A charming novella about a socially awkward woman and her ex-husband on the occasion of their daughter's wedding. I found the conversations authentic and Gail's inner voice to be immensely believable. Very enjoyable.

It's been said many times before, but it continues to be true that Anne Tyler 'does families' superbly well. This book is no exception. It deals with love, friendship, regrets and how these change and evolve with the passage of time. It skilfully explores the relationships between the often flawed characters and the differing generations. There are sharp insights and wry humour - all handled with the author's trademark gentleness and subtlety. The characters are well-developed and we care about what happened/is happening/will happen between Gail and her ex-husband Max and between newly-weds Debbie and Kenneth. We want things to work out for them and although the author doesn't tie things up neatly into happy-ever-after, she leaves us with a sense of hope. It's a short novel - under 200 pages - and although I felt I could have stayed in that world for a lot longer, she probably judged it right.

If you like Anne Tyler already, this is a treat and if you are reading this as the first book by her I'm pretty sure you will also like it as she is a writer at the height of her powers in my opinion. It's a book to read slowly, savouring the words and sentences. Tyler never uses a cliche, she always selects words precisely and though the impact is often gentle there are some real punchy moments. Gail is the voice of the book, telling us all her innermost fears on the day she walks out of work because she is insulted by being told she isn't in line for promotion because she lacks 'people skills'. We come to see what her manager means as the book goes on, through the unreliable eyes of Gail and her doubts, her memories and her quirks. She is about to be Mother of the Bride the next day when her much loved daughter gets married, but she hasn't gone to much trouble and given the fact she hasn't been invited to the 'day of beauty' that everyone else seems to be attending, she doesn't see the point.

The 'action' such as it is, kicks off when Gail's ex husband Max turns up uninvited and has to stay overnight, with his foster cat. Max is also a person lacking 'people skills' and has also made very little effort for the wedding, turning up with a duffel bag and a cat basket to Gail's. Max has changed a little since they were married, he has now 'grown the kind of beard that you're not quite sure is deliberate' and 'seemed to have given up on his clothes'. What happens after this is just a joy to read. The familiar set up of a family wedding, through the eyes of two people who have no idea at all about what convention expects from them in such a situation. Tyler excels at writing quirky people that you sympathise with and understand. Gail is 61 and pleasantly old fashioned. She has an answering machine because there are too many people she might not want to talk to and she calls the downstairs toilet the 'powder room' and hasn't bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding because she has one that will be fine. For the rehearsal dinner she will wear her grey shirtwaist, and for the wedding she will wear her 'best outfit', also grey. She dashes into a hairdresser for a 'fluffing' of her hair at the last minute, 'just to show I tried' she tells the hairdresser.

For me the book was a joy from beginning to end, making me laugh out loud and also feel quite emotional at times. I thoroughly recommend it!

4.25 ⭐️
Thank you NetGalley and Random House, UK Vintage for this ARC. The views outlined are my own.

Plot
Three days in June follows Gail in three days leading up to and following her daughter’s wedding. Gail is a slightly awkward, Mother of the Bride who is having a bit of a tough time. This short tale follows Gail on these three days as she navigates through.

Review
A quirky tale told from Gail’s perspective, this is well written, unique and extremely relatable. You find yourself eager to understand more about Gail and her family dynamics. This formula is so simple but yet effective and is helped by the shorter length. It was lovely to read Gail work through her issues, her life and the decisions she’d made that led to these 3 days. I very much enjoyed reading this and would highly recommend to anyone who wants to read a normal story about a normal person having a bad time and trying to get their life together.

I love Anne Tyler’s books and was not disappointed in this latest novel ,which as the title suggests ,takes place over three days in June when Gail Baines’ only daughter is getting married.
Gail’s week gets off to a bad start and things go rapidly downhill for her when her ex-husband arrives on her doorstep with a cat,expecting to stay with her before and after the wedding.The couple have an amicable relationship and as preparations for the wedding develop ,we learn more about the reasons for the split,and why Gail is the kind of woman she has become in later life.
The book is very funny but also very moving in parts,and I think many older women will identify with Gail.It’s short,and I read it in one sitting during a rainy holiday.
Highly recommended-I don’t think there’s a better observer of human nature and ordinary lives than Anne Tyler.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

*Three Days in June* by Anne Tyler is a charming, heartwarming novel that beautifully blends humor and deep emotional insight. Gail Baines, the socially awkward mother of the bride, finds herself navigating a series of misadventures in the days leading up to and following her daughter Debbie’s wedding. From losing her job to handling the sudden arrival of her ex-husband, Max, with a cat in tow, Gail’s life spirals into chaos. The revelation of a secret about Debbie’s fiancé adds even more tension, forcing Gail and Max to confront their past.

Anne Tyler’s signature sensitivity shines through in her portrayal of complex family dynamics, and she captures the awkwardness, love, and vulnerability of her characters with subtle wit. The story is filled with relatable moments of joy and heartbreak, all told with a light touch that keeps the reader engaged. Short, sweet, and full of life, *Three Days in June* is a delightful read, and its heartfelt ending left me smiling. An instant classic from a master storyteller.

Anne Tyler always manages to turn the ordinary, the mundane, into extraordinary and imaginative, with her observations on the minutiae of life.

‘Three Days in June’ follows Gail Baines’s story for three days, as she faces a crisis in her working life, and there’s also the matter of her daughter Debbie’s upcoming marriage, which tells us of the day before, the day OF the wedding, and the day after.

Gail has no real people skills, and that’s partly why she is facing an uncertain future after being passed over for a promotion at the school where she works. Not only that, but it’s Debbie’s wedding in a few days, and then Gail’s ex husband, Max, turns up unannounced with a foster cat of unknown origin (both to Gail and to Max)! There’s also a shock regarding Debbie’s fiancé Kenneth, the day before the wedding.

Told with wisdom and humour, there are no great mysteries here, no thrilling plot, just a keenly observed depiction of life at its most ordinary - ordinary but nevertheless acutely interesting! Pure delight.

A carefully observed short story about people’s reactions. A divorced couple meet up again for their daughter’s wedding.
The comments and responses feel very real and seem to be reported from previous observations of family celebrations.
The story moves through to an expected conclusion.
Recommended

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was funny and times and also sad. It was a wonderful story of love, support and friendship which was a real page turner.

This novel is set in the day before, day off and day after the wedding of Gail's daughter. It's a difficult time; she's walked out on her job, her ex-husband has turned up - with a cat - and her daughter finds out her soon-to-be husband cheated on her. But somehow over the three days, Gail's perspective changes and so does her future.

I have to be absolutely honest, I am not the biggest fan of Anne Tyler's novels; they are a bit too distanced from her characters. I do like stories though, where characters change their perspective, and this novel certainly fitted that genre. Also, Gail herself is rather emotionally buttoned up, especially at the beginning, which suits Anne's style. So, I was left pretty conflicted. And I came to the conclusion that I quite liked it!

So delighted to be approved to read this advanced copy from NetGalley. From the very start you are ensconced into the wonderful writing of Anne Tyler & know you are in safe hands. She takes you directly into the story & you feel you are there in every scene and admiring the minutiae which with other writers might seem unnecessary but in Tyler novels is her superpower. I enjoyed days one & two more than day three, but in hindsight it subtly illustrates the anticlimax of the day after a major event. The cat was an amusing addition to highlight the complexity of the past, present & future relationship of Gail and Max. All the characters had such depth, another Tyler superpower, even the minor ones like the Head, the hilarious best man, bridesmaids, groomsmen etc. and Sophie, so well constructed & as irritating as she would be!
A short novel which could easily be read in one sitting, but I stretched out to read over three days to mirror the timescale but also to savour the story & lives of such wonderfully drawn characters. Go read this novel, you won’t be disappointed.

ANNE TYLER – THREE DAYS IN JUNE *****
Such a simple premise. Literally three days in June, the day before and the day after the central day which is the POV character’s Gail’s daughter’s wedding. And that’s it.
If I say that I was turning the pages as swiftly as a blockbuster thriller you will realise that Anne Tyler is a master craftsman, making the supposedly simple and mundane into something you simply can’t put down.
Set in Baltimore, as all Tyler’s works are, at the very beginning Gail loses her job in a school. Her maddening ex-husband Max turns up for the wedding with a cat despite Kenneth the groom being allergic to cats. Which means, he says, he cannot stay with Kenneth’s family. But Kenneth doesn’t live there, Gail says. But he visits, Max says.
Her daughter Debbie discovers that Kenneth has been a naughty boy, so is the wedding on or off? Everyone has an opinion.
Not only is the journey page-turning but the ending is satisfying. And all the characters are real. Highly recommended.

This is an easy enough read as it’s not very long and has some decent lines in it however I would have preferred more action than thoughts. I found myself feeling a little off kilter from the starting conversation between her and the school head which in honesty I felt the head didn’t deal with well which in that situation almost made the main characters reactions understandable but as the book progressed I found it harder to like and understand her. It offered a good insight into the friendship she has with her ex husband but it was difficult to understand why she’d chosen to blow up her marriage although she did explain it well, truthfully her ex seemed too nice for her. It’s a good look at relationships and how they evolve and how time plays a part too. It wasn’t a bad read by any means just lacked the kind of substance I personally prefer.

It's probably preaching to the converted to say that Anne Tyler is a wonderful writer. 'Three Days in June' is a lovely read, and I binged it in one sitting. Several bits made me laugh out loud by being so affectionately truthful about what people are like, and others were sad and tender for the same reason. This would be great as a book club choice.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I’ve always loved Anne Tyler’s books. Very few authors have her ability to make characters come to life in a way that’s so real it feels as though you’re peering through their curtains. Plot is almost irrelevant, they’re just a quick dip into somebody’s life and it always feels as if they were living before you came across them and their lives will continue when you leave.

Three Days in June follows Gail Baines through the difficult weekend of her daughter’s wedding. What should be a happy time is difficult for someone who ‘lacks people skills’ as her boss tells her, and the weekend ranges through work problems, her ex-husband arriving with an abandoned cat and the need to stay with her, and her daughter discovering a secret in her husband-to-be’s past which brings to light issues from Gail’s own marriage.

None of the problems is particularly major and nothing very dramatic happens but the details of Gail’s personality and past are gradually uncovered in a wholly believable way. It’s not a long book and I read it all in one go, totally engrossed in these average but captivating lives. Nobody is perfect but nobody is terrible either and it’s lovely to have a book that has you rooting for everyone and leaves you with a smile on your face. Typical Anne Tyler - and that’s a huge compliment.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

None of that chocolate box, isn't life wonderful stuff here, just good old-fashioned 'this is how life really is' stuff told in her own impeccable style by Anne Tyler.
You wouldn't want to be Gail, as her daughter gets married and having had to put up with everything that she has had to put up with.
But then again aren't we all like Gail. Don't things like this happen to us all.
Yes, I recognised myself in this novel, and a lot of people that I know.
This is what I like about Anne Tyler's writing, it is ordinary, but it is extraordinary.
She always finds the right word, the right phrase, the right situation to make a story interesting.
No surprises here a cracking good tale told by a cracking good author. I loved it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Old love rekindled is how I would describe this short novel. Long-term relationships even when broken have a possibility of picking up again as we age. A quaint story about Gail in her 60s changes lifestyle just before her daughter’s wedding. Ex-husband Max turns up, with a cat, unannounced to stay with Gail for the celebrations. An amusing short novel, showcasing the ups and downs of modern living.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Random House, for this ARC

Thanks to net galley and the publishers for this easy read short book I enjoyed it but felt it was very predictable I finished it in less than a day

A beautifully written classic Ann Tyler book. From the opening page I fell into the world of Gail and her social awkwardness and emotions as she navigates the three days in June, of her daughter’s wedding and her life as a whole. In such a short story, the author has packed so much joy and intrigue. I loved how the focus was on Gail’s role as Mother of the bride and the pure emotions she felt in her only daughter getting married, secrets of her own marriage and the relationship with her ex husband who I felt very sorry for. Loved the introduction of the cat, who Gail showed more emotions towards than humans. Altogether a joyous afternoon read and a story that I very much enjoyed.

Set over the 3 days of her daughter’s wedding, this book is an insightful read into the complications of a divorced couple and their relationship. Really well written and highly recommended.