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Book Summary and Reviews of Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Three Days in June

A Novel

by Anne Tyler

  • Readers' Rating (25):
  • Publishes:
  • Feb 11, 2025, 176 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.

Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job—or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn't even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail's ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay, and without even a suit.

But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max's past.

Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, full of the joys and heartbreaks of love and marriage and family life, Three Days in June is a triumph, and gives us the perennially bestselling, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer at the height of her powers.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[An] appealing story...As in Tyler's previous work, there's not much of a plot, but the pleasure is in learning how her characters tick, as Gail time and again fails to find the proper tact. By the end of the story, messy human relationships are proven to be worth all the trouble they cause. This will gratify Tyler's fans." —Publishers Weekly

"[T]he novel is very short, but Tyler's touch is as delicate, her empathy for human beings and all their quirks as evident in her 25th work of fiction as it was in her first...Sweet, sharp, and satisfying." —Kirkus Reviews

This information about Three Days in June was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Anita R. (Boca Raton, FL)

From the 1st page on you will be captivated!
In 2 readings I finished this delightful but sad novel. Gail Baines was quite an incredible woman, both deeply insecure yet not afraid of expressing her opinion. Anne Tyler captivates us with her wonderful style of writing. A great read!!

Judith C. (Lake Oswego, OR)

Three Days In June
Three Days In June is actually more of a slice of life novella. But during the brief three days: the day before, the day of and the day after a small family wedding Anne Tyler's characters come alive. I very much enjoyed my time with the Baines family, especially the maternal grandmother of the bride. As always, Anne Tyler doesn't disappoint. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

Kathy S. (Holladay, UT)

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
Three Days in June is the latest book by Anne Tyler. Those three days immerse the reader in the days around the wedding of Gail and Max's daughter Debbie.
Gail isi a great worrier. As Max, her now ex-husband says,..."good grief! Do you keep an itemized list of things to worry about?" Will she make it through those three days, especially after also losing her job?
And then there is Max, almost the complete opposite of Gail. He sees the best in people and believes people can change. Will those three days change Gail? Change Max?
As with her other books, Anne Tyler shows us characters that are so succinctly described, you feel you know them personally (or wished you did). As well, her characters are shown to us through her descriptions with a wonderful sense of humor and tenderness.
If you like character-driven books, especially by Anne Tyler, I believe you will love this one too.

Joselle K. (Saratoga, CA)

Loved it!
Anne Tyler has always had a way of capturing characters so that you feel like you've known them for a very long time. And with Three Days in June, she's absolutely done it again.

Even though this book's is not long and it covers just a short time frame, it packs an emotional punch. The events described and the interactions of the characters during those three days stayed with me for many weeks.

There's so much for book clubs to discuss here so I think it would be an ideal choice.

Susan R. (Greensboro, NC)

Fantastic
If you are a fan of Anne Tyler, you're going to love this book and it may become your favorite of her books like it did mine. If you haven't read Anne Tyler before, you need to read this. You'll find out how wonderful her storytelling is with wonderful and insightful looks at people - both the good and the flaws.

Gail Baines is having a rough day. Her normal quiet life is imploding. She works at a private school and believed that she would get the job as head of the school when the current one left. When she's informed that she was passed over due to being socially awkward, she leaves her job and goes home. Another problem is that her only daughter is getting married in three days and she hasn't been invited to the spa day with the bridesmaids and the mother of the groom. On top of all that, her ex-husband shows up from out of town with no where to stay plus he has a cat with him that he is trying to get adopted. To say that her placid life has changed to one of confusion and anxiety is putting it mildly. Then things get even worse - her daughter shares a secret with her parents about the groom and insists that she is going to cancel the wedding. Gayle wants to be helpful to her daughter but not intrusive and she agonizes over her daughter's decision as she compares it to her personal reasons for the end of her marriage.

Gail's real decision comes down to what to do with the rest of her life. She's 60 - is it too late to change her career and her life in general?

Gail is a fantastic main character -- quirky, a bit or a worrier - well maybe more than a bit - and a person who likes her life to be calm and planned. Her ex husband is just the opposite - very spontaneous and free. Some of their conversations made me smile and other times I felt like they were being very insightful. This was a fantastic new book by a Pulitzer Prize winner and you don't want to miss it.

Susan L. (Alexandria, VA)

Three Cheers for Three Days in June
Anne Tyler does it again. This spare novel reveals deep characters with flaws and depth. In just three days, Tyler reveals the most important parts of their lives. The struggles, regrets, pivots, moments of forgiveness, and hope. It has it all. Tyler, known for her attention to detail and ability to make the mundane compelling, is at the top of her form. Three Days in June gives us a glimpse into a woman's life on the eve of her daughter's wedding and on the edge of her own happiness.

...19 more reader reviews

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Author Information

Anne Tyler Author Biography

Photo: Diana Walker

Anne Tyler's 50 Year Writing Career

In March 2013, Anne Tyler announced the title of her upcoming novel in an interview with the BBC. She also noted that she didn't want to finish another novel - not even this one. She described the book as a "sprawling family saga," which starts with the present generation and then moves back, one generation at a time. Fortunately, she realized she was only interested in three generations. Before this revelation, she figured A Spool of Blue Thread could go on long enough that she might die before its publication! That way she wouldn't have the hassle of the editing, polishing, promoting and worrying if the book was any good or not.

This sounds like the pressure of thinking up something new and original, combined with her obvious penchant for ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview

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