
Three Days in June is a short, optimistic affirmation of live, love and family. The novel is quintessential Ann Tyler, with seemingly straight forward characters and situations reflecting the complexities of life.
The novel starts, on a day in June, with Gail, the assistant head mistress at a prestigious girl’s school in Baltimore, dreading her daughter’s rehearsal dinner later that night. The headmistress calls Gail into her office, tells her she is retiring and that the school is bringing a new headmistress and assistant from Nashville. Gail expresses surprise that she has not been considered and is told “’Face it: this job is a matter of people skills…And surely you’ll be the first to admit that social interactions have never been your strong point.’”
Gail heads home and broods over the fact that her daughter, Debbie, is having a day of beauty with her soon to be mother in law and that Gail was not invited. Gail’s ex-husband Max shows up at her door with a cat and explains that he needs to stay with Gail because Debbie’s fiancée, Kenneth is allergic to cats. Gail is less than thrilled. Max teaches at risk students and she met Gail after college when he moved into the house she was living in with other young teachers.
Debbie shows up at their house and says she cannot marry her fiancé, Kenneth, because she found out he cheated. Gail supports that decision but Max thinks the issue is more complicated. Kenneth denies that he cheated on Debbie and Debbie decides to go forward. “I’d been scared of the wrong thing, it turned out. Not that Debbie would marry Kenneth even after he’d betrayed her, but that she would take his word for it when he claimed he hadn’t.”
The rehearsal dinner is pleasant although Gail struggles with Kenneth’s mother, Sophie, who is glamorous and outgoing. After the dinner Gail is exhausted. “I don’t think I’d ever come home from a social event without feeling drained and exhausted.”
Day 2 is the wedding. Debbie shows up during the day and insists on taking Max to buy a suite so that he does not wear the same jacket and pants he wore to the rehearsal dinner. During the day Gail does a lot of reminiscing. She thinks about Gail as a child, Max’s parents and her marriage to Max and why it did not last. “I wondered how it was that anyone on earth found the courage to marry.” In the space of all those thoughts are some surprises.
Max and Gail take Gail’s mother to the wedding. Gail’s mother is a character with lots of opinions. During the wedding they learn there is tension between Max and his sister and that the sister is refusing to give a toast. Despite the tensions, the wedding is a success and they make it through the evening.
On day 3, Max stays with Gail and they go to lunch. He suggests that she move to where he lives and teach at his school. They seem to be getting along and the books ends with her considering her options. The novel is lovely, funny and uplifting. You can reserve it at the Cuyahoga County Public Library by clicking on: https://discover.cuyahogalibrary.org/Record/332926