Breakaway Books

Authored by Anne Tyler; Published February 2025; Fiction

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The two novels by Anne Tyler that I’ve read have been realistic about romantic relationships to the point of almost depressing. I’ll admit that I liked Three Days in June a little more because of the somewhat happier ending.

In Three Days in June, Gail is told that she will be losing her job as assistant headmistress right before the weekend of her daughter’s wedding. As Gail tries to reconcile herself to both of these momentous events, her ex-husband (and daughter’s father) Max is thrust upon her with an unexpected cat house guest. The two lean on each other as they make it through the rehearsal dinner, a last minute crisis, and the wedding itself. The in-laws aren’t perfect, and Gail isn’t sure about her daughter’s choice—but the questions in her mind are really about her own future.

At different times in the novel, I saw both myself and my mother in Gail. At times, I sympathized with her and at other times, I wanted to tear my hair out. When she confesses that she doesn’t understand many of the rituals that other women engage in—she doesn’t get the “day of beauty” that happens before her daughter’s wedding; she doesn’t know what to tell the hair stylist to do with her hair—I understood. When her boss tells her she lacks people skills, I both understood it (because of her extremely logical point of view and method of interacting with people) and I sighed at the fact that these are skills that can be developed, and Gail clearly isn’t interested. Gail spends a lot of time in her own head, worrying about the future, and I think she benefits from having someone like Max around, who is significantly more relaxed. I know I do.

The narrative of the story holds the emotional complexity of real life. An adult child getting married to a questionable choice of spouse, an ex for whom Gail’s feelings are profoundly ambivalent—this is not a sweep-you-off-your-feet romance nor an edge-of-your-seat thriller. It’s a realistic view of a somewhat ordinary wedding. Neither Gail nor Max are dashing heroes; they’re just people who have been in each other’s lives for a long time, and, as it turns out, are rather fond of each other. Watching Gail slowly turn over in her mind the events that led to their divorce is enlightening, and her light bulb moment at the end of the novel feels like a small pop, only a slight release in tension, rather than a grand moment of romantic illumination.

Three Days in June is not a novel to read to escape, but it might be a good one to pick up to remind yourself that real people can have real love.