of Patchett’s works, this beautiful and generous novel feels effortless, never straining for effect. It’s one of her best.
