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4.5 

Title: Redhead By the Side of the Road
Authors: Tyler, Anne
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 178
Year: 2020
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Language: English
Description: Micah Mortimer, a.k.a. the 'Tech Hermit', is a man with meticulous routines that propel him through his steady but uneventful life. It takes the prospect of his 'woman' friend Cassie's potential eviction from her accommodation to disturb his equilibrium. And just to further knock him off balance, a teenager turns up on his doorstep, suggesting that Micah is his father.

Tender, satisfying and finely tuned, this is an insightful story of the human condition enacted through its late-blooming protagonist.

Categories: Fiction, Love story, Relationships, Short read, Uplifting, America, 2022 Titles, Larger font

Reviews

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By: AUCK 060 2023-09-13 12:19:44
2.5 
Not considered one of Anne Tyler's best! But the two large print copies brought delight to two of our members. Thank you.

By: TAUP 006 2023-09-13 12:12:10
5 
Anne Tyler's characters are perfectly formed, they are people we know. All of our group enjoyed this book, it is a classic Tyler - engrossing, believable, entertaining and amusing. The family house described as a 'circus' resonated with many of us.

By: HAMIL 029 2023-08-08 10:23:16
3.5 
Oddly, this novel divided the group. Those who enjoy the gentle style, characterisation, and humour of Anne Tyler's novels really enjoyed reading about how Micah's constrained life is finally opened for him. They loved this book, even if it isn't one of Tyler's best. But others (most of the group) were impatient with the novel, found the characters unengaging and the story lacking in vitality and hard to remember after a few days. Someone compared it unfavourably with A Man Called Ove which makes an interesting comparison of theme and characterisation.

By: WHANG 004 2023-07-12 11:49:05
3.5 
A light read. Some didn't really relate to Micah, but after general discussion we appreciated him more.

By: LOWER 018 2023-07-05 10:08:32
3.5 
The Anne Tyler fans really enjoyed this, but some of the group were 'underwhelmed'. However, we had a good discussion and I think people appreciated the low key style of the writing.

By: TAIH 004 2023-03-09 14:02:43
4.5 
The author does have a talent for drawing our attention to what we normally consider trivial, commonplace, ordinary things and events in a way and in words that enable us to see even these small things (and ordinary people) have dignity, beauty, significance and worth. Her style of writing and her language are often surprising and very appropriate...Micah is no clever hero and he is not going to save the planet or become a millionaire or Prime Minister, but his life impacts in small but significant positive ways on the people he encounters every day.

By: AUCK 293 2022-11-28 14:57:59
3.5 
This book was disappointing in that the story never really went anywhere. It's an interesting tale about an unusual man who obviously has problems recognising how other people think, and work. Of course it was well-written because that's Anne Tyler. Not her best book.

By: INVER 017 2022-09-28 10:25:22
4 
Overall the book was enjoyed by all readers. The questions created spirited discussion and resulted in acceptance of differing opinions on the characters and their motives.

By: AUCK 167 2022-08-22 14:40:57
4 
It seems to be an ordinary story about everyday life, but the author makes it interesting and moving.

By: WHANGA 004 2022-08-04 14:38:20
4 
Group enjoyed this book - good discussion about the characters.

By: AUCK 271 2022-06-20 11:47:04
5 
Without exception, we all LOVED this book. One of the best book club books we have read in the last few years. We enjoyed the plot and development of the characters.

By: CHCH 344 2022-06-16 12:09:58
4 
Enjoyable and interesting to read.

By: AUCK 279 2022-05-05 15:43:34
5 
Everyone in the Club enjoyed this book. Anne Tyler is an excellent writer.

By: RICH 005 2022-05-04 17:05:57
5 
Everyone in our group read and absolutely loved this book! So refreshing to have characters described so fully, and with such descriptive writing. Only one complaint - it wasn't long enough!!

By: AUCK 291 2022-05-02 13:54:00
4 
All enjoyed this, but felt it took a while to get into.

By: AUCK 277 2022-04-29 12:43:49
3.5 
Some of us loved the fact that the characters were so ordinary, and we loved the humour. Others were very ho-hum about the book.

By: WANG 005 2022-03-07 11:19:47
4 
After the opening speaker describing the book as "dreary, and going nowhere", a VERY lively discussion ensued. Six of us, all with differing points of view, came from all directions! A wonderful book, made all the better for the Post Mortem!

By: NELS 090 2022-02-28 14:30:47
3 
Our group was really divided in their response - 50% found it engaging and 50% felt 'depressed' by the main character, and didn't quite believe in his transformation! All agreed on the effective emotional style of the author - short, crisp, and deeply descriptive phrases. She invited you to delve into the main character (Micah) - either to rout for him or discard him!

By: WELL 094 2021-09-15 13:12:19
4 
It was interesting in that it seemed a light easy read and there were many of us who liked Anne Tyler, but we discovered there was a lot to talk about. Micah, the tech hermit, proved to be an interesting psychological study. A gentle satisfying read.

By: MATAM 004 2021-08-06 14:36:45
2 
Found it very slow. Some didn't finish.

By: WHANG 018 2021-07-07 09:44:21
5 
We all loved this book!

By: NAP 005 2021-04-14 15:02:20
4.5 
An easy read but Anne Tyler so cleverly tells a story of Micah, a man so set in his ways, "his routine is etched in stone". But Micah is content with order in his life. We enjoyed the amusing interactions he had with his customers, and his noisy, messy and outspoken sisters. There are so many funny and quirky moments in the book.

 
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