Tell Me Everything

Elizabeth Strout's latest brings together three of her most popular MCs (as well as numerous other recognizable secondary characters): Lucy Barton from [b:Lucy by the Sea 60657583 Lucy by the Sea Elizabeth Strout https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650574627l/60657583.SY75.jpg 95604434], Bob Burgess from [b:The Burgess Boys 15823461 The Burgess Boys Elizabeth Strout https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1351213545l/15823461.SY75.jpg 21553934], and the unforgettable [b:Olive Kitteridge 1736739 Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge, #1) Elizabeth Strout https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320430655l/1736739.SY75.jpg 3263906]. Over the course of a year in their small Maine hometown, Lucy and Olive tell stories to each other about the “unrecorded lives” of their friends and family who experienced heartache, loss, scarcity and occasional joy. Bob and Lucy take regular walks together, sharing these stories and growing closer, despite the fact that both have long-term partners. Strout has an amazing talent of fostering reader empathy about even the most minor secondary characters, including the ones we only meet secondhand through Lucy and Olive's stories. There is very little action in the novel, just numerous small but important moments and meditations on loneliness, love, grief, and purpose. Bob, a criminal defense attorney, helps a reclusive oddball who is suspected of killing his own mother, but even that subplot lacks the urgency of a standard courtroom thriller. Strout's work is catnip to an aging retiree like me who is “immature” enough (Bob's criticism of Lucy) to still wonder about the Meaning of Life. I've read almost all of her novels, so Tell Me Everything felt like catching up with old friends. I'll be interested to see how it is received by Oprah Book Club devotees who are unfamiliar with the author's backlist.