Reviews

Three Days in June follows Gail who is a woman who is an assistant to the headmistress of a private school. Gail is in her 60s and has spent most of her career in the education industry. The story starts out with her getting some really hard news on the same day as her daughters wedding rehearsal. This news sends her down a journey of past mistakes and how her view of herself altered her own decisions. This book is a character study into how Gail handled mistakes and how she almost unwittingly punished herself for said mistakes. I think the way this author focuses on redemption at any age while also focusing on the messaging of how life is about choices is powerful. We are not set on a rigorous path from our 20s, 30s or 40s. Life is one big opportunity. I enjoyed this book and would recommend.

carryanneb's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

novelgossip's review against another edition

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4.0

I love a story that follows the characters over a super short period of time, and as the title says, this takes place over one weekend as Gail’s only daughter gets married. For such a seemingly simple story this packs quite a punch. It’s really just a slice of Gail’s life but its simplicity is where it shines and by the end I felt like I got done with a heartfelt conversation with the main character. If you like character driven contemporary fiction this was a delight and the narrator brought Gail to life in such a charming way.

pamb81's review

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5.0

I love Anne Tyler's writing, and "Three Days in June" is another masterpice featuring quirky but relatable characters and a simple but engaging storyline.

Set over three days -- the days before, during and after a wedding -- sixty-one-year-old Gail Baines hopes to succeed her boss as headmistress of the school where she works, but instead, she is given the pink slip because she is not a "people person" in a job where delicate social skills are a must. Not exactly perfect timing as Gail's only child, Debbie, is getting married the next day. When she gets home, her ex-husband, Max, shows up at her doorstep with a cat he is fostering and asks if he can stay at her house since Debbie's fiance is severely allergic to cats.

Gail and Max are true opposites -- she is a bit introverted and insecure, yet blunt; Max is easy-going and always sees the positive in people and situations. Later on in the novel, we find out exactly why they split up, but not before Debbie confides to her parents about an issue that could threaten her marriage to Kenneth.

There is so much to love about this book -- the relationships between Gail and Max, between Gail and Debbie, Max and Debbie, along with strains between the Baines and Kenneth's parents, who are much wealthier than them and seem to be more involved in the wedding plans than Gail is comfortable with (or jealous of).

Will the wedding go on as planned? Will Gail adopt the cat? Will Gail and Max reconcile? I eagerly kept reading because I was so involved in these characters and their journeys. The secondary characters -- Gail's mom, Kenneth, his parents (Sophie and Rupert) and their daughter, Elizabeth, are important to the story, but they in no way crowd the narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the digital ARC; I really enjoyed this book.

sundazebookcafe's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Thanks Vintage and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy!

A perfect palatable novella at just 176 pages, Three Days in June offers a searingly sharp gaze into the everyday minutiae of normal people. Gail is in her early 60s, about to lose her job, and also about to attend her only daughter’s wedding. This book covers three days (in June): the day before, of and after said wedding. Written in an incredibly literary tone full of humanness and sincerity, Tyler showcases the art of mundane storytelling here, deftly touching on the little things that build and shape us into our later years. Gail is confident, funny, insecure, grumpy, caring, uncaring, and she’s all of us, really. This is a beautifully human novella told with humour, care and wit – nothing groundbreaking, but perhaps you need that as much as I did?

helen_t_reads's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It’s the day before her daughter’s wedding and things are not going well for Gail Baines. First thing, she loses her job – or quits, depending who you ask. Then her ex-husband Max turns up at her door expecting to stay for the festivities. He doesn’t even have a suit. Instead, he’s brought memories, a shared sense of humour – and a cat looking for a new home.

Just as Gail is wondering what’s next, their daughter Debbie discovers her groom has been keeping a secret, and as the big day dawns, the exes just can’t agree on what’s best for Debbie, or if the wedding will even go ahead, and the day after, Gail and Max prepare to go their separate ways again.

But all the questions about the future of the happy couple have stirred up the past for Gail. Because ‘happy’ takes many forms, and sometimes the younger generation has much to teach the older about secrets, acceptance and taking the rough with the smooth.

I adored this latest from Anne Tyler, and it's yet another example of why she is one of my absolute favourite writers. At only 176 pages it isn't a long book by any means, but what we have is perfection and bliss in novel format.

She is the ultimate chronicler of family life, and of the small, ordinary, everyday. But as she does this - effortlessly, and with her trademark humour - we see how it's these small, ordinary tensions and dramas that have the biggest impact and effect upon people's lives. I once heard someone say that anne Tyler writes about nothing, but about everything, and this is so very true. The ordinary and mundane becomes special, and what she has to say about one family and their situation, equally applies to everyone everywhere.

She is an observer of people par excellence, which means that all of her characters are fully developed and believable. She makes the reader cars about every single one. Every thought, emotion, reaction, interaction, relationship, event and situation is sharply and brilliantly observed, and perfectly rendered in her novels, and as she does this, she writes with extraordinary humanity and understanding of the human condition.

Family weddings are a familiar situation to many of us, and as she depicts all the various dynamics - the controlling mother of the groom, the socially awkward mother of the bride, the laidback dad who forgets his dress shoes so has to wear sneakers, the spiteful sister in law to be - and fills in the family's backstory over the previous decades, she allows us to explore and think about the book's themes: love, marriage and second chances. Themes which apply across the generations of this family, and indeed to all of us.

I cannot recommend this funny, touching, poignant, and above all hopeful novel enough. It's an absolute joy.

Thank you to Penguin UK for allowing me to read a Netgalley ebook of this novel, in exchange for my honest review.

winelovingbooknerd's review

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3.0

I adore Anne Tyler and her quirky characters. I thought this story was well-written and I liked the structure. It was composed of 3 chapters: the day before the wedding, the day of the wedding, and the day after the wedding, all with flashbacks to fill you in on the back story. I found Gail's insights into herself and her life to be spot on and very relatable, however I didn't really fall in love with any of the characters and found the pacing to be a bit on the slow side for my liking. My favorite aspect of the story was Gail and Max's friendship. It was very sweet and kept me reading.

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