I loved the glimpse into the life of Micah and his family. He seems destined to be alone as another relationship ends. The description of his family is realistic and at times amusing
My only regret is I didn’t read it more slowly

This is a masterpiece and Anne Tyler is a genius. It's a quiet novel, a slow meander through someone's life, but somehow Tyler just embodies the life and the details of this person until you're immersed deep in their existence as if she IS Micah, just narrating his life. I genuinely don't know how she does it.

Everything in Micah Mortimer’s life is in the best order imaginable. He has developed his routines of the house chores, of running every morning at exactly the same time before having a shower and eating breakfast. His company “Tech Hermit” provides enough for himself to survive and he is independent in every way. But then one day, his life somehow runs out of control. First, an 18-year-old boy shows up at his door claiming to be his son and then, his girlfriend Cass leaves him unexpectedly. He is not well equipped to deal with this interruption of his routines and certainly not when everybody suddenly seems to be meddling with his love life.

Anne Tyler is a wonderful narrator and thus, also in her most recent novel I got exactly what I had expected. “Redhead by the Side of the Road” is the story of a very peculiar man who seems somehow to go unnoticed when you cross him in the street, who is totally reliable, but also quite predictable. In his Baltimore apartment block, he takes care of everything that needs to be tended to and he seems to be totally ok with his life as he has established it. He shows little interest in matters outside his cocoon and would go on in this way forever if he weren’t interrupted. The author shows that crucial moment, when suddenly everything is put to a test, is questioned and what seems to be perfectly fine turns out to be quite the opposite. He is confronted with the decisions he has made, has to take others’ perspectives and question himself and his habits.

Micah’s obsession with tidiness and order is well explained by the contrast with his chaotic sisters. What the reader sees immediately is that not only are they quite messy and tumultuous in certain ways, but they also seem to be alive. In comparison, Micah is well organised but somehow also lifeless. Nevertheless, they love and support him and would like him to have a fulfilled partnership, their teasing is their way of showing fondness, however, he is not yet at the point of recognising this. It needs another confrontation with his past to fully understand what goes wrong.

He is not a character you immediately sympathise with, but I adored his direct and somehow naive way of addressing people, especially when Brink appears and maybe it is exactly this somehow innocent straightforwardness that makes the boy open up to him.

It is not a novel that goes totally deep with hidden meanings and messages, but without any doubt, it advocates for those nondescript, unimposing characters who have to say much more than you’d expect and it also holds the mirror up to the reader to question what is important in life, where to set the priorities and most of all, to ask yourself if you’re really happy. A moving story that I totally adored to read.

The perfect book for these difficult times. Classic Anne Tyler. Simple yet nuanced and unpredictable.

Maybe as much as twenty years ago I remember a librarian colleague at the University where I was then working saying to me, “Read Anne Tyler”. Most of my time then was given over to reading children’s literature to support one of the courses that I was teaching, but since my retirement I have started to catch up with Tyler’s work and, while I still have some of her back catalogue to read, I have made a point of getting hold of a copy of each new publication as it appeared. Inevitably, some have been better than others, but none have truly disappointed me and her latest, Redhead By The Side Of The Road, to my mind at least, is one of her very best. 

In a recent interview, Tyler commented that she wasn’t very interested in plot, that it got in the way of her real concern which is the development of character, and it is definitely true that Redhead By The Side Of The Road is far more character driven than it is in any way led by its storyline. Central to the narrative is Micah Mortimer, in his forties and living in the basement of an apartment block where he acts as super in between running a small scale business solving other people’s computer problems.  At no point does Tyler mention the fact that Micah has Aspergers.  Well, maybe it takes one to know one, but I can’t imagine that anybody would have any difficulty in recognising his personality type. He had a system she comments.  I’ll say he has a system – for everything, from how he organises his drawers to the days of the week when he mops the floor or cleans the kitchen. And, his system comes first because his system is predictable, it doesn’t ask him to take account of how other people might be feeling, to accept the fact that they may behave in ways that can’t be predicted, perhaps most tellingly to understand that what somebody says and does on the surface may not be a true reflection of what they are actually feeling or expecting from him.

Perhaps Micah’s obsessive tidiness and organisation is a reaction to the family in which he grew up. The youngest child and, as far as I can gather, the only boy, his sisters, their husbands and the ever-growing brood of children and grandchildren live in a type of chaos that I have to say fills me, personally, with horror. Attending an engagement party for one of his nephews, Micah sits down at a table which

itself was bare, except for a portable Ping-Pong net that had been stretched across the centre for the past couple of years or so – long enough, at any rate, so that everyone had stopped seeing it.
I am still shuddering!

But, Micah’s sisters clearly love him and would dearly like to see him married with a family of his own, however, his personality proves to be most obstructive when it comes to forming friendships with women. When we first meet him he’s in a relationship with Grade 4 teacher, Cassia Slade, but we watch as his inability to read the subtext in what she is telling him about her altercation with her landlady leads to the breakdown of the friendship.  (I was going to put “romance” but it really isn’t a word I can use in respect of Micah; it’s so totally foreign to his nature.)  The break-up with Cassie is accelerated by the arrival in his life of Brink, the freshman son of his one-time college girlfriend, Laura. Brink, born out of wedlock and with no knowledge of who is father is, has elected Micah to the position. Simply by virtue of being a teenager, Brink brings chaos to Micah’s life and home, not least because he is hotly pursued both by his mother, his stepfather, Roger and the welter of emotions generated by his departure.  But, it is Roger who suddenly paints Micah’s existence in a completely different light. When Brink admits that he thought Micah might be his father because they appear to have some traits in common, Roger responds:

with a man who earns his own living…Who appears to be self-sufficient. Who works very hard, I assume, and expect no handouts…Sorry, son…but I fail to see the resemblance.
Everything that Roger says about Micah is true, but it is also true that he has allowed his obsession with order and with systems to stand in the way of developing relationships with those outside his own family. It is not that he doesn’t care about other people. His concern for those who live in the apartment block is very apparent, but then they don't impinge upon his personal life.  Recognising that the life he has is not the life he wants, in a final act of true courage, he sets out to try and mend some broken bridges. Whether or not he succeeds you will have to find out for yourself, and please do, because this is truly an excellent piece of writing that should be enjoyed by as many as possible.

With thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing, Chatto & Windus and NetGalley for the review copy

I love Anne Tyler, and since she announced several years ago that she was publishing her last book, I am overflowing with joy to get the chance to read another- the second to follow that final one! This one is short (too short- but then I can never get enough of Tyler) but exquisite. Micah Mortimer has his way of doing things, his routines, his predictable patterns. He likes quiet, he prefers not to get too involved with the lives of others. He brings to mind Macon Leary from “The Accidental Tourist.” Only when an unexpected visitor sets off a chain of events does he come to realise what he really needs to find contentment. There is not much of a plot to the story, it is all about the characters, with even the minor ones who appear briefly coming to life with their own personality. There is so much truth and compassion here about family, the burden of the past, love and relationships and how we don’t see ourselves and others with a clear eye. Not her best, but still a treat to savour and to think about- with hopefully more yet to come!

What a treat this was to read.

I have heard much about Anne Tyler but this is the first of her books that I have read and it certainly will not be the last.

It is written in such a deceptively simple, spare and straightforward style and it drew me in from the first page.

Her descriptions of characters are so well drawn and evocative and I was rooting for Micah to somehow find the strength and perception to realise how he could improve his life and change his ways.

I will not give away the story - not that in real terms very much happens, but this is a voyage of discovery for Micah as he finally comes to the long overdue realisation that he cannot go through his life trying not to make a mistake. With that revelation suddenly the scales fall away from his eyes and hopefully he finds happiness with the long-suffering Cass.

A pure delight from start to finish. Thank you Anne Tyler.

Another sublime novel by Anne Tyler who so brilliantly depicts the everyday. She builds her stories so delicately and with such telling detail that her depictions of the human condition are both obvious and profound.
In ‘Redhead by the Side of the Road’, we are introduced to Micah, owner of Tech Hermit. Likeable enough, women find him attractive and men enjoy his company. He lives by his routines: a run every morning; a daily housework timetable; cooking decent meals; his duties as caretaker for his building; his IT call outs; time spent with his woman friend, Cass, (he believes that ‘girlfriend’ is ridiculous for fortyish people). He’s a nice guy who acknowledges that he’s set in his ways and he’s fine with that. Then Cass tells him they should end their relationship.
At the same time, the extraordinarily named Brink, eighteen-year-old son of his college girlfriend, Laura, comes searching for Micah. Brink has a few problems: spoilt and angry, he appears to hope that Micah is his real father. Not so, but Micah lets him stay the night and then sends him packing, thinking little more of the boy’s whereabouts. We also meet Micah’s family, made up of his four older, noisy, messy, loving and generous sisters, their spouses, children and grandchildren. Clearly, Micah is keen to live such an organised life because he’s uncomfortable with this chaos!
Over the course of the novella, Micah learns what really makes him happy. During his morning runs he has often mistaken a hydrant by the side of the road for a redheaded child. He recognises ‘how repetitious this thought was, how repetitious all his thoughts were. How they ran in a deep rut and how his entire life ran in a rut, really.’ Tyler shows us that, just by acknowledging this, there’s a possibility that Micah could create a more fulfilling future. She celebrates life’s messiness: people make stupid mistakes, take chances and don’t always get it right. This is a gem of a novel: witty, moving and wise.
My thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Read this almost in one sitting. Anne Tyler has the remarkable ability to engage the reader from the very first sentence. Relationships are the mainstay of her writing, and this doesn't disappoint.

Micah Mortimer, 44, is a creature of habit, routine and precision. He has few friends although he’s always cordial and perfectly polite to everyone. His life has stalled somewhat as he’s the super of a building, a job he does conscientiously and he runs Tech Hermit, fixing people’s computer issues. He has a girlfriend Cassia Slade but that relationship seems to be fading. When the son of a former girlfriend barrels into his life in a most unexpected way, after a great deal of puzzlement and soul searching Micah reaches some life changing decisions.

This is such a lovely, gentle novella which is a perfect antidote for these uncertain and worrying times. As you’d expect from a writer of the calibre of Anne Tyler this is beautifully written with delightful touches of wry humour. I love Micah, he’s honest, he finds life and emotions bewildering and he seeks perfection by instilling order in his life and distancing himself from others. His family is the polar opposite to him as they are colourfully, chaotically haphazard. They poke gentle fun at Micah but there’s no malice, just warmth and understanding. He comes to appreciate that he cannot go through life without making mistakes and with that realisation comes happiness. He has far more imagination that he realises as shown in his dreams and the redhead!!!

Overall, a lovely read with good characters, it’s well written and there’s a happy ending - what more could you ask for? It takes literary skill to write a story about everyday people and make it interesting and Anne Tyler exactly that.

I’m an Anne Tyler fan and love her unique style of real life writing. This book didn’t disappoint.... Micah is a man we can all relate to as I’m sure we all have very similar traits. A simple short book with a much wanted happy ending!!!

I’ve enjoyed some of Anne Tyler’s previous works so I was grateful for the opportunity to read this. Tyler captures ordinary everyday lives so wonderfully and Micah is a character you really root for.

Anne Tyler excels in her grasp of the low key ordinary everyday lives of her characters and their relationships, as she demonstrates in this beautifully observed and astute novel that focuses on 44 year old Micah Mortimer. He is living in a ultra clean, well ordered, basement flat in Baltimore, a maintenance superintendent of his block of apartments, whilst running his one man tech business, Tech Hermit, addressing the tech needs and repairs of his local clientele. His OCD daily routines are adhered to rigidly, from his early morning run, to putting out the trash bins, and to the various aspects of cleaning his apartment. His finickiness make him the butt of good natured family banter and teasing, unlike him, his sisters, Ade, Suze, Liz and Norma with their families are the complete opposite of him with their messy homes and chaotic lives.

Micah has been in a relationship with school teacher, Cassia Slade, for three years, emotionally, he is naturally inclined to keep his distance from others, although he cannot escape the likes of Yolanda, one of the tenants, who regales her latest dating experiences and her unflagging optimism in the face of so much failure. He shows compassion towards the cancer suffering Luella Carter, and imagines himself being congratulated by the traffic gods for his safe, considerate and cautious driving. Life begins to slip away from him when Cass informs him of her fear of eviction after her cat, Whiskers, is discovered and the son of an old college flame, Lorna Bartell, the rich and entitled 18 year old, Brink Bartell Adams, turns up out of the blue on his doorstep. Cass is less than impressed when Micah treats her dilemma so lightly and fails to step up by offering her a home with him, whilst Brink is convinced Micah is his father, even though he had never slept with Laura.

Micah becomes the conduit for Brink reconnecting back with his parents, he finally opens up about the problems he is facing at college, and Micah learns that his perception of his and Laura's college relationship was far from accurate. When Cass breaks up with him, Micah is bewildered as to the reasons why, and slightly miffed that his family is taking her side. His carefully ordered life begin to fall apart as the emotional messiness of life cuts deep, he really loves Cass, and desperately misses her, as he imagines his barren future without her. He begins to yearn for company to assuage his loneliness, will he be able to overcome the habits of a lifetime to get Cass back? This is a sublime read with oodles of charm, of a middle aged Micah, who begins to embrace the natural messiness and chaos of life and relationships. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.

I remember being in my early teens in school and our English teacher making us read Anne Tyler's Digging to America. I remember rolling my eyes, along with my classmates, because we were forced to read something so insufferably boring about everyday people living their lives and interacting with each other. So dull. Well, I don't know if it's because I'm on my way to becoming a boring old person these days, but I have been wholly charmed by both of the two Tyler books I've read as an adult.

Redhead by the Side of the Road is a little book with a lot of quiet power. A novella, I imagine, though I don't know the exact word count. It's a book about a middle-aged man called Micah Mortimer. He's a self-employed techie with a business aptly called 'Tech Hermit'. He likes order and organization. Everything in his house and in his life has its place and each day is part of a strict cleaning schedule. Thursday, for example, is "kitchen day".

Micah exasperates those around him, though he cannot understand their frustration with him. Even his somewhat finicky girlfriend is growing tired of all his ways. It reminds me of several other books that are intimate character portraits of outsiders who struggle to connect with other humans - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, A Man Called Ove, for example - but this one is subtler and less sensationalist than either of those (don't get me wrong, I really loved both those books).

It is so tempting to look for hidden "messages" in books. And if this book does indeed have a message, I truly cannot decide if it is a caution against perfectionism and rigidity, or instead an appeal for understanding of those oddballs who have their daily lives planned down to the second. The meaning of the title suggests the former and Micah's way of life does hold him back in many ways, but this portrait of him is undeniably a compassionate one. Maybe there is no message. Just a moving story about a person who marches to his own beat.