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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
Truly an enjoyable book. Strout gets to the heart of people’s feelings and expresses them simply and beautifully.
slow-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There is a murder in this survey of the 50-90-year-old segment of Crosby, Maine, centered on Bob Burgess, his marriage to Margaret, and his friendship/crush with Lucy Barton, but that's not the central thrust. Some of the most delightful episodes are the stories Lucy swaps with Olive Kitteridge, melancholy examples of how messy lives are, giving us—and them—relief that our lives aren't that bad just this moment. Still, I'd think Lucy and Olive might have something more substantial to conclude from these sessions than they do.
CW: I am going to rant.
Disclaimer: This is my first Elizabeth Strout. I read it because it was on the Women's prize shortlist. I am, therefore, not familiar with the characters, and perhaps I'd have more sympathy for them if I'd followed their journeys prior to this addition to the series.
The characters in Tell Me Everything were universally tedious, and in the case of Bob Burgess, often made me genuinely angry.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a book with flawed central characters, but they have to at least be compelling to read about.
Of all the characters, I felt most for Margaret. Imagine being Margaret. Her husband is emotionally unfaithful to her, internally disparaging her and her work, accusing her of being a narcissist in his head because she doesn't always ask about his day while taking zero interest in her as a person. At one point he accuses her of gaslighting him for thinking he was overreacting, but then gets mad when she flinches when he raises a hand near her. When she finally breaks down over her career being threatened and shows him some vulnerability, he's there thinking about how unattractive it is and feeling awkward. He had more sympathy for Matt, a relative stranger.
At the end, Bob decides to stick with Margaret when he starts to realise that Lucy actually has faults (that he has been keeping a checklist of) and is an actual human being.
Lucy is annoying too; and the constant fawning over her by everyone set my teeth on edge. I wanted her and Bob to get together so that Margaret and William could find partners who actually respect them and aren't using them like an old pair of shoes.
Maybe Margaret has been super-irritating in previous books and deserves her role as second fiddle? Has she nefariously tricked poor Bob into marrying her and then spent their 15 years together making his life miserable? Oh, Bob!
Stylistically, I hated the ceaseless weather descriptions, the over-explanation, the twee vibes, the gossipy and voyeuristic approach to serious issues.
The interesting bits were told in parenthesis, almost. At one point, Bob has to leave the airport in a hurry - abandoning plans to potentially bone Lucy - to save the day! Next thing we know, it's a week later and we are hearing about it in exposition.
It's like the narrator is allergic to immediacy.
I can see why people love the storytelling, because the patchwork quilt of collected narratives does have some charm to it. It's an unusual way of writing a book that is probably a balm to readers who want a gentle, reflective look at everyday life.
Elizabeth Strout manages to both romanticise life, while at the same time portraying it with a whimsical ugliness.
Personally, I found that it was trying to do so many things at once that it reduced the emotional impact across the board. I'm late to the party, so perhaps all of these threads are being tied together from previous books in the series.
The one thing I will say is that I didn't find the omnipotent authorial voice as annoying as I thought I would. Although there were points where it grated, overall it did create a world in a bubble that I imagine would be irresistible to a reader who didn't have such an averse reaction to some of the key characters as I did.
An emotional infidelity plotline that neither gets consumated nor confessed to was never going to be satisfying to someone as staunchly romantic as myself. A neurotypical-seeming character "rescuing" a neurodivergent-seeming character smacks of the saviour trope to me, so I found that galling too. Even the framing of it feeling more important to determine which of the Burgess boys was "responsible" for killing their father, than to realise that they were 4 and 8 and it was a terrible accident felt like a strange emphasis. I can understand them feeling that way about it, but the narrator seems to buy into this way of looking at it.
I have the book Olive Kitteridge on my shelf. I will give it a read, perhaps, because I actually found her relatively less irritating than the others. She's cantankerous and judgemental, but at least she is honest about who she is.
If I don't get on with that, I won't be trying again.
Disclaimer: This is my first Elizabeth Strout. I read it because it was on the Women's prize shortlist. I am, therefore, not familiar with the characters, and perhaps I'd have more sympathy for them if I'd followed their journeys prior to this addition to the series.
The characters in Tell Me Everything were universally tedious, and in the case of Bob Burgess, often made me genuinely angry.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a book with flawed central characters, but they have to at least be compelling to read about.
Of all the characters, I felt most for Margaret. Imagine being Margaret. Her husband is emotionally unfaithful to her, internally disparaging her and her work, accusing her of being a narcissist in his head because she doesn't always ask about his day while taking zero interest in her as a person. At one point he accuses her of gaslighting him for thinking he was overreacting, but then gets mad when she flinches when he raises a hand near her. When she finally breaks down over her career being threatened and shows him some vulnerability, he's there thinking about how unattractive it is and feeling awkward. He had more sympathy for Matt, a relative stranger.
At the end, Bob decides to stick with Margaret when he starts to realise that Lucy actually has faults (that he has been keeping a checklist of) and is an actual human being.
Lucy is annoying too; and the constant fawning over her by everyone set my teeth on edge. I wanted her and Bob to get together so that Margaret and William could find partners who actually respect them and aren't using them like an old pair of shoes.
Maybe Margaret has been super-irritating in previous books and deserves her role as second fiddle? Has she nefariously tricked poor Bob into marrying her and then spent their 15 years together making his life miserable? Oh, Bob!
Stylistically, I hated the ceaseless weather descriptions, the over-explanation, the twee vibes, the gossipy and voyeuristic approach to serious issues.
The interesting bits were told in parenthesis, almost. At one point, Bob has to leave the airport in a hurry - abandoning plans to potentially bone Lucy - to save the day! Next thing we know, it's a week later and we are hearing about it in exposition.
It's like the narrator is allergic to immediacy.
I can see why people love the storytelling, because the patchwork quilt of collected narratives does have some charm to it. It's an unusual way of writing a book that is probably a balm to readers who want a gentle, reflective look at everyday life.
Elizabeth Strout manages to both romanticise life, while at the same time portraying it with a whimsical ugliness.
Personally, I found that it was trying to do so many things at once that it reduced the emotional impact across the board. I'm late to the party, so perhaps all of these threads are being tied together from previous books in the series.
The one thing I will say is that I didn't find the omnipotent authorial voice as annoying as I thought I would. Although there were points where it grated, overall it did create a world in a bubble that I imagine would be irresistible to a reader who didn't have such an averse reaction to some of the key characters as I did.
An emotional infidelity plotline that neither gets consumated nor confessed to was never going to be satisfying to someone as staunchly romantic as myself. A neurotypical-seeming character "rescuing" a neurodivergent-seeming character smacks of the saviour trope to me, so I found that galling too. Even the framing of it feeling more important to determine which of the Burgess boys was "responsible" for killing their father, than to realise that they were 4 and 8 and it was a terrible accident felt like a strange emphasis. I can understand them feeling that way about it, but the narrator seems to buy into this way of looking at it.
I have the book Olive Kitteridge on my shelf. I will give it a read, perhaps, because I actually found her relatively less irritating than the others. She's cantankerous and judgemental, but at least she is honest about who she is.
If I don't get on with that, I won't be trying again.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
📖 Book Group Read 📖
When I finished this book last week, I thought it was a good read- probably a three star for me; however, I’ve found myself thinking about it every day. Thinking about the untold stories swirling around us.
Let me explain. This is the fifth book in Elizabeth Strout’s Amgash series. I hadn’t read any of the previous ones although I had read and loved Olive Kitteridge. Tell Me Everything picks up with Lucy Barton living in Crosby, Maine (home of Olive Kitteridge and Bob Burgess) with her ex-husband, William. Theirs is a complicated story. Aren’t they all?
Lucy and Bob are best of friends and take long walks where they talk about everything under the sun. Bob is an almost-retired lawyer and resident good guy who runs errands for townspeople, is married to a local Unitarian minister, and is maybe in love with Lucy. Through Bob, Lucy ends up connecting with Olive where they exchange stories- their own and others. And Lucy has feelings about all the stories that exist that will never be told. This is the part I keep thinking of.
And during all of this storytelling, a woman goes missing, her body found months later, and Bob represents the woman’s son who is the prime suspect.
There is a plain spoken narrative here that compelled me to finish this physical book in two days, practically unheard of for me these days. I think I have to go back and read the others in this series.
Highly recommended for lovers of small town secrets, unspoken love, family dynamics, and stories you’ll think about long after you’ve read the last page.
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the YEARNING had me gnawing at the bars of my enclosure
Another year passes in Maine as Lucy Barton and her circle of friends endure a mysterious disappearance, infidelity, political divides, and the examination of lives lived. Another absolute banger from Strout! Her prose is simple but so impactful, and she cuts deep to the heart of these characters, their fears, and their motivations. Tell Me Everything examines life and love and happiness and despair - the lengths we go to in order to make others comfortable, the tragedy of an unrecorded life, unrequited love, addiction and recovery, and a million other everyday experiences beautifully elevated and explored. This is technically the 5th book in the Amgash series, but stands on its own as a novel. This one had a bit more plot tying things together than some of her past books, so it would be a good place to start if you want to read her work.
Another year passes in Maine as Lucy Barton and her circle of friends endure a mysterious disappearance, infidelity, political divides, and the examination of lives lived. Another absolute banger from Strout! Her prose is simple but so impactful, and she cuts deep to the heart of these characters, their fears, and their motivations. Tell Me Everything examines life and love and happiness and despair - the lengths we go to in order to make others comfortable, the tragedy of an unrecorded life, unrequited love, addiction and recovery, and a million other everyday experiences beautifully elevated and explored. This is technically the 5th book in the Amgash series, but stands on its own as a novel. This one had a bit more plot tying things together than some of her past books, so it would be a good place to start if you want to read her work.
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual assault
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes