Redhead by the Side of the Road
Fiction
Knopf Publishing Group
April 7, 2020
Hardcover
192
Purchased
From the beloved and best-selling Anne Tyler, a sparkling new novel about misperception, second chances, and the sometimes elusive power of human connection.
Micah Mortimer is a creature of habit. A self-employed tech expert, superintendent of his Baltimore apartment building, cautious to a fault behind the steering wheel, he seems content leading a steady, circumscribed life. But one day his routines are blown apart when his woman friend (he refuses to call anyone in her late thirties a "girlfriend") tells him she's facing eviction, and a teenager shows up at Micah's door claiming to be his son. These surprises, and the ways they throw Micah's meticulously organized life off-kilter, risk changing him forever. An intimate look into the heart and mind of a man who finds those around him just out of reach, and a funny, joyful, deeply compassionate story about seeing the world through new eyes, Redhead by the Side of the Road is a triumph, filled with Anne Tyler's signature wit and gimlet-eyed observation.
My review:
First off, fair warning.....this book is 192 pages. Seems like most of the negative reviews have been from people annoyed that they paid for a book, and got what they described as a novella. As for me, I loved the writing so much that it could have been any length and I would have wanted a copy for my shelves! Secondly, this book is a perfect example of a great read that doesn't have to be a thriller (hear that publishers??). This is what I would best describe as a quiet book. What I mean by that is that not a whole lot happens, but you are taken into the lives of these characters and feel as though you are living their story. There are beautiful quotes that you just stumble upon and have to pause a moment to savor.
Sometimes when he was dealing with people, he felt like he was operating one of those claw machines on a boardwalk, those shovel things where you tried to scoop up a prize but the controls were too unwieldy and you worked at too great a remove.
The only place I went wrong, he writes, was expecting things to be perfect.
This is a book where the mundane becomes fascinating! This book shines a light on those slightly quirky people who exist everywhere, and we may even see parts of ourselves in Micah.
Read this one for the wonderful writing, the understanding of someone set in their ways, and what happens when life throws them a curveball. I loved it!
I can understand people being upset with the length if they aren't prepared for it, but it sounds like this one packs in a lot of good into the short pages!
I'm just such a fan of her writing!