Reviews

The Redhead by the Side of the Road - I love the title of the book! The redhead by the side of the road is of course a reference to a fire hydrant on Micah’s daily run. Even though Micah knows that the fire hydrant is there, he's still seemingly surprised when he comes across it and it is not an image of a person with red hair on the corner of the street. I think this is a great title because it represents the main theme of the book: that Micah does not see the obvious things in front of him. So by the end he appreciates the life that he has with Laura (?) and does not want it to end; he does not want to revert back to a single life.

At the beginning, we laugh at Micah but as the book progresses, for example when we meet his family, we begin to laugh with him. After the encounter with Brink, he begins to question his single(ish), lonely life and laments (or so we are lead to believe) the life, without kids, he has missed out on.

This was an enjoyable read, but I would have preferred more depth and I sometimes found the modern references by the author to be slightly unconvincing. And, whilst we're meant to feel sorry for him, at least at the beginning, I was quite jealous of his 'single' lifestyle. I thought it was quite preachy, too, in suggesting that the nuclear family was the thing missing in his life.

It was a welcome diversion, but, for me, not much more. It was featured on R4's A Good Read before Christmas but it's no longer on BBC Sounds, so I can't share it, sadly. One observation was maybe the deliberate use of the name Micah, after the quartz mica (though I understand it's also the name of a prophet); another was, for some, the abrupt ending.

3.5/5

kelseymminer's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Not much of anything happens in this book

mary00's review against another edition

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4.0

This was the first book I have read by Anne Tyler. I had no idea what to expect from this novella and I found it delightful! I will definitely be reading more of her books.

Something about Tyler's writing style, perhaps her keen character observations, reminds me of Jane Austen. After finishing this book I googled her name along with Jane Austen and found many other references comparing the two. Apparently, I am not the first to make this comparison.