This could well become a classic. Another great novel from Anne Tyler.. A superb family story with few characters, but in so doing they are fully developed. I romped through this .. Highly recommended…

A perfect palatable novella at just 176 pages, Three Days in June offers a searingly sharp gaze into everyday lives and domestication. Gail is in her early 60s, about to lose her job, and also about to attend her only daughter’s wedding. This book covers three days (in June): the day before, of and after said wedding. Written in an incredibly literary tone full of humanness and sincerity, Tyler showcases the art of mundane storytelling here, deftly touching on the little things that build and shape us into our later years. Gail is confident, funny, insecure, grumpy, caring, uncaring, and she’s all of us, really.

Filled with so many lines that are both charmingly funny and devastatingly true. Anne Tyler reflects relationships so tenderly. 'Three Days in June' was an incredible novella of marriage, motherhood and infidelity.

Three Days in June is a relatively short book relating the coming together of two families at a wedding. The main character is the bride's mother a slightly prickly lady in her early sixties who seems vaguely disappointed with her life. We learn a little about all the main characters and the interplay between them but there are no big twists or reveals in the book. The story of the wedding just unrolls as it happens. I especially loved the role of the cat. It seemed to allow Gail's softer side to come through as well as cast suspicion on Kenneth and his 'allergies'. A beautiful, easy read.....as many of Ann Tyler's books are.......that can be read as deeply or superficially as the reader desires.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I enjoyed it, sharp and witty, I liked that it was short and snappy and the story flowed well

I'm not sure how Anne Tyler does it. She writes about the everyday, about the most ordinary of lives and the most common of situations and still she makes me care about her characters - even when they are spiky as Gail.

Three Days in June tells the story of Gail Baines. At 61 Gail is expecting to take over as head at the school she works at, only to be told her people skills are non-existent and the job will go to a much younger woman. Gail's reaction is to quit and go home. Where she finds her ex-husband, Max (and a cat she's no intention of keeping) who have arrived for the marriage of their only daughter, Debbie.

As the book continues we learn of family conflicts and secrets are revealed that could put Debbie, Max and Gail on a completely different road.

Anne Tyler manages to turn the mundane into something special. Gail is a woman who clearly struggles with relationships and her abrupt manner often set my teeth on edge but Ms Tyler makes you think twice about this woman and her struggles that many of us deal with - disappointment, infidelity, unrealised potential and forgiveness to name but a few.

This is only a short book but it says an awful lot about the human condition.

Highly recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy. Most appreciated.

An interesting twist on a wedding and the characters invited to it. You can't help but feel sorry for a woman overlooked again towards the end of her career but at least it prompted some changes. An interesting look at family dynamics

Gail’s comfortable life is shaken when the head of the school, where she works as deputy head, announces her retirement later in the year. Gail’s expectations of becoming the new head are quickly dashed along the realisation that her own role was at risk with the incoming head bring their own deputy.

Gail’s emotional journey and reflections over the three days that follow are delightfully told. Her daughter, is getting married the next day and she has to contend with her ex husband, Max, arriving unexpectedly on her doorstep with a cat, and her daughter having a crisis about the wedding. In reflecting about her current situation she reminisces about her past relationships and the decisions that she took.

The central characters are well developed and engaging with a range of social settings as the backdrop. The story unfolds at a good pace and it is a really easy and satisfying read.

Anne Tyler’s Three Days in June is a charming and heartwarming exploration of family, relationships, and personal growth told over the course of a chaotic wedding weekend. As a fan of stories about family dynamics, I found this to be a humorous yet believable tale, with plenty of emotional depth to keep me hooked.

The story centres on Gail Baines, the socially awkward mother of the bride, who finds herself navigating a whirlwind of stress and surprises. The day before her daughter Debbie’s wedding, Gail’s anticipated promotion at work falls through, and she abruptly quits her job. Things only escalate when her ex-husband, Max, unexpectedly shows up with a foster cat in tow and no plans beyond staying at Gail’s house. To top it all off, Gail is excluded from the bridal party’s spa day, and her professional hairstyling doesn’t go as hoped. Just when it seems like things couldn’t get worse, Debbie arrives on Gail’s doorstep with shocking news that threatens to derail the entire wedding.

Tyler masterfully balances humour with poignancy, capturing the chaos of family life with her trademark sensitivity. I couldn’t help but empathise with Gail, feeling her stress as she faced one challenge after another. Watching her transform over three days—gaining strength and a new perspective on her relationships—was deeply satisfying. The shifting dynamic between Gail and Max added warmth and complexity to the story, softening both characters in a way that felt authentic and rewarding.

Final Thoughts:

This book is a delightful reminder of the joys and struggles that come with family and love. It was a pleasure to watch Gail’s journey, and I look forward to reading more from Anne Tyler. Three Days in June is a relaxing, witty read that I would highly recommend to fans of heartfelt family dramas.

This was my first story by Anne Tyler and I don't suspect it will be my last.

'Three Days in June' follows Gail during the weekend of her only daughter's wedding, accompanied by her ex-husband Max and a cat.
This novella covers everything it needs to despite it being only 176 pages. We see love, loss, fear, and reconnection over the course of the three days, and it all felt authentic. A bittersweet realisation of what life can be like as we grow up with our loved ones, watching on as they slowly withdraw and find themselves with a new life separate from what was once intertwined.

Thank you netgalley and vintagebooks for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is an entirely character lead story very little happens but you are lead into the minds of the characters as they prepare for their daughters wedding
I’ve enjoyed several of Anne Taylor’s previous novels and was therefore expecting a style of writing. I have to be in the right mood to enjoy it and luckily on this occasion I was.
Tyler has the skill to describe individual people’s characteristics so perfectly that you feel you know them well by the end of the novel the way that their characters behave given a set of situations is what makes these novels interesting.
The author has a clear straightforward way of writing making the reading her novels an enjoyable experience
I recommend this novel for those who enjoy a primarily character driven novel if you like the novels of Elizabeth Strout such as my name is Lucy Barton or oh William, then you will enjoy the novel
I read an only copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book is pro in the UK on the 13th of February 2025 by random house UK, vintage.

This review will appear on StoryGraph, Goodreads, and my book blog bionic Sarah S books.wordpress.com after publication it will also appear on Amazon UK.

I went into this having only read the blurb and thinking it sounded nice but with no other expectations. It sounded like the sort of soft slice of life literary fiction that I really like, and that's exactly what it is.

This is a cozy, gentle hug of a book. There's drama and tension, but it's drama distilled through and softened by the years-long relationships of people who know each other well and have rubbed off each other's sharp edges. It's perfect for sitting down with a cup of tea and a couple of hours to spare and reading in one sitting.

My favourite thing here is that Gail is very clearly autistic, but this is never something that's explicit in the book and it isn't at all the focus of the novel. After feeling really alienated by All The Little Bird Hearts last year it was refreshing to see myself represented in a way that doesn't feel like fetishisation or like it's trying to tick a representation box. Gail just is who she is.

This is a lovely little slice of life, a time capsule of a long weekend that ends perfectly. I was enjoying it all the way through, but the final paragraph especially is perfect and brought a happy little tear to my eye.

This is just nice. Well worth the read.

This story was amazing, I connected with it so well, a story written about growing up, marriage, children, divorce and reconnecting, the well written characters flowed from the page and i enjoyed it very much

The day before her daughter’s wedding, Gail quits her job then is forced to put up her ex-husband for the wedding weekend. Told over three days, Tyler unravels a story of a whole life: a marriage, parenthood, loves lost and found. No one creates characters as subtly as her - people you instantly recognise and yet continue to be surprised by. A perfect story.

I love it. Anne Tyler rocks. For the full review go to https://www.tumblr.com/joebloggshere/772062793245638656/three-days-in-june-by-anne-tyler-i-love-it-i-love

A divorced couple are forced to spend the weekend together when their daughter gets married. Memories are brought to life as situations remind the couple of times together, They split because the wife had a brief affair with a fellow teacher when their daughter was still at school . Both parents were teachers, not in the same school. The story literally takes place over 3 days and the ups and downs of family past events mix with the present day confusing the couples time together. Wondering if they should have split in the first place. Their daughter has a hiccup just before the wedding day, when the grooms sister spreads gossip about the possibility of the groom being unfaithful. This is talked through by the couple and they go ahead with the wedding, much to the worry and concern of the mother, All works out in the end, with even the divorced couple probably getting closer again.

Three Days in June was a charming and delightful read. I really like the writing style and despite the absence of dramatic moments and unexpected plot twists, the story held my attention and was never dull. However, I found the ending disappointing as it was too predictable and shifted the tone towards almost chick lit style, detracting from the realism that characterised the rest of the book.

Three Days in June, much as it's title suggests takes place over three days in June and follows Gail a sixty-one year old Assistant Headteacher during the weekend of her daughters wedding.

I couldn't tear my eyes from the page, watching Gail's life unfold and uncovering her secrets Day one, Friday follows the day before Debbies' wedding, Day two, the wedding and Day three, Sunday is the day after the wedding. Day one starts with Gail basically being kicked out of her job, and right after Gail's ex-husband turns up at her door with a cat, expecting to stay with her despite planning to stay with her daughter and her daughter getting cold feet. All in all not the weekend Gail expected. Gail is socially awkward and lacks people skills, her ex-husband Max is more of a go with the flow type of person, and we see this as Tyler examines their failed marriage.

I loved Tyler's writing, though I didn't have much love for Gail, nor any of the characters really, though I liked that. Tyler in my opinion captured family dynamics perfectly, the flaws, quirks and love that flows through this dysfunctional family unit.

Thank you to Random House UK, Vintage, Chatto & Windus and Anne Tyler for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve read a few Anne Tyler books but I have to say Three Days in June isn’t one of favourites. This is possibly because I didn’t like Gail and found her irritating and selfish. In fact there was very little I admired about her but I did finish the book because I liked her ex husband, her mother and her daughter.

Anne Tyler’s Three Days in June is a masterful exploration of family dynamics, brimming with her signature wit and keen psychological insight. The novel centers on Gail Baines, a socially awkward mother navigating the complexities surrounding her daughter Debbie’s wedding. Tyler’s portrayal of Gail is both touchingly vulnerable and refreshingly candid, making her a relatable protagonist.

The narrative unfolds over three pivotal days, skillfully capturing the nuances of familial relationships and the unexpected challenges that arise. Tyler’s ability to turn ordinary events into profound storytelling moments is evident throughout the book.
In Three Days in June, Tyler once again demonstrates her unparalleled ability to delve into the intricacies of human relationships, making this novel a delightful and thought-provoking read.