Reviews - Taft: A Novel | The StoryGraph

170 reviews for:

Taft: A Novel

Ann Patchett

3.46 AVERAGE

amy67's review against another edition

5.0

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

dyeganian's review against another edition

3.5

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

hannahmayreads's review against another edition

3.5

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I can’t imagine Patchett would write this book now, and it’s certainly a quirk in her bibliography. Still, it has all the Patchett hallmarks, especially her empathy for all her characters, major and minor. If this is the worst Patchett can do we don’t have much to worry about, but this is one for the completist reader.

nordstina's review against another edition

2.75

medium-paced

I've pretty much adored everything I've read by Ann Patchett, though it has been more of her recent works so I've gone back to read her earlier work and Taft was a miss for me, which shocks me. In it, we meet John Nickel, a former drummer, who now manages a bar in Memphis. His son and ex have left Memphis for Miami and he finds himself a bit lost. Enter Fay, a young woman (he cannot quite gauge her age) who is looking for work. Fay and her brother Carl have moved to Memphis following the death of their father and they are staying with family. Both of them are unmoored by his death. Nickel finds himself enmeshed in their struggles, leading to unfortunate consequences. While I understand some motivations of characters- John is missing his son and sees an opportunity to help Fay and her brother, and they see him as a potential father figure. What confused and turned me off was the evolving relationship between John and Fay, and while they were touched on, the underlying racial dynamics (John is an older black man, while Fay is a young white woman) were not fully explored. I think partially this has to do with this coming from a white woman author- it was sort oa peculiar choice of plot to go with. Additionally, there was an odd narrative structure where we learn about Fay and Carl's father, but it's not a true flashback- it's an imagination from John on what their father must have been like. Weird plot device that did not work for me. Bummed that this one was a bit of a fail for me, but I imagine they may just be a rare miss for Patchett.

vickigee85's review against another edition

5.0

There's an element of magical realism to TAFT. John Nickel may be that magic. He loves, he feels, his direction is to do the right thing. This worthy read will have you wondering about his relationship to young Faye (and her brother), Marion and her sister, but never to Franklin or the people working for him at Muddy's. He's loyal, guided, intentional and proves to be willing to make sacrifices for those in his orbit - even those you might chose to forsake for the right reasons.
I was caught up in musing about these characters - not entirely clear about what happened at the lumberyard between Faye and her dad, or why Nickel believed so keenly in Marion's ability to save him over what might happen with more fully accomplished options. The end left me wondering. But this is what happens when magic is threaded into the narrative by someone so deft at capturing with language. The New York Times review said, "Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchett's fiction." They couldn't be more right.