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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I give this book 3 stars in the sense that it's an interesting story, but it just didn't resonate with me. I imagine if you dig under the surface, there's more to this book than meets the eye; I just don't care enough to do that digging.
One of those quiet, simple stories that are more complex than they look on the surface. Left me in a satisfied mood.
Ahh, a nice escape from 2020. Wonderful main character. (Hopefully author will not be beheaded for stealing the story of another gender) The explanation for the book's title alone merits 5 stars.
64: Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler.
Micah Mortimer is the main character of this book, and he is a forty-something man of...let's say "patterns." Others might say ruts or rigid habits or even diagnose OCD or total paralysis of spontaneity. He's a real creature of habits, but I prefer to see simply a man--both a little lost and a little found, depending--who knows himself and rolls methodically and chooses to live by a schedule. He has his own business called Tech Hermit, which is probably not exactly thriving but does introduce him to new people and allow him to share his expertise and help others. And he is the super of his apartment building, running all things locally for its owner, who now lives in Florida rather than Baltimore.
This is not a long book, but I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know Micah and come to understand him better, learn more about why he operates as he does. I do not think he's alone that way. And I really appreciate Tyler's presentation of this male character who reminds me a tad of Eleanor Oliphant in some ways...though he maybe isn't always doing so "completely fine." I do wonder who it is that Tyler knows to have gotten inside of that head and life to create Micah.
I'm not going to spoil anything else of your own reading by telling you any more about Micah here, or tell you exactly what happens or what he further learns. Just trust me when I say that you might enjoy meeting and getting to know him, too. He will be sitting in my head for a while to come...with kind of a What Might Micah Do? kind of vibe.
This, too, is available for sharing.
Micah Mortimer is the main character of this book, and he is a forty-something man of...let's say "patterns." Others might say ruts or rigid habits or even diagnose OCD or total paralysis of spontaneity. He's a real creature of habits, but I prefer to see simply a man--both a little lost and a little found, depending--who knows himself and rolls methodically and chooses to live by a schedule. He has his own business called Tech Hermit, which is probably not exactly thriving but does introduce him to new people and allow him to share his expertise and help others. And he is the super of his apartment building, running all things locally for its owner, who now lives in Florida rather than Baltimore.
This is not a long book, but I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know Micah and come to understand him better, learn more about why he operates as he does. I do not think he's alone that way. And I really appreciate Tyler's presentation of this male character who reminds me a tad of Eleanor Oliphant in some ways...though he maybe isn't always doing so "completely fine." I do wonder who it is that Tyler knows to have gotten inside of that head and life to create Micah.
I'm not going to spoil anything else of your own reading by telling you any more about Micah here, or tell you exactly what happens or what he further learns. Just trust me when I say that you might enjoy meeting and getting to know him, too. He will be sitting in my head for a while to come...with kind of a What Might Micah Do? kind of vibe.
This, too, is available for sharing.
I was disappointed by this book. Until I looked at the cover, I didn’t realize that I’d read A Spool of Blue Thread previously and really enjoyed it, and that this was by the same author. I remember that book being quite long and this one felt very short.
Which is my main complaint. There is one scene with his family, a couple very short scenes with Brink, the lead alone, but it felt more like novella. I do enjoy her writing style here, quite a bit. It’s very plain and forthright, but if you’re going to show someone’s feelings rather than tell them, I feel like there should be more scenes. It felt like she had an idea for a book and wrote part of it, but it would have been better if she’d written more. Plus, I must admit, I’m a little burned out on the whole, “curmudgeonly person has life disrupted” theme. Not her fault, but likely not the right book for me right now.
Which is my main complaint. There is one scene with his family, a couple very short scenes with Brink, the lead alone, but it felt more like novella. I do enjoy her writing style here, quite a bit. It’s very plain and forthright, but if you’re going to show someone’s feelings rather than tell them, I feel like there should be more scenes. It felt like she had an idea for a book and wrote part of it, but it would have been better if she’d written more. Plus, I must admit, I’m a little burned out on the whole, “curmudgeonly person has life disrupted” theme. Not her fault, but likely not the right book for me right now.
this book makes me feel so perceived that my immediate instinct is to dig a very deep hole in the ground and go sit inside of it for several years.
There is something of this book that reminds me of andrew sean greer’s less. It’s a warm, Austenian tale with relatively little in the way of plot about a man who is trying so hard not to make mistakes that he has very little left to live for. In the hands of a less skillful writer, or even just a writer less fervently compassionate, this would become somewhat dark and almost certainly condemnatory / moralistic. This book is none of those things. It is funny, it is generous, & it is deeply kind. Also (& this is simply my opinion), the main character has autism. Sometimes the way you are makes you feel so absolutely incapable of true human connection (let alone enmeshment) that you briefly believe a fire hydrant is a redhead on the side of the road.
There is something of this book that reminds me of andrew sean greer’s less. It’s a warm, Austenian tale with relatively little in the way of plot about a man who is trying so hard not to make mistakes that he has very little left to live for. In the hands of a less skillful writer, or even just a writer less fervently compassionate, this would become somewhat dark and almost certainly condemnatory / moralistic. This book is none of those things. It is funny, it is generous, & it is deeply kind. Also (& this is simply my opinion), the main character has autism. Sometimes the way you are makes you feel so absolutely incapable of true human connection (let alone enmeshment) that you briefly believe a fire hydrant is a redhead on the side of the road.
I love Anne Tyler's characters, her writing, and how she can turn a sentence about something mundane into a work of art. I wish this book had been longer, but I enjoyed it until it came to an abrupt ending.
Tech Geek Alone in His Abode
Review of the Random House Audio audiobook edition (April 2020)
Just as with Belinda Bauer's Snap from a few year's ago, Redhead by the Side of the Road seems to be the odd one out in this year's Booker Prize 2020 Longlist. Redhead... is more of a Rom-Com, TV Situation Comedy with a quirky protagonist who goes through several unsettling things in their life until they see the light and do the right thing in the end. I think that is Anne Tyler's niche, and she does it very well and I imagine there is a comfort to knowing the sort of story you will get each time as there is with any genre fiction. I'll confess that I only know her work through the film version of [b:The Accidental Tourist|60792|The Accidental Tourist|Anne Tyler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327936319l/60792._SY75_.jpg|1070136] (1985) and the Hogarth Shakespeare re-write Vinegar Girl (2016), so I'm not qualified to make any generalizations. In any case, it was entertaining, but I can't see it getting as far as the Booker Shortlist.
The narration by MacLeod Andrews in all voices was excellent.
Review of the Random House Audio audiobook edition (April 2020)
Just as with Belinda Bauer's Snap from a few year's ago, Redhead by the Side of the Road seems to be the odd one out in this year's Booker Prize 2020 Longlist. Redhead... is more of a Rom-Com, TV Situation Comedy with a quirky protagonist who goes through several unsettling things in their life until they see the light and do the right thing in the end. I think that is Anne Tyler's niche, and she does it very well and I imagine there is a comfort to knowing the sort of story you will get each time as there is with any genre fiction. I'll confess that I only know her work through the film version of [b:The Accidental Tourist|60792|The Accidental Tourist|Anne Tyler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327936319l/60792._SY75_.jpg|1070136] (1985) and the Hogarth Shakespeare re-write Vinegar Girl (2016), so I'm not qualified to make any generalizations. In any case, it was entertaining, but I can't see it getting as far as the Booker Shortlist.
The narration by MacLeod Andrews in all voices was excellent.