3.5
'What’s the point of living if you don’t try to do things better?'
—Anne Tyler, Redhead by the Side of the Road

Micah Mortimer is finicky according to his family as he's the only one who likes orderliness whilst the rest of them live in chaos. He has set days to clean kitchen cabinets, sort out recycling, and vacuuming. In his forties and never married, although he had several relationships, Micah's pattern is thrown off-kilter when a teenage boy, claiming to be his son, shows up unexpectedly at his door. His turning up disrupts the relationship with his 'lady friend' Cass, and he's forced to ponder upon his past relationships.

There's no mystery or twists and turns in this book. Tyler merely focuses on the details of Micah's everyday life. Undoubtedly, the writing is marvelous.
I am all for quirky characters; I see parts of myself in them, and I did so with Micah, too. But, somewhere, the purpose of the book seemed to be lost on me. Perhaps there was no purpose to begin with, just a solid, well-written story based on the minutiae of everyday life. Despite being character-driven (the kind of books I love), the flow was disjointed at certain places, which, maybe, led to a lack of connection b/w me and the story. Towards the end, certain situations Micah was thrown into felt sudden to me. Probably, this is where the flow was a tad patchy.
The ending, however, was hopeful. Micah, after some self-realisations, tried to make amends, and that left a smile on my face.