Why we’re excited
A widower who has stopped picking up the phone gets a visitor he cannot ignore: Cecily, the much younger sister he hardly knows, newly single and in need of a bed. She is messy, talkative and lives on freezer meals, and the quiet he has been guarding does not survive her arrival.
Anne Tyler won the Pulitzer Prize for Breathing Lessons, and The Accidental Tourist became an Oscar-winning film. Few novelists are as good on the daily friction of families, and a mismatched brother and sister under one roof is her home ground. Readers who loved Three Days in June should start here next.
On our most-anticipated list since 1 November 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about The Return Trip Is Shorter
Anne Tyler is a familiar name here: 2 of Anne Tyler’s books have full reviews, averaging 3.8 out of 5. Our highest-rated so far is Three Days in June (4★); the most recent is Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant.
From the publisher
From the adored, bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning an unforgettable brother and sister learn to help each other navigate life's surprises, big and small.
Ben Sullivan wants to be left in peace. After his beloved wife's death, he is living alone for the first time in over thirty years. His two bossy older sisters have been trying to coax him past his grief but, weary of the intrusions, he simply stopped answering their calls.
Then, one morning, who should he find on his doorstep but his youngest sister, Cecily. The baby of the family, born when Ben was already away at college, they barely even know each other. But Cecily has broken up with her latest boyfriend and needs a place to stay. Chatty, forgetful, clumsy, and altogether too attached to frozen dinners, she proves hard to get rid of--not for Ben's lack of trying.
As Cecily makes herself at home, Ben is thrust back into a kind of family life he thought had passed him by. And when Cecily’s future takes an unexpected turn, he must step up in ways he didn't realize he was capable of.
The Return Trip Is Shorter is a joy to read—funny and sincere, compassionate and buoyant, delightfully Anne Tyler.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read The Return Trip Is Shorter yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
