REDHEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD by Anne Tyler

I am not a prolific reader of Anne Tyler, but she always makes her way into the book club I belong to, so I feel bound to read when they turn up, just so I know what others like about her books. Without a doubt they are charming, joyful, meaningful small novels about very ordinary people in ordinary lives going through a crisis of sorts. Nothing monumental - tragic accidents, major illnesses, life crises. Just the types of situations that create bits of upset, make things a little off-kilter, then come out for the better. Her characters would never be in the cool kids group at school, never be social media influencers, never be the leaders or bosses in our world, They are quirky, often alone or lonely, vulnerable, then find out new things about themselves as a result of the challenges they are facing. 

In this latest Anne Tyler offering, which has now become one of my favourites, we meet Micah Mortimer, a man in his mid forties. He lives alone in a small flat in the basement of an apartment building, operating as a mobile tech repairer calling himself Tech Hermit. Despite his high geekness-factor, he is actually very sociable, likeable, personable. He has got used to living on his own, become somewhat OCD in the process with his tidiness/cleanliness habits, his pride in his excellent driving practices, his pleasure in his relationship with school teacher Cassie. And he has a supportive family - four sisters who lovingly tease him, but who also give him family to belong to. Everything is just peachy.

Until... Cassie has a housing crisis that Micah seems to be deaf to resulting in her breaking up with him and thus throwing his life into some disarray. Around the same time, a young man turns up on his doorstep claiming to be his son from a college fling some 18 years earlier. Two spanners thrown into the the tidy tool box of Micah's life. Being forced to rethink your life in your mid forties is just the tiniest bit challenging. 

It's not hard to be on team Micah. Despite his quirks, his minor eccentricities, he is very likeable, quite engaging, and just a nice decent normal sort of bloke. All the other characters are just as pleasant, ordinary too, dealing with various levels of conflict clashes with each other. I loved this, it's an adorable story, with satisfying outcomes. Micah finds hidden depths within himself, leading to vast improvements in his relationships, his living environment, even his driving is affected. It just shows that we all have it within us to be open to changes that could lead to improvements within ourselves.