Book Review

from Moor Links August/September issue 2021

What’s On

Book recommendations for summer

By Simon Church of Book Stop, Tavistock

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler In this latest novel by American literary giant, Anne Tyler, we follow a few days in the life of Micah, a middle-aged janitor-cum-computer fixer who would barely merit a glance from a passing stranger, but whose outwardly mundane existence disguises a person, a life and a soul as unique and complex as any other. With wit, style and pathos, Tyler’s simple prose brings Micah’s real depths, weaknesses and strengths to the surface as he encounters challenges variously thrown up by his difficulty in reading girlfriends past and present (or their difficulty in reading him?), his crazy family, his neighbours’ plumbing, the customers of his modest tech business and a teenager claiming to be his long lost son... Tyler’s novel mirrors its main protagonist - on the surface slim and modest, but dig deeper and you will find real treasure.

Publisher: Vintage, £8.99 More recommended reads from Book Stop:

The River Between Us by Liz Fenwick Love story set in the Tamar Valley, £8.99 Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud Costa and now Indie Book Awardswinning novel, following loves and losses in an unconventional household, £8.99

Woodston: The Biography of an English Farm by John Lewis-Stempel Brand new history of a quintessentiallyEnglish farm, £20.00 Maria’s Island by Victoria Hislop Illustrated retelling of a Hislop classic for children, set on a Cretan island, £10.99

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Anonymous texter ‘Aces’ wreaks havoc in this YA thriller set in Niveus Private Academy, £8.99