The protagonist in Redhead by the Side of the Road, by Pulitzer Prize-winner Anne Tyler, is Micah, a forty-something never-married compulsive geek, a computer guy who makes a living d/b/a Tech Hermit doing house calls to fix minor computer issues of home users. His sole proprietor business frees him to live life without much entanglement with other people. But we see Micah is entangled with emotional lives of his first girlfriend, his current girlfriend, and his family, all of which silhouette his arrested development, notwithstanding the safe routine he has created. Micah craves real emotional connection to such an extent that on his daily morning runs he repeatedly mistakes a fire hydrant for a redheaded child (hence the title).

Micah’s flawed, but basically good at heart. I was skeptical whether the author could tie the rambling plot into a satisfying resolution with the possibility of happiness for a flawed but sympathetic protagonist. I was pleasantly surprised when she did. Here’s what Kirkus Reviews says:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anne-tyler/redhead-by-the-side-of-the-road/