Redhead by the Side of the Road: A novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE - From the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author, a sparkling 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.
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.
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Community Reviews
I hadn't read an Anne Tyler novel in many, many years when I got this latest one from the library. Tyler is of course a gifted writer whose novels deal with regular people dealing with typical life problems. I like the realism factor in her books.
However, this short novel about a 40-something tech consultant named Micah is unlikely to stick with me in the same way that "The Accidental Tourist" did decades ago. The low-key drama involves the unexpected arrival on Micah's doorstep of a young man named Brink who believes Micah might be his biological father. Micah is not exactly the warmest people person on the planet, which is why he cannot seem to hang on to a girlfriend, but this situation forces him into trying to play diplomat between Brink and his mother, Lorna, who was Micah's college-era girlfriend.
Simultaneously, Micah is losing Cass, his current girlfriend, who has tired of his utter blandness, lack of sympathy for her challenges, and almost neurotic focus on order and structure. Micah is essentially a good guy, just too reserved for his own good. I enjoyed reading about these characters, and we will get to see the promise of growth in Micah by the end. It's not a book that is likely to make a lasting impression, but it's a solid diversion by a mighty talented writer.
However, this short novel about a 40-something tech consultant named Micah is unlikely to stick with me in the same way that "The Accidental Tourist" did decades ago. The low-key drama involves the unexpected arrival on Micah's doorstep of a young man named Brink who believes Micah might be his biological father. Micah is not exactly the warmest people person on the planet, which is why he cannot seem to hang on to a girlfriend, but this situation forces him into trying to play diplomat between Brink and his mother, Lorna, who was Micah's college-era girlfriend.
Simultaneously, Micah is losing Cass, his current girlfriend, who has tired of his utter blandness, lack of sympathy for her challenges, and almost neurotic focus on order and structure. Micah is essentially a good guy, just too reserved for his own good. I enjoyed reading about these characters, and we will get to see the promise of growth in Micah by the end. It's not a book that is likely to make a lasting impression, but it's a solid diversion by a mighty talented writer.
Perhaps I am a little bit of a sucker but I can't help that I loved this book.
Update: It's been 2 years and I don't remember a thing about this book. Vaguely recall the main character fixes home computers for a living. Man called Ove vibes maybe?
Update: It's been 2 years and I don't remember a thing about this book. Vaguely recall the main character fixes home computers for a living. Man called Ove vibes maybe?
I'm getting older.
I am getting older in the sense that I don't like going to big events anymore. For example, a concert sounds terrible because I don't want to be around a bunch of rowdy drunk folks who splash beer on my nice "going out" top. In the sense where I talk about the terrible music "these days" and reminisce about previous decades - decades being decidedly plural.
I am getting older in the sense that a book that could have seemed incredibly mundane and boring (because to be honest, not much happens - other than ho-hum everyday life and living) instead strikes a chord and causes me to choke back a startled sob on the last page.
Micah is pretty dull. He doesn't conform to most social norms and is matter of fact and distantly polite. He lives by routines - running each morning, a strict schedule of chores - and keeps things neat and uncomplicated.
When a young man comes into his life, his routine is upended and his uncomplicated relationship with his "woman friend" is upset. This sounds like there could be a big jolt with chaos and consequences, but this isn't that type of loud and crazy story. The book continues on quietly with only the smallest shifts.
So why did I devour this in two sittings?
Because Anne Tyler is a heckuva writer. I think. This was actually my first book by her. I'm tickled to discover I actually had purchased eight others by her (the amount of books I own is atrocious...the amount I own and haven't read and don't even realize I own is downright embarrassing) because I cannot imagine this being the last - especially now that I'm getting older.
'Sometimes,' she said musingly, 'you can think back on your life and almost believe it was laid out for you in advance, like this plain clear path you were destined to take even if it looked like nothing but brambles and stobs at the time. You know?'
4 Stars
I am getting older in the sense that I don't like going to big events anymore. For example, a concert sounds terrible because I don't want to be around a bunch of rowdy drunk folks who splash beer on my nice "going out" top. In the sense where I talk about the terrible music "these days" and reminisce about previous decades - decades being decidedly plural.
I am getting older in the sense that a book that could have seemed incredibly mundane and boring (because to be honest, not much happens - other than ho-hum everyday life and living) instead strikes a chord and causes me to choke back a startled sob on the last page.
Micah is pretty dull. He doesn't conform to most social norms and is matter of fact and distantly polite. He lives by routines - running each morning, a strict schedule of chores - and keeps things neat and uncomplicated.
When a young man comes into his life, his routine is upended and his uncomplicated relationship with his "woman friend" is upset. This sounds like there could be a big jolt with chaos and consequences, but this isn't that type of loud and crazy story. The book continues on quietly with only the smallest shifts.
So why did I devour this in two sittings?
Because Anne Tyler is a heckuva writer. I think. This was actually my first book by her. I'm tickled to discover I actually had purchased eight others by her (the amount of books I own is atrocious...the amount I own and haven't read and don't even realize I own is downright embarrassing) because I cannot imagine this being the last - especially now that I'm getting older.
'Sometimes,' she said musingly, 'you can think back on your life and almost believe it was laid out for you in advance, like this plain clear path you were destined to take even if it looked like nothing but brambles and stobs at the time. You know?'
4 Stars
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