It's hardly a surprise that this is a gorgeous book!
Anne Tyler could write a shopping list and somehow manage to make it interesting.
This time, she takes us into the world of Gail Baines - an everywoman (like all Tyler's best characters) Gail is faced with losing her job, losing her daughter (to marraige) and facing up to a life that she can no longer blunt the edges from. We see her past and present and it is gloriously told over a very short book that wastes not so much as one word - a book to treasure.
Thanks to the publishers for allowing me to read in advance.

Short but sweet! As the title suggests this book tells the story over 3 days, it does feature memories too which all adds to the story. The characters were nice, it was a very down to earth subject which included family dynamics, divorce and mother daughter relationships, I especially liked the sassy cat!

Gail's daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and Gail had to supervise her ex husband Max to ensure their daughter's wedding goes smoothly. Weddings bring up all sorts of emotions and memories and this one is no different. Weaving an intriguing tale of past and present, Anne Tyler takes you on a journey and leaves you fiiled with hope for the future. This has everything you want from an Anne Tyler novel. I loved it!

No one writes more poignantly about being a woman than Anne Tyler.
3 Days in June introduces us to 60 something Gail. Her boss has just told her she is should think about retiring, her only daughter is getting married and her ex husband Max has turned up looking for a bed, and with an abandoned cat in tow.
Gail deals with all of this with the same reserved distance and mild irritation. Everything is too much fuss to think about deeply, it appears.
Soon, an alarming revelation about her soon to be son-in-law shakes her out of her equanimity. Gail needs to start facing life without her daughter and potentially a job. It’s time for her to face up to her past and make some decisions about the future.
This is a very short novel set over 3 days. Not a word is wasted as get to understand Gail and her relationship with Max, past and future. It’s an immersive beautiful book about woman at a crossroads. Wonderful.

This is a short book, a novella but that doesn’t mean it was light on content- in fact it was full of some wonderful characters and it was so enjoyable I polished it off in the course of one afternoon.
I’ve been reading Anne Tyler books for years and she never disappoints- she can be relied upon to craft a wonderful story with characters that are so real and lifelike- even their dialogue is believable.- it is as if you are in the room with them, listening to them speak.
Gail is a 60 something deputy head teacher whose daughter Debbie is getting married. On the day of the wedding rehearsal she is informed by her boss that a new head teacher is being appointed and that Dawn should think about retiring or doing something else with her life.
She rushes home to think about her predicament and whilst there her ex husband, Max turns up for the wedding bringing with him a cat! He can’t stay with Debbie as her fiancé is allergic.
Gail reluctantly agrees to take him in and the 3 day wedding weekend proceeds, raking up all sorts of memories and a lot of guilt.
When Debbie has a crisis before the marriage Gail and Max have completely different reactions and Gail in particular cannot understand how Debbie can continue. This really emphasises how Gail and Max have dealt with life’s challenges and the importance of moving on in the future without guilt. It really made me think about the power of forgiveness.
I don’t want to reveal too much more as it is such an enjoyable read which deserves to be savoured first hand.
I thoroughly recommend “Three Days in June” as an engrossing and entertaining read. If you like Anne Tyler, you’ll love this and if you haven’t read any of her other books you’ve got a real treat in store.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

There was no huge cast in this book and no remarkable location. In fact, the vast majority of the book takes place in the comfort of Gail’s home. That may sound uninspired, but I can assure you that taking a leap of faith will pay dividends. This certainly wasn’t my usual reading matter, and the pace was uninspiring at the beginning, but once I got my head into the space of the narration, I was hooked.
Gail is the female equivalent of a grumpy old man. Set in her ways and focused on her routine, she’s determined to remain a valuable team player and has no desire to take retirement and become old before her time. She is content to follow the routine of her personal life and has no need for any excitement. I found her character both frustrating and yet reassuring. I could hear myself willing her to step outside of her comfort zone.
We then meet Max, Gail’s ex-husband, who arrives at her house after being given short shrift by their daughter. He’s in town for their daughter’s wedding but has brought a rescue cat with him, but his future son-in-law is allergic. Thankfully, Gail accepts that she will have to offer him a place to stay. Under sufferance. Their initially frosty dynamic soon thaws, and it’s easy to see how they were once happy together.
I’d love to tell you more, but I would hate to reveal any details that aren’t included in the synopsis. This is a novella, so there isn’t too much story to conjure with; the joy is in the writing. The skilled way that the author tells this story and makes it feel like a huge tome despite being relatively brief is a testament to her writing style.
All I can do is encourage you to take a leap of faith, like I did and hope that you enjoy it as much.

It’s the day before her daughter’s wedding and things are not going well for Gail Baines. First thing, she loses her job – or quits, depending who you ask. Then her ex-husband Max turns up at her door expecting to stay for the festivities. He doesn’t even have a suit. Instead, he’s brought memories, a shared sense of humour – and a cat looking for a new home.

Just as Gail is wondering what’s next, their daughter Debbie discovers her groom has been keeping a secret, and as the big day dawns, the exes just can’t agree on what’s best for Debbie, or if the wedding will even go ahead, and the day after, Gail and Max prepare to go their separate ways again.

But all the questions about the future of the happy couple have stirred up the past for Gail. Because ‘happy’ takes many forms, and sometimes the younger generation has much to teach the older about secrets, acceptance and taking the rough with the smooth.

I adored this latest from Anne Tyler, and it's yet another example of why she is one of my absolute favourite writers. At only 176 pages it isn't a long book by any means, but what we have is perfection and bliss in novel format.

She is the ultimate chronicler of family life, and of the small, ordinary, everyday. But as she does this - effortlessly, and with her trademark humour - we see how it's these small, ordinary tensions and dramas that have the biggest impact and effect upon people's lives. I once heard someone say that Anne Tyler writes about nothing, but about everything, and this is so very true. The ordinary and mundane becomes special, and what she has to say about one family and their situation, equally applies to everyone everywhere.

She is an observer of people par excellence, which means that all of her characters are fully developed and believable. She makes the reader cars about every single one. Every thought, emotion, reaction, interaction, relationship, event and situation is sharply and brilliantly observed, and perfectly rendered in her novels, and as she does this, she writes with extraordinary humanity and understanding of the human condition.

Family weddings are a familiar situation to many of us, and as she depicts all the various dynamics - the controlling mother of the groom, the socially awkward mother of the bride, the laidback dad who forgets his dress shoes so has to wear sneakers, the spiteful sister in law to be - and fills in the family's backstory over the previous decades, she allows us to explore and think about the book's themes: love, marriage and second chances. Themes which apply across the generations of this family, and indeed to all of us.

I cannot recommend this funny, touching, poignant, and above all hopeful novel enough. It's an absolute joy.

Enter the life of Gail for 3,days over a momentous weekend including her dismissal from her job, her daughter’s wedding and the reappearance of her ex husband. Real life emanates from this book so expertly written

I found this book rather strange so was glad it was short
It follows Gail who is getting ready for her daughter Debbie to get married the following day. She is then rather unexpectedly let go from her job which is a huge surprise to her
Suddenly as she is sat at home contemplating this news a knock on the door and her ex appears complete with cat it’s a stray he explains he is fostering her and can’t leave her at home as she would be upset
The book shows ultimately that you never know where your future lies even you think it’s all planned out

Anne Tyler's consummate skill in creating whole lives in such a restrained and confined number of words - this is a short book but has all the detail vividly sketched so you come away believing the characters are real - such a convincing snapshot with concealed depths that leave you admiring the skill of the writing. A real treat to read, as Gail and her ex-husband Max face the wedding of their only daughter together, in a story that encapsulates their relationship and offers a glimpse into many lives along the way.

A special, ordinary event in the lives of unique, ordinary people. 4.5 rating

Anne Tyler has a beautifully tender ability to encapsulate the uniqueness of little people (that’s most of us) who will not go down in history, yet are part of its accruing nature.

Central to this book is a somewhat ornery middle-aged woman, highly capable, not immediately imaginative, rather awkward with social graces, nevertheless, with good heart. She is perceived as ‘lacking people skills’

The three days are a special event in the life of her family: It’s the middle of the triad of ‘Hatch, Match Dispatch’ : Gail is a 61 year old maths teacher, and the first day is the day before her daughter, Debbie, is due to marry. This is the ‘Beauty Day’ when last minute preparations, fittings, and general primping are to take place. The second day will be the wedding, the third the day after the event.

Because of Gail’s ‘lack of people skills’ – or, perhaps, an irritation with the fixities of superficial ‘etiquette’ ,the wedding, which Debbie and her husband to be, Kenneth, wanted to be ‘low key’ is being organised by the groom’s mother who is a stickler for the detail of that etiquette and social nicety.

Gail and her husband, Max, separated some years ago, but things are not acrimonious, merely a little awkward. Debbie is closer to her father than her mother, and he is due to stay with her the night before the wedding. Max has all the social graces, and is a thoroughly good man.

There is a lot of rather sweet social comedy, but also a lot of tender heart in this book. Gail is definitely ‘homely’ quite an ordinary woman, but, as always the case with Tyler, she is far more complicated than might have been thought, from a dismissive first glance.

And I must say, the ending, as certain truth’s get revealed about the reason for Max and Gail’s marital breakup, was beautifully tender, and the ‘wrap’ felt quite perfect

This was delightful.
We are introduced to Gail, a woman in her 60's, with poor social skills (or is she just a straight talker with no time for sugarcoating?) on the weekend of her daughters wedding.
When you add in her ex-husband, a stray cat and poor Gail already feeling like an outsider, this is going to be one hell of a weekend.

The author's observations of "normal" day-to-day life is second to none. Although this is a short book, the characters are so well developed.
There are plenty of emotional moments but these are interspersed with humour.

A real feel-good book that I adored.

This is the first book that I have read by Anne Tyler but hopefully not the last.
The author has written about ordinary relatable people, in ordinary situations, situations that could happen to anyone.
Gail Bains is having a bad day, at sixty one she has been passed over for promotion at the school where she was deputy head and to rub salt into the wound, the job that she is already doing has been earmarked for someone else, unable to face the humiliation Gail walked out with not a clue what she was going to do next, her day couldn't get any worse.......or could it ?
Her daughter Debbie was getting married the following day, she hadn't been invited to the spa day arranged by the grooms wealthy parents, the same parents who were paying for the elaborate wedding and to top it all, her ex husband, Max, turns up at her door wanting to stay until after the wedding accompanied by a homeless cat.
This story follows Gail and Max as they prepare to attend the wedding of their only daughter, the journey is full of pathos and humour, they disagree on advice to give Debbie when she rings them in tears, there are reminiscences, there are admissions of guilt, could Gail's people skills be as bad as her headmistress had said, did she really lack diplomacy and tact, did everyone see her that way ?
Anne Tyler has injected life into these characters, their flaws as well as their warmth, this is only a short story but is is well written and packed with content.
Thank you Net Gallery for this ARC, my review is voluntary.

Anne Tyler has incredible insights into human nature. Her depiction of the late middle aged Gail and Max is spot on. I felt that I was a quiet observer for the full three days, nodding my head in agreement with their sentiments time and time again. It is funny as well as being a tad sad at times. Above all it is a warm observation of human nature which the author delivers so well.

I absolutely devoured this gem of a book - for less than two hundred pages it’s a brilliant study of a person at a key point in their life.

The central character is Gail Baines and we follow her in the day before, the day of and the day after her daughters wedding. It starts with her losing her job, then her ex-husband comes to stay with her unexpectedly and then she finds out that her daughters husband-to-be has been keeping a secret.

Lots happens but also not very much - it’s a brilliant study of the small decisions we make every day and the choices that cause us to think them over and over. Gail was quite a lonely character and she would be really easy to dislike but you see how much she really cares and how much she worries about what others think of her.

I loved the dynamic between her and her ex-husband and how she really struggled comparing herself to her daughter’s new mother-in-law who seemed to be confident in everything she did.

It was beautifully written and really easy to read - yet another book that shows what a talented writer Anne Tyler is.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
This is a novella but though small it is perfectly formed. As always with Anne Tyler we are introduced to quirky characters and their innermost thoughts and motivations. This story deals with Gail, a 61 year old assistant principal. Her daughter is getting married and prior to the wedding she has an encounter with her principal where she states that she lacks people skills. Gail walks out of the school determined not to return.
She feels excluded from the preparations for the wedding and then her ex-husband comes to stay for the wedding at her house. Gradually we discover what caused the break up in the marriage and also her fears for her daughter in her marriage.
The characters leap off the page and you feel that you have spent time in their company by the end of the novella. There is a touching scene where the ex-husband buys a suit for the wedding helped by Gail and his daughter. In Anne Tyler’s hands the mundane becomes something memorable. A funny, quirky and heartfelt book. I will be recommending it at my various book groups. Thanks to the author, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

I'll read anything Anne Tyler writes, so this felt like slipping into a warm bath. She has a remarkably eye for the tiny details that make up a whole life, and for creating characters who are so certain of their beliefs that the entire narrative bends around them. This was a lovely, bitesized story, told succinctly over three days. It's less expansive than her other works, so probably not that one I'd read first, but lovely all the same.

Three Days In June
By Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler is such a reliable author. Her characters contain multitudes and their drama always appears low stake on the surface but are roiling with foreshadowing of consequences that we interpret through her perfectly formed shorthand of gesture, glance or remark.

Having binged her backlist over recent months I have come to appreciate her witty, razor sharp take on human behaviour, particularly in her older characters, and opening a new book of hers feels rather like sitting down to read a long letter from an old friend.

This new novel is probably my favourite ever of hers. It is short and the humour is evident from the very first page. It is the story of Gail, newly unemployed, her daughter's wedding is tomorrow and her ex husband turns up on her doorstep and foists himself and a borrowed cat upon her for the next three days.

A wedding signifies life changes but moreso for Gail than the for the bride and groom as she reflects on her marriage and divorce, evaluates her identity and her loss of past-self, negotiates a future reality that protects her newfound and hard won self agency, all while considering the possible advances of an old flame and trying not to resent her irritation at the invasion of her privacy by her imperious ex.

I love Gail, I love her growth and determination. This is a warm hug of a book with a very satisfying ending.

Publication date: 13th February 2025
Thanks to ##Netgalley and #randomhouseuk for providing an eGalley in return for an honest review

You know when you just love a book with your bones? I had that with this book. I love Anne Tyler.

I haven’t read everything she’s written but I think I own everything she’s written and have loved what I have read. She makes the ordinary extraordinary, she makes the banal sublime, she writes with humour, heart and soul and her writing speaks to me on a level that I don’t often experience.

Three Days in June is her latest work. It’s out next week and it’s a short novel set over the course of, you guessed it, three days in June, when Gail Baines’ daughter Debbie is about to marry.

Things aren’t going well for Gail, she may have just lost her job, her ex-husband has turned up on her doorstep with a cat and Debbie’s husband-to-be has been keeping a secret.

The characters are unlikeable and endearing in equal measure, and the story unfolds gently and with humour, reaching a satisfying conclusion. I loved it and I feel like I could happily just read Anne Tyler books from this point on and be content. 5/5 ⭐️

Thank you so much @penguinbooksireland for the #gifted advance copy and @netgalley for the eARC. Three Days in June will be published next week, 13 February 2025.

Three Days in June is the most delightful novella - spikey and satisfying. Gail Baines, probably in her sixties, is being passed over for a promotion in her teaching job, not only because her communication skills are lacking. She’s prickly and acerbic, and initially a bit hard to like. I immediately thought of Olive Kitteridge - Gail and Olive would have a lot in common!

The book covers her daughter Debbie’s wedding - the day before, the big day, and the day after. The scale is small, with everything happening close by, but the themes are bigger - Gail reflects on familial love and loyalty, fidelity, and how hard it is to hold your tongue, but not hold your ideas too close. Over the three days there is reflections and secrets, a rescue cat, and a reckoning for a marriage that ended years before. Is it a romance? That’s for the reader to find out 😉

Such a gorgeous and tender little novel - I absolutely recommend if you love good writing, and understatement.

Thank you Anne Tyler, Random House UK and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.