Digging to America (by Anne Tyler)

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It’s a long time since I’ve read anything by Anne Tyler. She’s an American novelist, who writes character-based, often quirky books which rely more on observation and conversation than any real plot. In the right mood I enjoy her books very much, but don’t tend to re-read them. When I spotted ‘Digging to America’ on a church book stall, and knew I hadn’t read it, it was an easy decision to buy it, but it sat on my ‘to-read’ shelf for rather a long time.

I finally picked it up to read a few days ago, and I found myself liking it almost immediately. It’s a book about cultures and contrasts, but it opens at an airport. Two families are waiting for the arrival of Korean babies, whom they’re going to adopt. The most obvious family is an all-American one, with the whole extended family adorned with badges labelling them ‘mom’ or ‘grandma’ (etc), and all kinds of gifts. They’re loud, and excited, and there are lots of photos and also a video being taken.

It’s only after their daughter, Jin-ho, arrives that the other family is spotted: an Iranian couple, and a grandmother. Their baby, whom they rename Susan, is smaller than Jin-ho, and doesn’t look as healthy.

The American family - with parents in their early forties - are determined to respect Jin-ho’s culture, and are blatantly accepting, with a wholesome, ‘earth mother’ approach to child-rearing. They think it important that she and Susan become friends, so they start inviting the Iranian family to their parties - and a friendship is struck. Susan’s adoptive mother Ziba is elegant but a little insecure. Although she admires Jin-ho’s new mother Bitsy, she often feels a bit put down by her comments, even though they are kindly meant.

There are a lot of people in the story, most of whose names I couldn’t remember from one chapter to another, but it didn’t much matter. Bitsy has two brothers, who are married with children; they appear at most family parties, but the only one I recall is a dorky teenage boy, the only one amongst several girls. Bitsy’s parents are quiet, likeable people although it’s clear that her mother is quite ill, unlikely to live much longer.

We learn a little about Ziba and her husband Sami’s past through his mother Maryam, who is widowed, and around sixty when the book starts, but young at heart. Politics are touched on lightly, and there are huge feasts as each family offers increased hospitality to the others. They’re all modern, accepting people but there are inevitable cultural clashes and misunderstandings, and I found it quite thought-provoking.

The blurb on the back claims that the book is full of ‘hilarious moments’ and I can’t say I spotted any of those, although there were one or two places where I smiled at an incongruity, or a particularly wry observation. I do like Anne Tyler’s writing style, her way of painting portraits of people in remarkably few words, and of switching viewpoints and time frames without it feeling awkward. I felt caught up in these family’s lives, particularly empathising with Maryam who’s a quiet, thoughtful person who loves to help anyone she can, but doesn’t feel as if she quite belongs anywhere.

There are more poignant moments than funny ones, in my view, and a great deal that’s thought-provoking. The American side is of course larger than life and caricatured, yet perhaps not as much as it seems to this non-American. And the point is made that some people don’t fit into their own culture, and that some people really don’t like huge parties and endless socialising.

The novel takes place over the course of a few years, and is entirely character-based with almost no plot. The two babies from Korea develop very distinct characteristics, not always liking each other; there’s a low-key possible romance amongst two of the adults, and there are many different social gatherings.

It doesn’t sound like a terribly exciting book, but in Anne Tyler’s hands it is very readable, sometimes moving. Several of the characters got under my skin, and the novel includes issues that may remain with me for some time to come.

Recommended if you like this style of book, but don’t expect much plot or even a decisive clear-cut ending.

Review copyright 2021 Sue's Book Reviews