Three Days in June

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death. 

“Just because I refuse to sweet-talk all your rich-guy parents I’m doomed to stay on forever as assistant headmistress?”

Gail is flummoxed when her supervisor calls her tactless and spends much of the next day mulling over this accusation. She has never been told before that she lacks tact, and yet her conversation with Marilee is full of comments that Marilee sees as tactless. Gail is a complex character who is capable of self-reflection, but at times, she doesn’t quite understand how other people see her. The inner turmoil that she feels around the idea that she might be tactless exemplifies this duality.

“The sky overhead was gray and looming: Rain had been forecast for later, and the two workmen setting out traffic cones on the nearby sidewalk wore bright orange slickers.”

This description of the day’s stormy forecast is a moment of foreshadowing. The author uses the imagery of rain and storm clouds to hint at emotional “storms” to come. Since Gail has just had an argument with Marilee and walked off her job, Tyler hints that more conflict is to come.

“I could have taken over my parents’ house, since my mother moved to a high-rise immediately after my father’s death, but by that time my marriage was already on rocky ground and I knew what I needed was a place I could maintain without Max.”

The Complexities of Familial Relationships are a key part of this novel. Tyler characterizes Gail in part through her relationship with her ex-husband, Max. The novel follows Gail as she navigates a series of tricky situations surrounding her daughter’s marriage, but Gail’s experience navigating the ups and downs of a failing marriage and divorce looms large in the background.