Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler Review

Life is simple for middle-aged Micah Mortimer. He has his steady job as a handyman/Tech Hermit, his steady relationship with fourth-grade teacher girlfriend Cass Slade, and his steady routine. Occasionally he’ll be reminded of family by one of his four older sisters and their sprawling families. A quiet, straightforward life. And then 18 year old Brink arrives on his doorstep claiming to be his long-lost son. Wuh-oh!

I’ve been meaning to read an Anne Tyler novel ever since Nick Hornby gushed about her in his much-missed Stuff I’ve Been Reading column in The Believer magazine and I’m glad I finally got around to it - Redhead by the Side of the Road was pretty decent. Though I’m not as smitten as Hornby was, I can see why people like this writer.

The title is a passing reference to Micah mistaking a red fire hydrant for a child, looking at it from the corner of his eye while driving. It’s summed-up later in the line: “He has noticed that his faulty vision most often reveals itself in attempts to convert inanimate objects into human beings.” This gets to the heart of the novel which is that Micah is too closed-off from human contact and almost treats them like he sees them: inanimate objects.

This isn’t a plot-driven novel but more of a character portrait of a man, a (tech) hermit if you will, realising his view of life is “faulty”, that he’s actually dissatisfied with his too-neat world - he’s entrenched in his routine and he needs the warming chaos of other people in his life to make him happy, imperfections included.

My only real critique is that there wasn’t a whole lot going on to really grip me. I can’t fault the clever writing, the sharp characterisation, the convincing dialogue, the concept - it’s all executed flawlessly by an obvious master. I also liked the odd quirk thrown in like Micah’s imaginary Traffic God commenting on his driving ability, which was an inventive touch.

I just would’ve preferred a bit more drama. The big set piece of the book is a family dinner that goes well - hmm. That and the kinda obvious lesson-learning at the end were the only aspects that felt a tad unimaginative. These things don’t leave much of an impression and made this relatively short book easy to put down.

Redhead by the Side of the Road isn’t that memorable though it’s still a pleasant, well-written, character-driven piece that provides a charming snapshot of this person’s life. Not a bad starting-point if you’ve never read an Anne Tyler before and encouraging enough for me to want to read more of her work in the future.