This rather short novel takes place over 3 days. Gail has a series of unfortunate events: Losing her job, her ex showing up on her doorstep right before their daughter's wedding. Well drawn out, colorful characters accentuate Anne Tyler's mastery of writing a great read. It might be short, but oh so well done.

(4.25 stars)
Anne Tyler is a masterful storyteller, focusing on the ordinary lives or ordinary people. And this novella (less than 200 pages) is another lovely story. It focuses on “three days in June” (duh), the day before a wedding, the day of the wedding and the day after the wedding. The three main characters are Gail, mother of the bride; Debbie, the bride; and Max, Gail’s ex-husband.

Gail wasn’t a really likable character. She doesn’t have very good people skills, which resulted in her not getting the promotion she felt she deserved at work (headmaster at a private school). The day before her daughter’s wedding, her ex-husband shows up with a cat in tow, asking if he can stay at Gail’s house because Debbie’s fiancé is allergic to cats. The cat is a foster cat, apparently, not permanently Max’s. Over the course of the three days, we learn backstories of each of these characters and see how Gail and Max’s marriage fell apart.

I thought the book ended rather abruptly, with the ending/future open to interpretation. But I am opting for a hopeful interpretation of the ending.

My book club has read a lot of Anne Tyler’s work and I really enjoyed her earlier novels. I was bummed that I didn’t care for A Spool of Blue Thread so have passed on reading her more recent work. So I’m glad I gave this novella a chance.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Anne Tyler scores again! Her slightly odd characters fill your heart as if you are reading about a friend. Gail and Max are around the same age as me so I totally understood most of their quandaries. The book takes place over three days but I easily read it in one day. And it has left me with a little smile on my face.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Three Days in June is set over the course of, well, three days in June, as the title suggests. These are an eventful three days for 61-year-old Gail Baines as she navigates being pushed out of her job, prepares for her only child's wedding, and hosts her ex-husband who has unexpectedly shown up on her doorstep needing a place to stay during the wedding events for not only himself, but a new foster cat.

More of a novella at just 176 pages Three Days in June is a slice of life character study of a woman who has switched paths late in life whether she knows it or not. I'm a fan of Anne Tyler. She has a way of writing everyday life in such a poignant way, rendering it something special. This is a quiet, comfortable story. I can't say it's my favorite of Tyler's, but I always enjoy her writing.

One caveat: as some other reviewers have also pointed out, while this story is set in present day it feels better suited to decades ago. Something about the characters did not feel fully contemporary. I don't have a problem with this, some readers might. I think I would have preferred the story to be set in the last quarter of the 20th century.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Anne Tyler's "Three Days in June." Difficult to describe how comfortable to sit down and read each page. Reading felt like a long-forgotten joy of quietly sitting with a good friend that I didn't want to put down. Ms. Tyler introduced us to Gail and Max, ex-spouses who come together for their only daughter Debbie's wedding, which takes place on the heels of a Gail's emotionally charged exit from her employment. Enjoyable for me was how vividly touchable both Gail & Max were as they processed the events of the upcoming wedding. As a reader we obtain a glimpse of the past, the uncoupling of their marriage and reality of who they are as individuals. I found this story to be warm, charming and honest. The rescue cat tagging along was also a joy. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy, deepest appreciate to them and to Anne Tyler for the warmth of reading this book.

Absolutely a brilliant read! Hilarious, poignant, Just wonderful!

Anne Taylor wrote a heartfelt story about, love and forgiveness

Three Days in June is my first Anne Tyler novel. The story centers around Gail Baines, a socially awkward divorced woman, her ex-husband, Max and their daughter, Debbie. The first day of the story begins with Gail finding out some life changing information at her workplace on the day of her daughter Debbie’s rehearsal dinner. Gail returns from work only to find her ex husband and his adopted cat at her front door. On this day, they also find out some news about Debbie and her fiancé. Needless to say, the rehearsal takes place. The second day is the day of the wedding and the third day is the day after in which Gail and Max spend the day together before he leaves to go back to his home.
I really loved the writing style of this novel; it was short and sometimes funny and charming. . The story was about life; relationships and finding where you really belong in life at a certain point in life... I highly recommend this book. Thank you to. Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for this advanced reader copy.

I think Three Days in June is a compelling and thoughtful read, especially for those who enjoy deep character studies and reflective narratives. It’s not an action-packed story, but rather a quiet exploration of relationships, personal growth, and emotional complexity. The book really thrives in its ability to make the ordinary feel extraordinary by focusing on the small, often overlooked moments that define a life. Tyler’s prose is insightful, capturing the internal world of her characters in a way that makes you reflect on your own experiences.

This story is an interesting observation of a wedding weekend that is truly nothing extraordinary. Anne Tyler has a unique ability to make the most ordinary encounters special. I could actually feel the awkwardness of Gail and her interactions as well as Max's optimism. Thanks #NetGalley #Knopf

I adore this author. She takes a slice of life and shares the intricacy of it in beautiful words. We meet and follow Gail on the weekend of her daughters wedding. The story is viewed from her vantage point. These are ordinary people, living ordinary lives. What bothered me was that there was no one in this that was particularly likable so it was hard to get invested in the story. Usually the characters are quirky or have something I could emotionally connect to. In this I found most of them had no self awareness, rude, classist, never met a boundary they wouldn’t cross and are generally unpleasant. Not my favorite from this amazing author. Just missed the mark for me.

I recently read a VC Andrews book that was clearly something she had written in the 80s and was tweaked by her family to make it seem more modern and it didn’t work. This felt the same way; as if this was written early in Anne Tyler’s career and she wanted to release it now but didn’t quite get the old-time feel out of the book. The main character, Gail, acts much older than her 60 years, but not in a old curmudgeon way; it’s more that she fits perfectly in a late 70s, early 80s time frame with the way she thinks and acts. Ditto the song choices for the wedding and the choices for clothing. Other than that, the reader spends a lot of time in Gail’s head and it’s not a fun place to be; she’s overly negative and judgmental. This story may resonate with others but it really wasn’t for me.

It took the reappearance of Gail's ex-husband Max with his cat to soften her heart over the next three days in June, when Max showed up to attend their daughter Debbie's wedding to her fiance, Kenneth. Gail at first didn't want the cat in the house, but the cat took a liking to Gail and slept with her in her bed at night. Max also slowly eased his way back into his ex-wife's heart, even though the ending seemed ambiguous as to their future.

I liked that their daughter Debbie did not want to make the same mistake her parents did in their marriage, and she seemed to easily overlook any indiscretion her fiance may have made before the wedding. Forgive and forget seems to be Max's motto, echoed by his daughter Debbie.

I was surprised by Gail's admission to Debbie about the reason for her divorce from Max those many years ago. And Gail, as the story's narrator, admitting that soft hearted Max would never hurt anyone he loved.

An unusual look at a marriage that was, and a marriage to be. The book gave reason to think about family dynamics on another level.

This book was either completely boring or really amazing, depending on your mood. Thankfully, I was in the mood for a touching story of literally three days in the life of Gail Baines. I was expecting something funny, more in the line of "Father of the Bride" comedy, but it is instead a poignant look into Gail's mind as she deals with her past life choices, her personality, her own marriage and divorce, and her coming to grips with her daughter's marriage. It is hopeful and sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. #sponsored

This book follows Socially awkward and quirky Gail’s actions and thoughts over her very socially adept daughter’s June wedding weekend. I found Gail’s view of the weekend to project both sad and content vibes. Her awkwardness, particularly with her daughter, made me uncomfortable but i did enjoy unraveling her many layers. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Gail is socially awkward, having a rough day, has been fired from her job and is home trying to wrap her mind around her daughter getting married the next day when her ex-husband shows up at the door... with a cat and expecting to stay with her. Three days in June - the day before the wedding, the day of, the day after - and a lot happens.

A quick entertaining book with quirkiness and sweetness.

My thanks to Net Galley and Random House for an advanced copy of this e-book.

Gail Baines is having a hard time. She loses her job. Her daughter, Debbie, is getting married and she isn't included in one of the pre-wedding festivities. Her ex-husband is in town, at her door, with a cat, asking to stay for the wedding. She is emotional. When Debbie shares a secret about her groom there's a crisis at hand.
I want to thank Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House Publishers and the author for my e-copy of the book via NetGalley. This is my unsolicited opinion about the book.
It totally feels like a personal story for the mother of the bride. She thinks back on her own married life to the man that she loved and what happened to change everything. It's a very good story. There is humor, frank thoughts and an array of emotions. Most importantly, a love that needed clarity.
Gail is an excellent character. She could be any mother, any employee who doesn't get a fair shake and certainly any woman.
This is a solid 4 star read.
Trigger: Infidelity

4.5 ⭐️

This was such a beautifully written book. I haven’t read many books by Anne Tyler so I didn’t know what to expect but I really enjoyed this one.

Told over the course of three days around her daughter’s wedding, the book follows Gail and all of her recent struggles.

I honestly loved Gail and I had so much sympathy for her and what she was going through. I also really liked that the reader got some background on the past and why things happened and how it related to the current situation.

I will definitely be reading more books by Anne Tyler.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Three Days in June was a sweet little read about Gail and the three days surrounding her only daughter’s wedding. It was a shorter book, and quick to read. I liked it although at some points Gail did grate on the nerves. There were a few plot lines I would have liked to see more of, but the ending was delightful. I enjoyed this one a lot!

Three Days in June is out now!

For an 156 page novel, I was surprised at how quickly I became attached to the characters! While the main character, Gail, is deeply flawed, and some decisions she made weren’t given enough plot time at the end to hit as hard as they could have, I found myself cheering for her more than I was disappointed with then rushed ending.

Tyler has a simplistically beautiful way of telling domestic stories. She created suspense gradually, building up to an explosive secret at the end that shed a whole new light on how I viewed all the characters. It tackled a common theme in fiction (which I won’t give away here for spoiler reasons) in a way that I don’t seen done too often.

While I do think this novel would have benefited greatly from another 50 or so pages, especially toward the end, I am impressed at how well the author had me gripped in the story, and I look forward to reading whatever Tyler writes next!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Knof, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the digital arc.

I've never read an Anne Tyler book so I'm not sure of her story telling and writing style. For me it was a good slow moving story one you'd read when you just wanted to have a slower pace in life. Not a style I usually go for but none the less it was enjoyable.