Date: 23 Aug 2026
Location: Joyce at Carrabba’s
A dozen Bookers met at Carrabba’s to discuss Ann Patchett’s latest novel, Whistler.
This is the third of Patchett’s novels that the Bookers have read, after Bel Canto and Tom Lake.
About seven and a half of us actually read the book, and most of us found it a very enjoyable read. However, of the three books that we have read, I think most of us felt that Bel Canto was her best book.
Whistler is basically a story about families, the rekindling of long-lost relationships, and the revisiting of old and often mistaken memories. The story begins when Daphne and her husband notice an elderly man following them in the museum. The older man turns out to be Eddie, Daphne’s first stepfather, whom Daphne and her sister had both really loved. Eddie had disappeared from their lives, however, when Daphne’s mother divorced Eddie following some serious, near catastrophic events.
The story proceeds with Daphne and Eddie reestablishing their gentle and touching relationship, and it involves numerous flashbacks of some of the important occurrences in their lives. One key event was the Eddie’s and Daphne’s serious car accident in dangerously cold weather. Eddie is trapped in the vehicle and during the brutal night he tells the young Daphne about the remarkable horse Whistler and how it saved his owner’s life. Daphne was then able to escape the car and find help – rescuing them both.
Daphne had always believed that the car accident was the reason her mother had divorced Eddie, but she eventually learns that things were much more complicated. This was a sweet, feel-good read with realistic characters just trying to lead their lives.
— Bob