Three Days in June: Book Review

 

Published on
11 Feb 2025

I have been reading Anne Tyler's novels since the 1980s, and I am delighted that she is still publishing. Her main characters are often middle aged adults or older. I have joined several online sites for discussing books, and most of the novels have protagonists who are 12 to 30.  I have to overtly look for novels featuring protagonists who are midlife or older. (I am very helpful when someone in these Facebook or Instagram groups asks, "Do you know of any books featuring older protagonists?") 

Here is a novel that features a 61-year-old protagonist. 

Three Days in June is a novella whose main character, Gail Baines, who is preparing to attend her daughter's wedding where she will have to face her ex, Max.  As it turns out, her ex shows up with a cat, asking Gail for some help, and that offsets Gail's equilibrium, those visitors and her unexpected job loss.  On top of that Gail has been excluded from some of the preparations with the bride. And the daughter later shows up to talk with Gail about some issues with the groom. 

The three days are the day before her daughter Debbie's wedding, the day of the wedding to Kenneth, and the day after.  Gail goes through a lot of observation and reflection during those days, but there are a few key events during those days, including the wedding itself, of course. 

As is often the case of older protagonists, the novel also includes mention of events that happened years prior, helping readers to learn more about Gail, her relationship with the bride, and her relationship with her ex. The novel takes the first-person perspective, so we learn a lot about Gail, her awkwardness, her quirks, her thoughts, her feelings, and how she makes decisions that affect her actions. 

I enjoyed virtually "hanging out" with Gail during these three crucial days.  (I am also in my early 60s.) It's refreshing to step away from characters trying to forge their future through dramatic, action-packed events.  Instead, this novel lets you watch an older adult look back over the years to see how to nudge a few things here and there to help make a path through the obstacles of life--some of them caused by close intimates, some of them self-imposed, some of them part and parcel of life itself. 

Related: 

Books on Aging