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Book Review

Review: Three Days in June

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Three Days in June

Three Days in June
By Anne Tyler
Knopf, 9780593803486, February 11, 2025, 176 pp.

The Short of It:

Anne Tyler. Always a pleasure.

The Rest of It:

Gail Baines loses her job and then discovers that her bride-to-be daughter is in crisis mode. Something has happened to make her question her relationship. Because it’s the weekend of the wedding, Gail’s ex-husband Max is also in town and hits Gail up last minute for a place to crash, and he just happens to have a foster cat with him.

A wedding weekend filled with rehearsals and meals. The ex, well-liked but quirky and with a cat no less. Debbie. the bride-to-be, darting around busily as the wedding ensues. How can Gail rein this in? Can she? Is it even her place to do so?

Gail is a likable character. Not all that confident in her “mother-of-the-bride” status but she tries. She wants to do right by her daughter, and to remind her that if there are any doubts, that it’s okay to back out now. That it doesn’t matter that everyone has arrived for this thing. But then Gail is reminded of her own infidelity and how people can make mistakes and still be good people.

This is a whirlwind type of read. As a reader, you are invested in this story quickly and it’s tied up in much the same way, quickly. The writing is what earns stars here. Tyler’s characters always posses that quirky something-something that makes them interesting. I enjoyed it a lot. Almost felt it was too short.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Book Review

Review: Burn

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Burn

Burn
By Peter Heller
Knopf, 9780593801628, August 2024, 304 pp.

The Short of It:

A stark warning to a divided country.

The Rest of It:

I’ve read a few books by Heller and all of them have left me a little speechless. All powerful, all a bit unsettling but this one, wow, I gotta take a moment.

In Burn, Storey and Jess start their annual hunting trip as they always do, except as they hike through Maine, they come across some alarming things. Maine is in the throes of secession and as they come across each town, they see the horrible devastation of what’s left behind. Evidence of a burn, evidence of attack. None of it good. As they make their way across the country, they begin to wonder what has happened back at home. Are their families safe? Surely, help would have been sent.

They quickly realize that their goal is simply survival, and getting back home but the enemy is not clear cut. They can’t tell secessionists from the military and everyone is fighting for supplies. As the journey continues, food is scarce, and mechanisms for getting home are scarce too. Boats? Not in the greatest shape and too obvious on the water. By foot? Long. Too long. They witness horrible things. No one can be trusted. They are on their own.

Enter a lost little girl.

Still unsure if there is even anything to go back to, home seems like such an elusive thing but then here is this girl, only six years old, desperately wanting to be with her parents. Are they even alive? How has she survived so far? Worried about their own survival but unable to leave a child to fend for herself in this bombed-out world, they take her on and their mission changes.

This story is bleak. There is little hope and honestly, it felt a little exhausting to be on this journey with Storey and Jess. All of the “what ifs” kept going through my mind . What would happen today if something like this happened? Could it? I feel as if it absolutely can which made it even more difficult to read.

Heller’s writing here is a warning. A warning that a divided country cannot win. How do you feel about that? I read this alongside my 1984 (read-along) and man, it put me in a dark place.  And I kid you not, as I was typing this out, I received a phone call from the UNITED STATES. Probably spam but chilling. Like, hello, your country is calling you!

Ahem, If you love Heller, you will also appreciate this book but it’s bleak. You should know that going in. Lots to consider here. Would make a good discussion book.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.