» REVIEW: Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne TylerThe Booktopian

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With her impressive list of 20 plus novels, Anne Tyler has proven herself the ‘Queen of Quirky Protagonists’, with a talent for giving interest and meaning to the seemingly mundane minutiae of everyday life and making the reader care about ordinary characters who may initially present as dull or insipid. Once again, she does just that with her new novel, Redhead by the Side of the Road.

Anne Tyler

This latest offering is small but packs a punch – a tale about perception, taking second chances and finding purpose in life. The title, Redhead by the Side of the Road, is a metaphor for not being able to properly identify what is right in front of us, whether it be an object or a relationship and the communication means for its success.

Micah Mortimer is described by his four sisters as “finicky”. He’s a 40-something computer nerd with his own Tech Hermit fix-it business and a very ordered life. He’s enjoyed some moderate success with his own self-published fix-it manual, First, You Plug It In. Raised in what could be described as ‘domestic chaos’, he now craves order in his life, something which manifests itself in a ritualistic home routine of weekdays specifically earmarked for vacuuming, laundry or kitchen scrubbing.

When his girlfriend Cassie announces that she may be evicted because her landlord discovered she has a cat and, almost simultaneously, a teenager shows up at Micah’s door claiming to be his son, Micah’s ordered world begins to unravel in a way he finds more than challenging to handle. Idiosyncratic as he may be, like most people, Micah is a social being who’d like to share his life and not be lonely. Communicating effectively and sharing his feelings, however, does not come naturally to him – particularly when the routine he covets is turned on its head.

Redhead by the Side of the Road is a tender portrait of human connection and a love story with a difference which is sure to charm and delight Tyler fans.

—Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler (Penguin Books Australia) is out on the 15th of April.

Redhead by the Side of the Road

by Anne Tyler

An offbeat love story about mis-steps, second chances and the elusive art of human connection

Micah Mortimer isn't the most polished person you'll ever meet. His numerous sisters and in-laws regard him oddly but very fondly, but he has his ways and means of navigating the world. He measures out his days running errands for work - his TECH HERMIT sign cheerily displayed on the roof of his car - maintaining an impeccable cleaning regime and going for runs...

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