As a devoted reader of Elizabeth Strout, I’ve eagerly followed her literary journey through seven remarkable novels since her Pulitzer Prize-winning “Olive Kitteridge” captivated audiences back in 2009. That book was also recognized with an Emmy-winning adaptation starring Frances McDormand. Now her latest book, “Tell Me Everything,” marks her second selection for Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club (her first was with “Olive, Again” in 2019).
It’s not necessary to have read Strout’s previous work to appreciate her unique storytelling. While her stories do interconnect with familiar characters and settings from earlier novels, as well as reoccurring narrative threads over time, each book stands alone. Strout can craft stories and characters that will quickly pull you in.
“Tell Me Everything” takes place in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine, where lawyer Bob Burgess is drawn into a shocking murder investigation defending the local outcast, a lonely man accused of killing his mother. Bob is a kind man, labeled a “sin-eater” by Lucy Barton, the town’s famous author. His friendly walks with her evolve into something deeper for them both. Meanwhile, his friendship with the aging and unyielding Olive Kitteridge, living in a retirement home, is a quiet bond of another kind.
Strout’s prose is simple yet profoundly moving. “Tell Me Everything” is a meditation on the power of friendship, marriage, and aging with dignity. The work is honest, often tinged with sadness, but always hopeful. Her exploration of human connections highlights virtues of compassion, love, and generosity — reminding us that extraordinary relationships often emerge through ordinary conversations. And, it’s not just the stories we tell, but the telling, that brings us together.
An ousted F.B.I. agent becomes a spy-for-hire in Rachel Kushner’s latest novel, “Creation Lake,” short-listed this year for the Booker Prize and long-listed for the National Book Award.
Kushner, a two-time National Book Award finalist known for her tough female protagonists, refreshes the noir spy novel with the contemporary voice of freelance agent, alias Sadie Smith. A hardened woman who lies and manipulates for a living, Sadie is hired by anonymous “contacts” to infiltrate a radical environmental commune in the rural south of France in 2013. Her mission is to sabotage the collective’s plan to disrupt the government-sponsored corporate farming that is threatening to overtake the region’s ancient farms.
As Sadie hacks into the email account of the group’s inspirational mentor, Bruno Lacombe, she becomes intrigued by his anti-civilization philosophy. Lacombe, who lives in caves, advocates for mankind’s return to the ancient ways of living, and captivates Sadie with his highly cerebral musings. Fueled by liters of warm beer and casual seductions, she embeds herself deeper into the group and becomes engrossed in Lacombe’s messages.
Sadie narrates the story with dark cynical humor and an inflated sense of control over her circumstances. Her reality is the one she creates to suit her mission. But as Lacombe observes, “You can know things without knowing anything.” This raises the question: Will Sadie confront her existential crisis of who she is and what she believes in?
Few authors generate more literary buzz than Sally Rooney, the young Irish author who burst on the scene with “Conversations With Friends” (2017) and “Normal People” (2018), both translated into trendy streaming series. Hailed as “the voice of the millennial generation,” Rooney returns with her highly-anticipated fourth novel, “Intermezzo.”
The latest novel follows two estranged brothers, Peter and Ivan, grieving the death of their father. Peter, a 32-year-old successful lawyer, is caught between his feelings for two women: a long-time girlfriend and their complicated history, and a younger almost-homeless lover. Ivan, Peter’s younger brother by 10 years, is a shy, competitive chess player who falls for an older divorcee he meets at a tournament. As the brothers grapple with their unconventional romantic entanglements, they must confront the long-standing misunderstandings that drive them apart.
Rooney’s work explores the complexities of life, and she’s adept at describing the intricacies of intimate relationships and generational angst. Her previous novels capture the zeitgeist of young adults navigating love, identity, and societal expectations. With “Intermezzo,” Rooney expands her focus, shifting from the perspective of friends and young lovers to the dynamics between siblings.
Though the novel may not match the swifter pacing and impact of her earlier books, Rooney poignantly portrays a family’s “intermezzo,” as in chess, an unexpected move, through a labyrinth of emotions — delivering humor, melancholy, insight, and the exhilaration of opening up to love.