Anne Tyler’s books feel as if they’re stories of the lives of ordinary people, with reflections of all of our lives. That seems to be exactly what her latest novel,  Redhead by the Side of the Road is. It’s the story of one ordinary man who is in a rut.

At forty-three, Micah Mortimer lives alone in an apartment building in Baltimore. His life has a routine, a run, a shower, breakfast, cleaning up, and then a morning and afternoon of answering cries of help from people who need computer assistance from the Tech Hermit, or acting as handyman/superintendent in the building. He might spent part of the evening with his woman friend, Cassia Slade, a fourth grade teacher. He would never dream of calling her a girlfriend because she’s in her late thirties. In fact, Micah has few dreams left at his age. And, the narrator’s question is, “Does he ever stop to consider his life? The meaning of it, the point?”

No, he really doesn’t, until two people disrupt his routine. Brink Bartell Adams, a college freshman, shows up at Micah’s place, saying he thinks Micah might be his father. And, Cass calls it quits when Micah can’t find the right answer when she claims she’s might be evicted because she has a cat. His first response is no answer, followed by the suggestion that she has a car if she wants to sleep in it.

Micah seems like an ordinary man, but even his over-the-top sisters and their families know he’s awkward and stuck in a routine. The only humorous scene is the family dinner. Although Micah is loved, he’s viewed with humor by everyone in the family. It’s his former college girlfriend, Brink’s mother, who answers Micah’s question. What happens with all of his relationships with women that makes them fall apart? Actually, what happens with Micah’s relationship with any person?

It’s been ages since I’ve read one of Anne Tyler’s books. But, Micah is certainly an Anne Tyler character, one whose character is slowly revealed in the course of the book, without great surprises. Redhead by the Side of the Road might be just what many of us need right now, the story of an ordinary man living his life while finding his greatest flaw.

Anne Tyler’s website is http://www.annetyler.com/

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler. Alfred A. Knopf, 2020. ISBN 9780525658412 (hardcover), 192p.

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FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.