Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

Last February, I remember reading NYT’s book critic Dwight Garner’s review of Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (Knopf, February 2025). I added it to my TBR in Goodreads as I was reading the review, and I finally got around to reading it on my Kindle two days ago.

Garner said in his review, “Those who have read Tyler for a long time will slide nostalgically into this novel.” I’ve been reading Anne Tyler for a very long time, and I did exactly that, slide nostalgically into it.

Unlike Elizabeth Strout (whose work I absolutely adore) with her cast of characters who come back and back and back, Anne Tyler’s starts from scratch each time. Yes, Baltimore is her home ground in real life and she takes us there over and over again while bringing new people and places to that familiar setting.

Garner’s review was thoughtful but not entirely enthusiastic. He made several comments that may seem a bit snarky, but they were things I may have thought of as I was reading as well, I just wouldn’t have added the snark. He says it is not her best novel but it is not her worst, although, he claims, it is closer to the bottom than the top. There is a cat that comes out of nowhere in this novel, and as cats usually are, she is stand-offish and arrogant. His review ends with this statement, “While I was reading Three Days in June, the pages did not turn themselves, but it is good enough that I did not resent my fingers for doing the job.” WOW.

Unlike Dwight Garner, I really enjoyed this book. It is a short, quick read, just like the setting of the book, it all takes play in three days: the day before a wedding, the day of the wedding, and the day after the wedding. I loved the absolute fragility of the main character, Gail. Type A, a slave to perfection in all that she does, a woman who never took one step out of line until she made a huge mistake that she thinks she will have to endure for the rest of her life. Frankly, I still can’t believe the mistake she made, since it seems so far out of character for this character. But maybe that is just the point of it all, when you never ever ever make a mistake because you spend your whole life trying so hard to be perfect, maybe—just maybe—you explode and do something that is wholly and completely out of character.

And then comes Max. He is a master class in being laid back. A man’s blazer meant to be worn to his daughter’s wedding rolled up into a ball and jammed into a backpack? How those two ended up together is on the surface unbelievable, but it is a fine example of yin and yang, two opposites that come together, that complete each other.

I started reading Anne Tyler in 1985, and I have loved all of her books. She has won all sorts of awards such as the Pulitzer, short listed multiple times for the Pulitzer again, the Man Booker, the Orange Prize, the PEN/Faulkner, and more, and six of her novels have been adapted for film or tv. She’s someone I would love to meet, or to see her speak in person. Now 84 years old, she’s been publishing novels since she was 23 years old, 25 novels so far, and I hope she will continue to do so for many years to come.

Much like the hit tv series Seinfeld was a show about nothing, Three Days in June is not packed with action or adventure. It is the nuances that I found interesting, the differing personalities of the female main characters, Gail, Debbie, Gail’s mom, Sophia, and even Elizabeth, who nearly upends the entire plot line. Unlike in today’s highly volatile culture, these women may never be best friends, but they keep their tongue (mostly) and move on.

I also loved that this book centers on forgiveness, in personal relationships and in professional relationship as well. While the story starts and finishes in only three days, it is a story about slowing down and spending time reflecting on life and the surprises one might find if not speeding through each moment from one event to the next. This is exactly the time for such a book. Give it a read if you haven’t done so already.