Redhead by the Side of the Road

Anne Tyler

47 pages 1-hour read

Anne Tyler

Redhead by the Side of the Road

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

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Character List

Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.

Major Characters

Micah is a self-employed IT technician in his early forties who also works as a maintenance man for his basement apartment complex. He thrives on strict daily routines, ranging from scheduled house chores to immaculate driving habits watched over by an imaginary Traffic God. He prefers to keep people at arm's length. He avoids messy emotional entanglements and prefers the predictable nature of his isolated life.

Key Relationships

Romantic Partner of Cass Slade

Unexpected Host to Brink

Ex-Boyfriend of Lorna

Younger Brother of Ada

Younger Brother of Liz

Younger Brother of Norma

Younger Brother of Suze

Building Manager for Yolanda Palma

Former Business Partner of Deuce Baldwin

Building Manager for Luella Carter

Cass is a fourth-grade teacher in her late thirties who has been dating Micah for three years. She is a practical, nurturing woman who keeps a cozy, slightly cluttered apartment filled with houseplants and matching linens. Her desire for connection and willingness to care for others differs greatly from Micah's solitary tendencies.

Key Relationships

Romantic Partner of Micah Mortimer

Acquaintance of Brink

Brink is an 18-year-old college freshman from a privileged background who mysteriously leaves school. Well-dressed but evasive about his true motivations, he tracks Micah down under the belief that the IT technician might be his biological father. He feels alienated by his own family's high expectations and seeks out a life entirely different from his own.

Key Relationships

Unexpected Guest of Micah Mortimer

Son of Lorna

Stepson of Roger

Acquaintance of Cass Slade

Lorna is Micah's former girlfriend from college who now works as a lawyer in Washington D.C. During their youth, she belonged to a fundamentalist church and strictly adhered to its principles. She has since changed significantly into a successful professional. She remains a fiercely protective and anxious mother who worries deeply about her eldest son's disappearance.

Key Relationships

Ex-Girlfriend of Micah Mortimer

Mother of Brink

Wife of Roger

Supporting Characters

Roger is a lawyer, Lorna's husband, and Brink's stepfather. He maintains a stern, practical approach to parenting that often clashes with Lorna's anxious fawning. He holds high standards for his family, resulting in a tense dynamic with his stepson.

Key Relationships

Husband of Lorna

Stepfather of Brink

Acquaintance of Micah Mortimer

Ada is the oldest of Micah's four sisters. She presides over a chaotic, cluttered household that regularly hosts large, boisterous family gatherings. She acts as a central figure for the extended family, frequently checking in on Micah and attempting to integrate his solitary life into their loud dynamic.

Key Relationships

Older Sister of Micah Mortimer

Mother of Joey

Future Mother-in-Law of Lily

Friend of Cass Slade

Joey is Ada's youngest son and Micah's nephew. Unemployed and in his twenties, he still lives at home but recently surprised his relatives by announcing his engagement. He relies heavily on his mother's support as he prepares to transition into married life.

Key Relationships

Son of Ada

Fiancé of Lily

Nephew of Micah Mortimer

Lily is Joey's fiancée, a grocery store employee who quickly integrates into his chaotic family dynamic. She frequently dreams about having babies, which the family interprets as her readiness to move into the next stage of adulthood.

Key Relationships

Fiancée of Joey

Future Daughter-in-Law of Ada

Sister of Raymond

Liz is one of Micah's older sisters, a twin to Norma, who works as a waitress. She shares the family's broad tolerance for household chaos but suffers from extreme anxiety regarding physical danger, reacting dramatically whenever her teenage son mentions his reckless behavior.

Key Relationships

Older Sister of Micah Mortimer

Wife of Kegger

Mother of Carl

Norma is one of Micah's older sisters, twin to Liz, who also makes a living as a waitress. She contributes to the collective family voice that playfully criticizes Micah's finicky habits while expressing deep affection for his girlfriend.

Key Relationships

Older Sister of Micah Mortimer

Mother of Amy

Suze is the youngest of Micah's four older sisters and the closest to him in age. She actively participates in the family's teasing of Micah's cleanliness but also offers direct, proactive support when she learns of his personal troubles.

Key Relationships

Older Sister of Micah Mortimer

Wife of Dave

Yolanda is a woman in her fifties who lives in Micah's apartment complex. She frequently updates Micah on her active online dating life, maintaining a resilient and optimistic outlook on romance despite facing continuous setbacks.

Key Relationships

Tenant of Micah Mortimer

Client of Henry Bell

Luella is a resident in Micah's building who suffers from an incurable illness that severely limits her mobility. Despite her physical decline, she speaks brazenly about her anger regarding her loss of independence and her frustrations with her husband's sleeping habits.

Key Relationships

Tenant of Micah Mortimer

Wife of Donnie

Donnie is Luella's husband. He attempts to quietly manage his wife's declining health crises while enduring her irritable frustrations regarding his daily habits.

Key Relationships

Husband of Luella Carter

Neighbor of Micah Mortimer

Deuce is Micah's former college colleague. He and Micah started a software company together shortly after leaving school, but Deuce's privileged background and entitled attitude eventually caused Micah to abandon the partnership.

Key Relationships

Former Business Partner of Micah Mortimer

Zara is a dancer and one of Micah's former girlfriends. Their relationship ended poorly when Micah inadvertently discovered her infidelity through a phone call, leading him to view the exhausting relationship as a cautionary tale.

Key Relationships

Ex-Girlfriend of Micah Mortimer

Adele is Micah's former girlfriend who ultimately left him to dedicate her life to conservation work. Because Micah held back emotionally during their time together, he felt relieved rather than heartbroken when she departed.

Key Relationships

Ex-Girlfriend of Micah Mortimer

Rosalie is a friendly young woman who has recently inherited her grandmother's house and belongings. She persistently hires Micah to help her access locked files and attempts to establish a friendly, ongoing connection with him.

Key Relationships

Client of Micah Mortimer

Kegger is Liz's husband. He casually attempts to bond with Micah by asking for tech advice, initially using nicknames before respectfully adjusting to Micah's preferred name.

Key Relationships

Husband of Liz

Brother-in-Law of Micah Mortimer

Carl is Liz's teenage son. He frequently engages in reckless behavior with his friends, resulting in injuries that deeply stress his anxious mother.

Key Relationships

Son of Liz

Nephew of Micah Mortimer

Mrs. Prescott is one of Micah's regular, older tech-support clients. She frequently struggles with basic technology and insists on paying Micah even for minor, simple fixes.

Key Relationships

Client of Micah Mortimer

Henry is a local carpenter who specializes in preventing rodent entry. Hired to do maintenance on Yolanda's apartment, he politely ignores her flirtatious advances while focusing entirely on his work.

Key Relationships

Carpenter for Yolanda Palma

Contractor for Micah Mortimer

Amy is Norma's daughter and Micah's niece. Like the rest of the extended family, she holds great affection for Cass, having hoped the teacher would help with her college applications.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Norma

Admirer of Cass Slade

Dave is Suze's husband. He integrates seamlessly into the loud family dynamic and participates in the good-natured teasing regarding his brother-in-law's obsessive cleaning habits.

Key Relationships

Husband of Suze

Brother-in-Law of Micah Mortimer

Raymond is Lily's older brother. He serves as a point of contrast during a family conversation, as he is close to Micah in age but lives a messy lifestyle, relying entirely on his mother to do his laundry.

Key Relationships

Older Brother of Lily