sdecoste 's review for:

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler

4.0

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There are always layers in Anne Tyler's books. There's a story, and this is a simple one of a man, Micah Mortimer, who lives an orderly and banal life, just to his liking. And there's another layer just under the surface which is a ripple caused by a young man who suddenly appears asking if he might be Micah's son. It causes Micah to look back on his life and past relationships, and what he sees at first is that things happen and then he moves on and puts order back into his life. But Micah is forced to look at the disorder in his life, and we all have that, and reluctantly decide a little of that is good. There is beauty in seeing a redhead by the side of the road and realizing it's just a fire hydrant. We all need to see things with a different eye and allow that experience to became part of who we are.