Whistler By Ann Patchett 2026, Harper, 304 pages
What a wonderful book! Ann Patchett comes through once again. If you are interested in a heartwarming story as well as one which does not try to hide unpleasant truths, this is a book for you. Whistler is a horse which comes to her owner’s rescue in a life-threatening situation; Whistler also seems to be a symbol, or a metaphor, for what humans can do for one another. In some ways the book is a rumination on death; in other ways it is a sort of family saga. Like many books these days, it moves back and forth through time and through the heads of the main characters, but those movements are not disconcerting. They seem to fit together like a good jigsaw puzzle.
The major character in Whistler is Daphne, a high school English teacher married to Jonathan, a hospital administrator. Her sister Leda is a therapist who also writes a newspaper column about therapy. Their mother Abigail was a publicist at a major publishing company until she retired. Their stepfather Eddie is still employed as an editor at another well-known publishing company. In other words, all the major characters are concerned with books, with writing, with literature of one sort or another. Even Lucas Ekker, Abigail’s third husband, is a writer, though a writer of junk. Books are everywhere in this story.
There is one exception, however: the women’s biological father Buddy Zabriskie, who is a fisherman, and turns out to be a very sympathetic sort of fellow.
The plot centers around the relationship between Daphne and her former stepfather Eddie, who find one another after more than 40 years of separation. Their affection for one another, beautifully described in the relating of an automobile accident from their past, has survived and flourishes again. The reason for his divorce from Daphne’s mother becomes clear. The secret part of his life is revealed, along with his belief in human decency. Meanwhile Daphne’s husband Jonathan is packing up his mother’s lifetime belongings after her death so that her house can be sold. He is immersed in memories from the past. In fact, the variation in ways that different people remember the past is a thread running through the book.
Still another theme (this is a book of layers) is the value the characters put on their work. Eddie refuses to retire, Abigail regrets that she did retire. Daphne cannot imagine retiring and will not consider the idea. Jonathan has retired and is not content without the work which sustains him and happily accepts a new position that is offered him.
And how does the horse Whistler fit into all this? She represents loyalty, unfailing affection, the ability and willingness to come to the rescue when all seems dire. In many respects Daphne plays that sort of role with Eddie, as well as with her father Buddy Zabriskie, perhaps with her students. She will undoubtedly do the same with a less appealing character, her mother. At the end of the book Eddie suggests that Daphne ought to fulfill her dream of becoming a writer by using the true story of the horse Whistler as a focus, thereby building immortality for those she loves.
Ann Patchett presents believable characters with believable relationships and believable lives. There are some to like and admire, some to dislike, some to give the reader pause. No one writes more skillful dialogue than Patchett. With it the plot twists and turns and is revealed little by little in ways both direct and indirect. You feel as if you would recognize the characters if you met them at a gathering. The author owns a bookstore in Nashville; wouldn’t it be exhilarating to pay a visit and leave with a stack of books recommended by her.