Witty, Wise, and Wonderful: The Perfect Summer Novel
The book opens when the lead character, Gail Baines, a 61-year-old assistant headmistress at a posh private school in Baltimore, is summarily let go instead of being promoted after her boss, the headmistress, decides to retire. This just happens to be the day before Gail’s only daughter, Debbie, is getting married. Gail flees the school building in confusion and embarrassment and soon after arriving home, her ex-husband, Max, who is a kind of human hurricane, unexpectedly appears on her doorstep from his home in Delaware. He is asking to spend the wedding weekend in her house, along with an elderly foster cat for which he is caring. And even though he is the father of the bride, he has no suit—only a rumpled sport coat. As they are preparing for the imminent rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, Debbie drops in with shocking news—news that could very well derail the wedding the next day.
The novel is told in three parts—the day before the wedding, the day of the wedding, and the day after the wedding. But this is so much more than a wedding story. We find out Gail’s complicated backstory and secrets of her past that she has confided to no one, including the real cause of her divorce from Max.
This is a story about love, especially married love, and all that makes it work—or not. Like all Anne Tyler novels, it is brilliantly told through the lives of the quirky, colorful characters. The plot is minimal—just enough to nudge it along bit by bit with a delightfully happy ending. Do pay attention to the mentions of wristwatches and the marvelous symbolism of time—past, present, and future.
This is a charming summer read filled with solid life advice and remarkable insight into the our human foibles and fears, while parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny. It is witty, wise, and wonderful.
a little, but perfect dose of Tyler magic.
Back at her compact little house, she is aware that Debbie, her prospective mother-in-law and the bridal attendants are at a Day of Beauty to which Gail wasn’t invited: is she feeling left out? It’s not her really sort of thing, anyway. But still.
A knock on the door heralds the unexpected arrival of her ex-husband, Max, complete with cat carrier containing the elderly, homeless cat he is fostering. His expected accommodation at Debbie’s is vetoed because the groom, Kenneth is severely allergic.
It’s not ideal, but he can stay in her spare room, if there’s no alternative. But Max can quickly disabuse himself of the idea that she might adopt the nameless cat: not happening.
To Gail’s surprise, though, Max isn’t quite as messy or irritating as she remembers; in fact, is he more considerate and caring than he used to be? More than she expects, certainly. And if she is initially a bit dismissive of some of his ideas for her future, she finds them turning over in her mind anyway.
Later in the day, a distraught Debbie is on her doorstep, having learned something about Kenneth that puts the whole idea of a wedding in jeopardy. Indignant on her daughter’s behalf, Gail is ready to help cancel the event, but Max’s reaction is more circumspect: shouldn’t Kenneth get the chance to explain? Debbie draws conclusions from this about her parents’ marriage, but is she right?
What will the next two days bring?
It is always such a pleasure to read a book by Anne Tyler, and this one has you smiling all the way through, unless you are laughing out loud or saying “oh, dear” or “oh, my”. Nothing terribly dramatic happens, but Tyler’s special talent is making ordinary lives shine.
Tyler’s characters are ordinary people with flaws and believable quirks; their dialogue is just as ordinary and everyday; and yet, they are endearing, each in their own way. Her descriptive prose is marvellous: “Everything Sophie said, as a rule, was about three degrees too vivacious. It seemed that she lived on some other level than ours, someplace louder and more brightly lit.”
She gives them insightful observations like: “Anger feels so much better than sadness. Cleaner, somehow, and more definite. But then when the anger fades, the sadness comes right back again the same as ever.” At times Tyler’s writing, and her treatment of topics, is reminiscent of that of Elizabeth Strout, and some aspects of Gail’s inner monologue might remind readers of Olive Kitteridge.
Unusually for Tyler, there’s a twist, and it’s an excellent one. This wonderful little volume can easily be read in one sitting, and another reviewer summarises Anne Tyler’s work perfectly when she says “No one writes the small moments of everyday lives better.” With Anne Tyler, you’re always in safe hands, and this is a little, but perfect dose of her magic.
Three Days in June
The story unfolds through the details of a pivotal 3 day period of her life, combined with memories and glimpses back into her past. This gives the reader insight into how she became the person that we meet on page 1.
The writing is excellent and the story is well crafted.
Her voice reminded me of Lucy Barton in Elizabeth Strout’s novels.
From the 1st page on you will be captivated!
In 2 readings I finished this delightful but sad novel. Gail Baines was quite an incredible woman, both deeply insecure yet not afraid of expressing her opinion. Anne Tyler captivates us with her wonderful style of writing. A great read!!
Three Days In June
Three Days In June is actually more of a slice of life novella. But during the brief three days: the day before, the day of and the day after a small family wedding Anne Tyler’s characters come alive. I very much enjoyed my time with the Baines family, especially the maternal grandmother of the bride. As always, Anne Tyler doesn’t disappoint. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
Three Days in June is the latest book by Anne Tyler. Those three days immerse the reader in the days around the wedding of Gail and Max’s daughter Debbie.
Gail isi a great worrier. As Max, her now ex-husband says,…”good grief! Do you keep an itemized list of things to worry about?” Will she make it through those three days, especially after also losing her job?
And then there is Max, almost the complete opposite of Gail. He sees the best in people and believes people can change. Will those three days change Gail? Change Max?
As with her other books, Anne Tyler shows us characters that are so succinctly described, you feel you know them personally (or wished you did). As well, her characters are shown to us through her descriptions with a wonderful sense of humor and tenderness.
If you like character-driven books, especially by Anne Tyler, I believe you will love this one too.
Loved it!
Even though this book’s is not long and it covers just a short time frame, it packs an emotional punch. The events described and the interactions of the characters during those three days stayed with me for many weeks.
There’s so much for book clubs to discuss here so I think it would be an ideal choice.
Fantastic
Gail Baines is having a rough day. Her normal quiet life is imploding. She works at a private school and believed that she would get the job as head of the school when the current one left. When she’s informed that she was passed over due to being socially awkward, she leaves her job and goes home. Another problem is that her only daughter is getting married in three days and she hasn’t been invited to the spa day with the bridesmaids and the mother of the groom. On top of all that, her ex-husband shows up from out of town with no where to stay plus he has a cat with him that he is trying to get adopted. To say that her placid life has changed to one of confusion and anxiety is putting it mildly. Then things get even worse – her daughter shares a secret with her parents about the groom and insists that she is going to cancel the wedding. Gayle wants to be helpful to her daughter but not intrusive and she agonizes over her daughter’s decision as she compares it to her personal reasons for the end of her marriage.
Gail’s real decision comes down to what to do with the rest of her life. She’s 60 – is it too late to change her career and her life in general?
Gail is a fantastic main character — quirky, a bit or a worrier – well maybe more than a bit – and a person who likes her life to be calm and planned. Her ex husband is just the opposite – very spontaneous and free. Some of their conversations made me smile and other times I felt like they were being very insightful. This was a fantastic new book by a Pulitzer Prize winner and you don’t want to miss it.
