This was a pleasant read at an enjoyable pace. The story is told from Gail’s perspective, a divorcee in her 60’s facing losing her long time job at the same time as her daughter Debbie’s wedding. Unexpectedly put in the position of housing her ex-husband Max and a cat he has rescued for the weekend.
It’s interesting to see a relationship between mother and daughter which isn’t the typically bed of roses. Gail isn’t involved in the wedding planning as one might expect or has the closest relationship with her daughter. So it comes as a surprise that Debbie confides in her a possible infidelity from the groom to be. Gail is left in shock and questions if the wedding should go ahead. Max though seems indifferent to the news and believes that Debbie should be the one to decide if she can forgive the infidelity.
We learn why Gail and Max divorced and how it has affected Gail in her life since.
After the wedding, we see Gail question her next step in her life, where will the next chapter take her?

This was an easy read and lovely story. The story follows the life of Gail and her ex husband Max. They are reunited for their daughter Debbie’s wedding. Max was due to stay with Debbie but turned up with a cat he was fostering for a rescue sanctuary. Debbie’s husband to be is allergic so Max ends up staying with Gail.

The story follows three days over the wedding with the actual day not being the most important part but with Gail examining all aspects of her life and re-examining her past life with Max.

The book is gentle and tender and even though the characters were annoying at times (quite a lot of times for me) they were just normal, flawed human beings like us all.

Thank you to Anne Tyler, Random House UK, Vintage | Chatto & Windus, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The writing was lovely and flowed well. However, the book just isn’t for me. I feel as if I could set it down and not care to ever pick it up again. I think because it fails to really hook the reader into caring about very ordinary people doing very ordinary things. It was just boring to read. This absolutely has an audience, but it’s not me. I’ll definitely try other books by Anne Tyler though.

A story based around a wedding but it seems like so much more now that I have read it. Anne Tyler way of drawing us into her characters with all their flaws and quirks. I loved this book. I couldn't put it down.

There is nothing I can say that has not , no doubt, been said by others. This novel is sheer perfection. I adore Tyler's writing and her characters are very dear to me.

I probably need to reread it, but this reminds me of Breathing Lessons.


Read it immediately

I really enjoyed this book. A heartwarming fun quick read. I couldn’t put it down, nor wanted it to end.
A story about family, relationships, love and marriage.
It’s very well written, character driven and full,of emotion. Written over three days, with lots happening. Gail loses her job, her daughter Debbie gets married and her ex Max stays over bringing a cat with him.
It’s an engaging story with relatable and genuine characters. I liked Gail as she comes across as so real.
Definitely recommend this one if you enjoy contemporary fiction.
I look forward to reading more from @AnneTyler
With thanks to #NetGallery #RandomHouseUk for an arc of #ThreeDaysInJune in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 13 February 2025

We meet Gail, a prickly and socially awkward divorcée in her early sixties, when she is being given the boot from her job as assistant headmistress at a private girls’ school. And she has a trying weekend ahead of her. Her 33-year-old daughter Debbie is getting married the next day and her ex-husband, the endearingly bumbling Max has rocked up at her doorstep, a cat in tow, asking to stay for the weekend
Gail is decidedly put out. She glares at the interloping feline and barely tolerates Max’s messy ways, but as wedding politics take their toll, she finds herself leaning on him more and more to get through the proceedings.
When it emerges that Debbie’s betrothed has had a one-night stand the wedding is thrown into doubt. Gail is scandalised by the betrayal while Max more inclined to smooth ruffled feathers and get on with it.
We learn that Gail’s reaction harks back directly to her divorce from Max and the narrative shifts in time to the affair that spelled the end of their marriage.
This is a tender, funny, beautifully observed piece of fiction. A short book to gulp in one sitting –and the ending is sheer perfection.

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM will have you believe that the most important people in a wedding are the bride and groom, and by all intents and purposes that wisdom would be correct. But the peripheral players, those with their own, separate, self-absorbed stories going on, they’re the ones to focus on if you really want to see some drama on the big day.
Gail Baines is the mother-of-the-bride. It is a Friday morning, the day before the wedding, and she has just had an unsettling conversation with her boss, the principal of an elite school in Baltimore, Maryland. Instead of continuing with the day at work, she leaves early, not raising much suspicion as her colleagues assume her role in the wedding requires the time off.
Her daughter, Debbie, is indeed partaking in a Day of Beauty, of which Gail has no interest in. She is a pragmatic person, a deputy headmistress who likes routine and tends not towards people pleasing, and has no desire to be primped and pampered. Until her feet take her to a salon to get her hair done, a procedure not seen-to for umpteen years, reluctant as she is to engage in chit-chat about the weather.
While not particularly pleased with her new ‘do, she doesn’t have the energy or wherewithal to get it fixed. Instead, she heads home, where on her doorstep she finds her ex-husband, Max. He has a rescue cat in tow, he tells her, so can’t stay with their daughter lest the cat’s dander trigger her fiancé Kenneth’s allergies. So, Gail reluctantly invites Max and the moggy to stay with her, where they both make themselves at home as soon as they cross the threshold.
When Debbie drops in on them later in the day, Gail’s preference for an uncomplicated life is further upended. Kenneth’s sister has let slip a secret during their spa day which threatens the upcoming nuptials, and while both parents are equally supportive, they both have different advice.
Ultimately, this news, paired with Max’s unexpected presence and the earlier conversation with her headmistress, sets in motion a reflection on her own marriage and its breakdown, and a contemplation on how life has panned out since.
Three Days in June is a masterful study on the painful ordinariness of a life, with terrifically realised characters in Max and, particularly Gail. Told in the first person, it is Gail’s inner thoughts we are privy to, which makes for some rib-tickling moments as she observes her cheerful ex-husband’s nonchalant comfort as he settles into her domain, and we the reader start to see how his effect on her is to unfurl her from her prickly bubble of worry at the everyday.
The two exes are yin and yang versions of each other; while Gail is “right-angled,” slow to warm up in social situations, rather literal about things – a maths teacher, originally – Max is a person who takes up a lot of space, not just in a room with his expansive physicality, but with his big, open-hearted personality.
He is an English teacher, a factor in how the former couple met, which we learn about when Gail thinks back to their own courtship and wedding day. He was immediately infatuated with her, thought she “hung the moon,” while she took a little longer to fall in love with him.
When it is revealed how and why they split, it is not as much of a surprise as it could have been, having got the measure of to the current dynamics of the relationship. The narrative unfolds in a beautifully restrained pace, with author Tyler’s uncanny aptitude for knowing when to conceal, when to reveal, when to insert a humorous comment or observation, when to amplify a seemingly small detail that in other hands would be a footnote, but in hers – as in life – becomes the point on which everything else circles.
By the end, having been through the rehearsal dinner with the future in-laws, the wedding day itself and the aftermath, we are left with a truly satisfying meditation on a marriage. Mother and father of the bride have dutifully played their parts, but what lies behind the proud parents’ smiles are stories that stretch much further than a special long weekend.

Fabulous as always - everyone should be reading Anne Tyler. Like a fine wine she gets better with age. As a budding writer I stand back in awe as it is not apparent what it is about this prose that makes it so appealing, readable and thought provoking - genius.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

A great story from Anne Tyler in her unique, subtle style, where not much occurs but everything shifts! Her detailed portrayal of characters and their daily lives makes them feel real, and you find yourself wanting to know what happens to them next.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler was just as good as I anticipated and more. AT approaches family, love and aging with a thoughtful compassion that speaks gently to us all. The event of her daughter’s wedding is the three days that we focus on in June and all the emotions and lack there of are dealt with in this beautiful novel. The characters are deep and sensitive but we get to see the human vulnerability too and all in a small book. AT remains one of my favourite authors and I have bought the hardback to add to my collection.

This was a new author for me and a great shorter read. I liked the portrayal of Gail and her view of the world. Set at the time of their daughter’s wedding, Gail and her ex husband Max are forced together and we learn about their relationship and events around their separation as they support their daughter with her upcoming wedding. It was a lovely story of love, family and not having to be perfect but being accepted and loved for who you are.

Such a good book….typical of ANNE Tyler ….using just the right amount of words…good characterisations and clever humour. Finished it in 2 sittings and wishing it was longer!

I requested this book as ii saw quite a few 5 star reviews - unfortunately for me I found it an average quick read and preferred the style of Linda Green a favorite author of mine. This was a simple quick read but did not hold much interest apologies

Three days in June is an easy quick read that centres around the main character Gail, a middle aged women who is very easy to relate too!
Gail has been living alone since she split with her ex, working at a local school until she gets overlooked for promotion so decides to quit and is now at a crossroads in her life feeling insignificant, overlooked and more socially awkward then ever!
The book takes place over a weekend , the weekend that Gail’s daughter gets married, Gail no longer has a job and Gail’s ex is staying with her for the wedding accompanied by a cat that needs re homing!
Gail hadn’t really been involved with much wedding planning and pre wedding activities so is surprised when her daughter shares a secret with her and her ex, this secret brings up past experiences and we witness the turmoil and angst that thus brings to Gail as she relives her past
Told in a realistic empathetic manner it portrays the ups snd downs of family life, relationships,love and ageing
Thank you NetGalley for this early read

This is the first book of Anne Tyler's I've read and it will definitely not be the last. I absolutely loved this book. One of the reasons being I related so much to the main character. I saw character traits I have in common with her. The way Tyler writes dialogue and character interactions is so realistic. You feel like they're just normal people, normal situations... she writes normal everyday very well! Looking forward to reading more from her.

Set over three days in June (as the title suggests), Anne Tyler tells us the story of a divorced couple reunited for their daughter's wedding. This is very much character-driven and Tyler, being the talent that she is chooses her words carefully so that these three days are packed into a novella rather than a rambling family saga. As a result, this is a lovely read that you can manage in an afternoon. My favourite character? Celine the cat!

Gail’s daughter is getting married, and we follow the family through the day before, the wedding day, and the aftermath. Along the way, we uncover their complex dynamics and the drama that intertwines past and present.

This beautifully written short novel brings its characters to life in a way that feels incredibly real. I especially enjoyed how it explores different perspectives on marriage, infidelity, and forgiveness.

This was my first Anne Tyler book, but it certainly won’t be my last!

This book made me laugh, it was so blunt and cute! I loved how it started with the discussion on people skills.
A lot of people will resonate with this book, and it's a quick, short read.
Definitely worth it!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler was a great quick read I enjoyed the way Anne wrote this book.

This story covers 3 days of Gails Life, .. . . . . . Gail is in her early 60s and she is an assistant headteacher at a private school, she is about to lose her job. She has an amicable relationship with her ex-husband who has arrived in town to celebrate the wedding of their daughter but the nature of the split many years prior still is painful for Gail.
We find out more about Gail when she was younger and what happened to her as now she appears to everyone around her she is a grumpy woman and is uncaring about her own appearance, but appearance can be so deceiving.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage | Chatto & Windus for my ARC.