Haunted by his death, the brothers escaped to New York City as soon as they could. It’s also the town where their father was killed in a freak accident when they were kids. Like Amy and Isabelle, The Burgess Boys is set in Shirley Falls, a mill town that is home to brothers Jim and Bob Burgess. By signing up you agree to our terms of use The Burgess Boys (2013) Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Once the scandal breaks in their small town of Shirley Falls, Maine, Isabelle internalizes the harsh judgments from the community, which pushes her to finally confront the shame she’s been carrying around about her own past-a secret that’s irreversibly shaped the lives of both mother and daughter. When shy Amy falls for the advances of her math teacher, her relationship with Isabelle is severely fractured.

Their mother-daughter bond is fraught with tension from unexpressed resentments, but ultimately held together by a fierce love. The story centers 16-year-old Amy Goodrow and her mother, Isabelle. Strout’s debut novel is also the first of her novels that I ever picked up-and it was love at first paragraph. Start with the first three, then dive right into Olive, Again. All of them will leave you feeling deeply rewarded and also wanting more. If these are themes that speak to you-and if you get shivers from exceptionally well-crafted prose-then consider picking up these Elizabeth Strout titles. This is, indeed, what I came away with, not only after reading Olive Kitteridge, but after reading each of her other works as well-seven in all, each multilayered its own way.

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