An endearing perfectionist explores romance in Anne Tyler’s new novel
How many authors can give readers an antisocial, crotchety character and make him lovable and endearing over a few short days?
Leave it to Anne Tyler to write a powerful, fast paced novel about a special man whose life and way of living are like no other.
In “Redhead by the Side of the Road,” quirky protagonist Micah Mortimer passes a fire hydrant on his early run each morning that looks to him like a redheaded girl, a misidentification he attributes to his faulty eyesight. Through her colorful and compelling window into Micah’s life, Tyler illustrates that both Micah’s physical vision and emotional insights have defects — flaws he will uncover as his story unfolds.
Micah’s routine is “etched in stone.” Mondays he mops his floors, saving vacuuming for Friday. Wednesday he dusts and Thursday is kitchen day. He drives carefully, using his blinker even when no one is looking. Even his social life with Cass Slade, his woman friend who is a teacher (no man in his 40s should use the term “girlfriend”), follows a carefully planned routine.
Micah lives his life striving not to make mistakes.
The story begins with an upset Cass fearing that the woman she sublets from will evict her after discovering the cat she’s been housing. The next day, a college student, Brink Adams, shows up at Micah’s apartment declaring that he believes Micah is his father. Brink’s mother, Lorna, told him that Micah was her college boyfriend and the love of her life.
The two incidents converge in a dramatic fashion, reconnecting Micah and Lorna while breaking him and Cass apart.
Cass breaks up with Micah after the cat debacle, forcing him to reflect on his past relationships — all of which ended when his ex-girlfriends left him. Every time he’s been blindsided — caught off guard by their departure. In college he was drawn to fundamentalist Christian Lorna. He appreciated her “absoluteness.” But the relationship ended after he saw her kissing another boy on campus. Now, years later as he reconnects with Lorna, she tries to help him understand his propensity to jump to conclusions, not giving others a second chance. But these are lessons he needs to discover for himself.
Toward the end of the novel, Micah remains puzzled and despondent about Cass. Their relationship was routine — “down to a system.” What went wrong? Finally, he recognizes that he “was trying to make no mistakes at all,” which ended in failure.
Through Micah’s relationships, Tyler illustrates Micah’s empathy and heart. Micah works as the super for his apartment building and as a part-time tech guy. The characters we meet through Micah’s work come to life with sharp dialogue, vivid description and, often, unexpected humor.
If creating characters who stay with you weeks after you’ve read the novel is a mark of a good story, this is a great one.