Three Days in June

Sam's Review

In a recent article in The Guardian, journalist Lisa Allardice asks, "How could a writer of such witty, warm, kind novels about middle-class families that contain very little historical context, no politics or sex, even, really be one of America's finest living novelists, as so many have claimed?" Perhaps Anne Tyler's latest novel, her 25th, will answer this question.

Three Days in June takes place across three days in, you guessed it, June, as the two central characters reconvene for their daughter's wedding. Gail and Max divorced some time ago, the reasons for which become apparent later in the story. Gail, who tells the tale, is an assistant headteacher; reserved, a little spiky, and still the owner of "an actual, physical answering machine: ‘there were too many people I might not feel like talking to’.” Max, a special education teacher, is gregarious, good-willed, and clumsy, sporting "the kind of beard that you're not quite sure is deliberate.” Befitting his slightly haphazard air, Max turns up on Gail's doorstep on the eve of the wedding to inform her that he needs somewhere to stay. He can't stay with his daughter as he's brought a rescue cat with him and his soon-to-be son-in-law is "deathly allergic.” Gail appears put-out at the idea of Max staying with her, but she gradually softens as both he and the cat make themselves inconveniently at home in her well-ordered house.

The dramatic heart of the story comes in the revelation that groom-to-be Kenneth may have cheated on their daughter, Debbie. With this rather large elephant in the room, many authors would have taken a sledgehammer to the door, knocking it clean off its hinges in their rush to melodrama. Tyler's choice is to draw us in, nudge the door ajar with a toe, and let us, like silent observers, eavesdrop on the events taking place behind it. Voices are barely raised, tempers momentarily heightened. Gail and Max each offer their own disparate advice and form of comfort; a resolution is reached, and life moves on. The deeper questions in this book, however, really emerge in the quiet interstices of Gail's reflections on her and Max’s marriage - giving you the intimacy of Gail's innermost thoughts.

And so, we return to the start - is Anne Tyler one of America's finest living novelists? She's certainly one of its finest observers of the big moments in small lives. It's the minor details in which she excels, the observations of seemingly inconsequential interactions, the snippets of conversations which say little but reveal a great deal. You may retort: "But where are the bigger themes, the reflections of the times?" and you'd be perfectly justified to do so. With Three Days in June, Anne Tyler does nothing to counter this argument. She does exactly what she's always done… very well!

Other Reviews

'A joy to read in a single relaxing afternoon' JACQUELINE WILSON

'Razor sharp on family, love and marriage' DAVID NICHOLLS

'I devoured it in one long lazy afternoon - I laughed and cried' VICTORIA HISLOP

'Clear-eyed, out-and-out funny and a cause for celebration' RACHEL JOYCE

'Three Days in June has all her trademark wry humour and brilliant observation, brought together with her immaculate technique. It's full of love, and that can never be beaten' ELIZABETH BUCHAN

'If Anne Tyler isn't the best writer in the world, who is?' BBC R4 WOMAN'S HOUR

'Anne Tyler really is the best' GRAHAM NORTON

'Our greatest chronicler of family life' DAILY MAIL

'Nobody does it better' VOGUE