Cultural Dessert

‘Redhead by the Side of the Road’ by Anne Tyler

21 October 2021

Regular readers will remember I am a big fan of the novels of Anne Tyler (see, for example, 'Noah's Compass' reviewed here in May 2010, 'The Beginners Goodbye' reviewed here in March 2013 and 'Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant' reviewed here in July 2014). In 2015 she suggested that her new novel, 'A Spool of Blue Thread' (reviewed here in March 2015) might be her last, but she has subsequently published two more short novels - 'Vinegar Girl' (reviewed here in July 2016) and ‘Redhead by the Side of the Road’ which I have just finished reading. ‘Redhead by the Side of the Road’ feels like a return to vintage Anne Tyler: it features suburban Baltimore life, polite but strained family relationships and a quirky small business. Much like Macon Leary in ‘The Accidental Tourist’, Micah Mortimer is a thoughtful, sensible, slightly dull and lonely protagonist, dominated by his more extroverted siblings. The unexpected arrival on his doorstep of a teenage boy threatens to upset the balanced equilibrium of Micah’s life and makes him reassess his choices. As always, Anne Tyler writes a gentle, poignant, humorous and heart-warming story. My only disappointment was that this short book (less than 200 pages) feels like an extract from a much longer novel. I longed to see more of Micah’s eccentric family and to see what happened to him next.

Labels: Books

posted by Robin Simpson @ 4:42 pm