Tyler draws Micah out slowly in this slim novel and as we warm to him, we begin to wonder if there is more to him than meets the eye. That is the reason most of us, Janes and Joes leading ordinary lives, can relate to the protagonist in Anne Tyler’s Redhead by the Side of the Road, one of the Booker 13. The worst one could say about Micah is that he is ordinary. Tall, with not-so-good posture and a clamped-looking mouth, he reads mysteries and biographies from the free-book place and replaces them when done so as not to clutter the basement unit he gets to stay in for free for serving as superintendent at a small apartment building in a nondescript Baltimore neighbourhood.

Unlucky with girls before, he and Cass have it “down to a system” after three years together. He likes repairing computers so he can be his own boss, has four sisters who are fond of him, finicky habits and all (he marks days for specific chores) and is comfortable with restful-to-look-at Cass. Micah, 43 on his next birthday, is not exactly a painful stick-in-the-mud.

Meet Micah Mortimer, the Tech Hermit - also the name of his company - who likes things to be definite and fears making missteps on the road and everywhere else. An intimate look into the heart and mind of a man who finds those around him just out of reach, and a funny, joyful, deeply compassionate story about seeing the world through new eyes, Redhead by the Side of the Road is a triumph, filled with Anne Tyler's signature wit and gimlet-eyed observation.At a time when nothing is certain, it is comforting to read about a man whose routine is etched in stone. These surprises, and the ways they throw Micah's meticulously organized life off-kilter, risk changing him forever. But one day his routines are blown apart when his woman friend (he refuses to call anyone in her late thirties a 'girlfriend') tells him she's facing eviction, and a teenager shows up at Micah's door claiming to be his son.

A self-employed tech expert, superintendent of his Baltimore apartment building, cautious to a fault behind the steering wheel, he seems content leading a steady, circumscribed life. Redhead by the Side of the Road anne tyler € 23.99 If not in stock, the expected delivery time for this item will be 2 - 4 weeksįrom the beloved Anne Tyler, a sparkling new novel about misperception, second chances, and the sometimes elusive power of human connection.

Redhead by the side of the road