Clock Dance

Clock Dance (2018) is Anne Tyler’s 22nd domestic literary fiction novel that explores the smaller details of the human condition. Clock Dance, which spans time periods from 1967 to 2017, follows Willa, a woman who’s always made herself useful to those around her without any regard for her own needs. Through Willa’s life, Clock Dance explores themes of self-fulfillment, appreciation, passivity, and community to show how people do (or don’t) change throughout time. This novel is divided into two parts, with Part 1 featuring three large chapters, each giving a glimpse into a period of Willa’s life at different intervals across three decades. Part 2 is set in 2017 and is broken up into 12 traditional chapters.

This study guide follows the April 2019 First Vintage Books Edition paperback version of the novel.

Content Warning: There are two instances where characters use slurs or derogatory terms for gay men and sex workers as insults.

Plot Summary

In 1967, 11-year-old Willa Drake comes home from school to find that her mother has stormed out, temporarily abandoning the family. This is not the first time. Willa struggles to understand why her mother gets so angry at her passive, mild-mannered father, whom she adores.