The Burgess Boys A Novel

Strout s prose propels the story forward with moments of startlingly poetic clarity. The New Yorker

Elizabeth Strout s first two books, Abide with Me and Amy and Isabelle, were highly thought of, and her third, Olive Kitteridge, won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. But The Burgess Boys, her most recent novel, is her best yet. The Boston Globe

Strout s greatest gift as a writer, outside a diamond-sharp precision that packs 320 fast-paced pages full of insight, is her ability to let the reader in on all the rancor of her characters without making any of them truly detestable. . . . Strout creates a portrait of an American community in turmoil that s as ambitious as Philip Roth s American Pastoral but more intimate in tone. Time

[Strout s] extraordinary narrative gifts are evident again. . . . At times [The Burgess Boys is] almost effortlessly fluid, with superbly rendered dialogue, sudden and unexpected bolts of humor and . . . startling riffs of gripping emotion. Associated Press
 
[Strout] is at her masterful best when conjuring the two Burgess boys. . . . Scenes between them ring so true. San Francisco Chronicle
 
No one should be surprised by the poignancy and emotional vigor of Elizabeth Strout s new novel. But the broad social and political range of The Burgess Boys shows just how impressively this extraordinary writer continues to develop. The Washington Post
 
Strout deftly exposes the tensions that fester among families. But she also takes a broader view, probing cultural divides. . . . Illustrating the power of roots, Strout assures us we can go home again though we may not want to. O: The Oprah Magazine

Reading an Elizabeth Strout novel is like peering into your neighbor s windows. . . . There is a nuanced tension in the novel, evoked by beautiful and detailed writing. Strout s manifestations of envy, pride, guilt, selflessness, bigotry and love are subtle and spot-on. Minneapolis Star Tribune

Strout conveys what it feels like to be an outsider very well, whether she s delving into the quiet inner lives of Somalis in Shirley Falls or showing how the Burgess kids got so alienated from one another. But the details are so keenly observed, you can connect with the characters despite their apparent isolation. . . . [A] gracefully written novel. [Grade:] A. Entertainment Weekly

Wincingly funny, moving, wise. Good Housekeeping

With her signature lack of sentimentality, a boatload of clear-eyed compassion and a penetrating prose style that makes the novel riveting, Strout tells the story of one Maine family, transformed. Again and again, she identifies precisely the most complex of filial emotions while illuminating our relationships to the larger families we all belong to: a region, a city, America and the world. More

The Burgess Boys returns to coastal Maine [with] a grand unifying plot, all twists and damage and dark, morally complex revelations. . . . The grand scale suits Strout, who now adds impresario storytelling at book length to the Down East gift for plainspoken wisdom. Town & Country