Reviews for Tell Me Everything
by Elizabeth Strout
Publishers Weekly
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The latest from Pulitzer winner Strout (Olive Kitteridge) brings together characters from her previous novels for a masterly meditation on storytelling. After 86-year-old Mainer Gloria Beach is found dead in a quarry, semi-retired lawyer Bob Burgess agrees to represent Gloria’s son, Matthew, who is the prime suspect in her possible murder. Bob has grown close to author Lucy Barton, who moved to the area from New York City during the pandemic, and the duo spend hours walking together and chatting. After Bob takes Matthew’s case, Lucy calls him a “sin eater,” a term that came to her mind during a recent chat with Olive Kitteridge, who’s been inviting Lucy over to her retirement community to gossip about their neighbors. As Bob works with Matthew on preparing his defense in the event of a murder charge, he begins to wonder if he’s falling in love with Lucy. Though Olive doesn’t say anything, she’s been convinced all along that Lucy and Bob are developing feelings for each other. The narrative threads make for dishy small-town drama, but even more satisfying are the insights Strout weaves into the dialogue. Late in the novel, after Olive asks Lucy the point of writing stories, she responds, “People and the lives they lead. That’s the point.” Longtime fans and newcomers alike will relish this. Agent: Molly Friedrich, Friedrich Agency. (Sept.)
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
It's a rare and special thing to have someone with whom to share one’s deepest fears, profound joys, petty annoyances, and daily delights. Such is the relationship between Bob Burgess and Lucy Barton. As they meet to walk along the river (so Bob can sneak his daily cigarette), they recount life’s quotidian events with the same sense of wonder and reverence as revelations of long-held secrets. Lucy confesses she talks to houseplants; Bob admits to watering down the gin in a neighbor’s grocery delivery. But it’s not all minutiae. Murder and suicide, alcoholism and assault also winnow their way into their stories. While Lucy and Bob are the mainstays, Strout has reunited much of the old Crosby, Maine, crowd: Olive Kitteridge, Isabelle Goodrow, Bob’s ex, Pam, and his brother Jim make stellar cameo appearances to tell their own tales. Through them all, Strout reminds us that storytelling can be powerful; that most people’s lives go unrecorded; and that paying witness to everyday events is a gift. With tenderness, honesty, intimacy, and compassion, Strout uses her cunning powers of observation to draw readers beyond the mundane to the miraculous complexities where true friendship lies.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: An absolute must-have; Strout fans are avid!
