As regular readers will know, I’m a keen Elizabeth Strout fan. I’ve been reading her fiction since Amy and Isabelle was first published in the UK, over twenty years ago now, and have enjoyed every one of her novels. Occasionally, there’s a tinge of disappointment but a slightly disappointing Strout is very much better than the books publishers often champion. Many of her characters recur throughout her loosely connected series, rather as they do in Kent Haruf’s Holt novels. In Tell Me Everything, it’s Bob Burgess who comes to the fore.
People did not care, except for maybe one minute. It was not their fault, most just could not really care past their own experiences.
Bob settled in his home town, Crosby, Maine, some time ago, leaving his New York law practice behind. He’s been married to Margaret for fifteen years, and they’ve drifted apart a little. When Lucy Barton and her ex-husband came to live in Crosby during the pandemic, she and Bob got to know each other, meeting for lockdown walks and becoming friends. Bob harbours more than a liking for Lucy and she does for him, as sharp-eyed Olive Kitteridge observes. Olive’s now living in a retirement community and welcomes the exchange of stories she enjoys with Lucy, even if she is a little mystified by Lucy’s offerings. When a woman is found dead in a ravine, her body uncovered by the spring thaw, her son is accused of her murder and Bob takes on the case. By the time the crime is solved, Bob has developed a strong bond with Matt, guiding him through the darkest of times with humanity and compassion. As the novel draws to a close, Lucy tells Olive a story that will reduce them both to tears.
They were happy, these two – walking and talking – they were just happy.
This is the latest of six Strout reviews on my blog, beginning with The Burgess Boys back in 2014, which explored the relationship between Bob and his hot-shot lawyer brother, Jim. As ever, Strout helpfully sketches in her characters’ backstories for those of us whose memories aren’t as sharp as they were or are new readers of her fiction. Bob’s character is beautifully drawn. He’s a good man: decent, honourable, and deeply empathetic – a ‘sin-eater’ as Lucy puts it – soaking up the confidences and problems of others. Although this is Bob’s story, Strout tells us many others. This is what we do – tell our stories to each other – but some go unrecorded and Lucy believes it’s her job to correct that, exchanging stories with Olive who, at ninety-one is a repository of so much Crosby knowledge. Strout’s characteristic insightful compassion runs through this gorgeous novel, packed with stories of ordinary, everyday people who sometimes lead extraordinary lives. but often don’t. Small tragedies, grief, sadness, friendship, happiness, but above all love, this is what life is about. Written with a quiet brilliance, Tell Me Everything is one of Strout’s best novels yet. She seems to be speeding up her output without compromising its quality, quite a feat. I can’t wait to see whose story she’ll tell next.
Viking London 9780241634356 256 pages Hardback (read via NetGalley)
