At the time of the publication of her third novel,

(1970)

contemporary American novelist Anne Tyler had yet to set her novels in what became her trademark location: Baltimore, Maryland USA.

, like its predecessors

(1964) and

(1966), takes place in fictionalized cities in North Carolina and presents an intimate, sympathetic look at a family’s quirks and dysfunctions – themes that Tyler would revisit frequently in future works.

In A Slipping-Down Life the focus of the family foibles is 17-year-old Evie Decker, first shown to readers as “a plump drab girl in a brown sweater that was running to balls at the elbows” (1). Motherless and living with a somewhat distracted father who teaches math at the high

658 words

Citation: Donohue, Cecilia. "A Slipping Down Life". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 March 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6979, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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