It took a while to get into the book--seemed to drag a little in the beginning; setting the scene and characters. Once the story started, I got hooked and wanted to know what happened next. Mitchell and Poppy had a great relationship which improved throughout the book. Liza is a true individual and has an effect on both Mitchell and Poppy. Yvette, the woman who accidentally fell off the bridge that Mitchell rescued is like a red herring. We keep on finding information on her that keeps the story going. And Graham is what a best friend should be. He reminded me of Boris (from The Goldfinch)--the story woke up with him in it. I enjoyed the ending and the various letters interspersed throughout the book.

Overall I would recommend this novel wholeheartedly. I just finished the Bookish life of Nina Hill, which was also lovely, quirky and fun, like this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I was also looking forward to reading it as well. I grew up loving Greek mythology, and this brought back that interest and fun. I enjoyed the history of our words base of Greek interspersed throughout the book. I enjoyed her enthusiasm about all things Greek and the history of the country. I learned so many things: Greek was originally written in all caps; the lower case letters came from the middle ages, mainly to save space. And that omicron means small o. I enjoyed her traveling adventures around Greece and learned much from those travels across the years. She discussed the Greek financial troubles and Cyprus' complicated history. Those with an interest in travel, history and yes, language and mythology will love this book.
My mother minored in ancient Greek in college (in the 40s) and we often discussed Greek history and mythology. I look forward to sharing this book with her.

Anne Tyler is a smooth writer. You read along and get sucked in to the story and don't realize how good it is. I enjoyed reading the story of Willa, but from time to time I did want to shake her and tell her to be brave and act. For most of her life she lives a quiet life, first with her parents and later with her husbands. She doesn't really get a chance to discover herself. She has a good life, having two sons and a devoted husband. He is taken away too soon and the family has to readjust.

We find out she remarried to someone who doesn't seem to fit her. For him she moved away from friends and familiarity to Phoenix. She doesn't even like golf. Sometimes it seems she doesn't like Peter, her second husband. When she gets a call from someone telling her her son's ex-girlfriend has been shot and needs help, she sets off on an adventure with a complaining Peter and really begins to find out about herself. She does help the girlfriend out and helps herself out too. And she meets some great characters too, that I hope will continue to be part of her life.

The ending of the novel is open, leading the reader to wonder what happens next. I would like to believe she gets to do what she wants to do, and divorces Peter. I hope that's what Ms. Tyler envisioned, but she will probably never tell her thoughts. That's why she's such a good author; she lets the reader continue thinking about the story after we finish the book.