Preview
  • Redhead by the Side of the Road

  • A Novel
  • By: Anne Tyler
  • Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
  • Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (1,016 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Redhead by the Side of the Road

By: Anne Tyler
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Instant New York Times Best Seller

Long Listed for The Booker Prize

“Tyler's novels are always worth scooping up - but especially this gently amusing soother, right now.” (NPR)

From the beloved and best-selling Anne Tyler, a sparkling new novel about misperception, second chances, and the sometimes elusive power of human connection.

Micah Mortimer is a creature of habit. A self-employed tech expert, superintendent of his Baltimore apartment building, cautious to a fault behind the steering wheel, he seems content leading a steady, circumscribed life. But one day, his routines are blown apart when his woman friend (he refuses to call anyone in her late 30s a "girlfriend") tells him she's facing eviction, and a teenager shows up at Micah's door claiming to be his son. These surprises, and the ways they throw Micah's meticulously organized life off-kilter, risk changing him forever.

An intimate look into the heart and mind of a man who finds those around him just out of reach, and a funny, joyful, deeply compassionate story about seeing the world through new eyes, Redhead by the Side of the Road is a triumph, filled with Anne Tyler's signature wit and gimlet-eyed observation.

©2020 Anne Tyler (P)2020 Random House Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Tyler’s warmly comedic, quickly read tale, a perfect stress antidote, will delight her fans and provides an excellent ‘first’ for readers new to this master of subtle and sublime brilliance.... If Tyler’s large-cast, many-faceted novels are symphonies, this portrait of a man imprisoned by his routines is a concerto.... Radiantly polished and emotionally intricate...Tyler’s perfectly modulated, instantly enmeshing, heartrending, funny, and redemptive tale sweetly dramatizes the absurdities of flawed perception and the risks of rigidity." (Donna Seaman, Booklist)

"Characteristically tender... Suffused with feeling and very moving." (Kirkus Reviews starred review)

What listeners say about Redhead by the Side of the Road

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    412
  • 4 Stars
    297
  • 3 Stars
    194
  • 2 Stars
    70
  • 1 Stars
    43
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    498
  • 4 Stars
    212
  • 3 Stars
    80
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    12
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    322
  • 4 Stars
    206
  • 3 Stars
    186
  • 2 Stars
    65
  • 1 Stars
    48

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfection!

There is a saying, "Life is in the details" and no one illustrates that better than Anne Tyler. Admittedly, I am a huge fan of this author but this novel is especially quiet and profound. There is much life story and emotion in this short, non-action packed book. I learned new things about myself and others. Bravo!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A surprise Experience

This was perfect for quarantine listening. eExcellent narration makes this book a reslly good listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderfully written

A beautifully written short novel with life-like characters. An unlikely protagonist, the author captures his character and OCD to perfection.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Funny and sad

i really enjoyed this book. it was funny and sad at the same time. i like the author and will read more of her books. the reader was very good and i will look other books he had read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

everyday life

the reader did a very nice job. there was no really exciting part to this story. it simply felt like it was going into a friend's mind and walking through everyday life with him. that is, going through all the ups and downs with him. it was easy to identify with the characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

nothing to rave about

kind of a "vanilla" storyline with few memorable moments and/or characters. definitely not a "page turner."

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Loved the story line

This is such an easy to listen to book and I really enjoyed it, if you enjoy Anne Tyler you will like this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonerful Book Ended too Soon!

I love Ann Tyler! This was another great book with quirky characters and a seemingly simple plot.
As Usual The author delves deep into peoples human failings and their misinterpreted feelings
and how they affect their lives. This one has a happy ending.
The narrator was perfect. My only complaint? It ended too soon.
Cant wait for her next novel!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Avid Anne Tyler Fan

Drawn in. Characters and settings are the strongest elements.
Ending is left hanging in my opinion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Anne Tyler is back to her old form

The story is not overly ambitious, and doesn’t sparkle with the brilliance of “The Accidental Tourist” but It feels much more like vintage Tyler than the recent stuff I’ve read. The story is fully satisfying with all of the familiar and artful Anne Tyler touches. Well performed too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful