LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 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 … 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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This book is very much in keeping with Anne Tyler’s style. It is an study in the very quiet life of a young man who has settled for what life handed him, until at the very last minute, he reaches out to want someone badly enough to be brave. It is a fairly short read.
My first Anne Tyler book and not the last. Loved the main character in this funny, interesting work of fiction.
Deceptively simple, profound, and moving–three terms that describe the best of Anne Tyler’s prolific opus. REDHEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD is no exception. As I’ve come to expect with a Tyler novel, laughter merged with tears in a totally absorbing and delightful read. Highly recommended!
Do you love this title? Do you love witty prose and quirky characters and off-kilter love stories, not to mention family dilemmas that are unique in their very commonness? Do you love reading anything that has Anne Tyler’s name on it?
If so, Redhead by the Side of the Road is for you. It was for me. I’m a long-time fan of the author and jumped when I saw she had a new book out. I downloaded the Audible edition the day it was published.
The story is told from the POV of one Micah Mortimer, a good-natured forty-something oddball whose business, aptly named Tech Hermit, has him helping people with the simplest of computer chores. Micah is also the super of his apartment building, more quirky characters there.
But Micah himself is the main voice, the one with whom we sympathize, even when we know that what he has just said or done will not bring the result that he wants. Poor guy, he doesn’t connect well with women, despite the best of intentions. His family knows him, loves him, and indulges his quirks. Women aren’t as forgiving.
There’s humor here, and a family crisis, and a love story or two. But Tyler’s work shines brightest in characterization, and she remains in top form here.
This book is charming, if short – actually, more novella than novel. So be forewarned. I wasn’t, which left me hungry at the end.
The narrator, MacLeod Andrews did a wonderful job telling Anne Tyler’s story about Micah Mortimer who has been a creature of habit, a self-employed tech expert and superintendent of his Baltimore apartment building. This is a story of how people see things from their own perspective but when but one day Micah’s routines are blown apart when his woman friend tells him she’s facing eviction, and a teenager shows up at Micah’s door claiming to be his son. Micah finds out about an old girl friend and what really happened and begins to see things he never saw before and reaches out to help people. This is a funny and compassionate story and just what I needed to listen to on an audiobook.
I am always so uplifted when I learn that Ann Tyler has published another novel, and this one does not disappoint. Her pitch perfect representation of the nagging trials of the human condition….particularly “social isolation,” the kind that is a result of something in the heart and soul that keeps a person on the edge of life’s essential momentum, is so evident in this deceptively simple story. I love the character Micah, who is that man, struggling to develop meaningful relationships – and to understand his own tendencies, but softened, and able to find his way, through trying to do the right thing. The seemingly accidental interactions that change the course of life play out as Micah meets Brink, his old girlfriend’s son. The story is very readable, and quietly uplifting in its celebration of the ability of humans to grow and change.
With heart-tangling insight and subtlety, Tyler draws us into the world of her endearing main character. He isn’t exactly a hero, even to himself, but then he’s very modest and, to me, totally engaging. This is not for those seeking heart-thumping action, and it’s far from a conventional romance, yet it’s a love story. The writing is charming and original, and the world simply drew me in until this became, for me, a page-turner.
Thought provoking
Anne Tyler has magic. She takes the lives of simple people just living a life and makes them into important, world-changing events. I won’t soon forget the love story in this one, nor the overbearing family, or the way living carefully can block off love.
Witty, poignant, exceptionally written
Low key and readable. A typical Anne Tyler. I love her books and enjoyed this one. But nothing new here.
This is the best of Anne Tyler’s books that I have read. I thought this story was heartwarming, and the characters were great. This review high praise, as I have not liked most of her other books. Her books usually have weird characters & many of her plots seem to meander on, going nowhere. However, this book is my favorite of those written by this offer.
Extreme detail about everything. I liked that.
I love Anne Tyler, her style and human observations.
This is a wonderful story. I loved ever word. Although, the story took place over a short amount of time, it was filled with realistic conversation. The family interaction was just so typical of a large family at a gathering where everyone injects his/her opinion no matter the way it affects others. The main character was very caring while trying to establish himself within his own values.
What I always like about Anne Tyler’s books is how she exposes their inner thoughts. Doing so makes them relatable and exposes my own inner thoughts.
Great dialogue. Introspection by characters.
Not up to Tyler’s standards but a quick beach read.
Not a good ending