Whistler

During a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York, Daphne Fuller and her husband, Jonathan, notice they are being followed by an older, white-haired man who soon reveals himself to be Eddie Triplett, Daphne’s former stepfather.

She had not seen Eddie since she was nine years old, when a fateful event changed both their lives. This reunion, however, softened the edges of the intervening years, and although they had only spent time together during Eddie’s brief one-year relationship with Daphne’s mother, the impact of that experience had apparently been deeper than either of them had realized. Now that they have reconnected, they have no intention of drifting apart again.

Whistler tells the story of two adults who look back and reflect on the choices they made and the choices they let others make for them. It explores the importance of courage, memory, and the small but consequential moments that shape our lives, as well as the endless stream of loss that, over time, troubles us all. 

Beautiful in its simplicity, this novel by Ann Patchett is a meditation on love and the transformative power of memory.