The Burgess Boys
Ratings12
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings12
Average rating3.9
From the Man Booker Prize longlisted author of My Name is Lucy Barton Two brothers' lives are irrevocably altered when their 19-year-old nephew is embroiled in a scandal of his own making Haunted by the freak accident that killed their father when they were children, Jim and Bob Burgess escaped from their Maine hometown of Shirley Falls for New York City as soon as they possibly could. Jim, a sleek, successful corporate lawyer, has belittled his bighearted brother their whole lives, and Bob, a legal aid attorney who idolises Jim, has always taken it in his stride. But their long-standing dynamic is upended when their sister, Susan - the sibling who stayed behind - urgently calls them home. Her lonely teenage son, Zach, has landed himself into a world of trouble, and Susan desperately needs their help. And so the Burgess brothers return to the landscape of their childhood, where the long-buried tensions that have shaped and shadowed their relationship begin to surface in unexpected ways that will change them forever. * 'Strout animates the ordinary with an astonishing force' The New Yorker * 'As perfect a novel as you will ever read' Evening Standard on Olive Kitteridge * 'A novel of shining integrity and humour, about the bravery and hard choices of what is called ordinary life' Alice Munro on Amy & Isabelle Visit the author's website: www.elizabethstrout.com
Reviews with the most likes.
From the beginning of the book the reader notices the narrative stance–someone who knew the Burgess family back in Maine is telling their story. She then gives herself license to tell it in an omniscient voice, which is an interesting choice. She flits through the thoughts of siblings Jim, and Bob, and Susan, of Jim's wife and Bob's ex-wife, and various other characters. If there's a single dominant presence in the book, though, it is Bob, the younger, ineffectual brother, the one who is the target of Jim's cruelty. While none of these characters are likable, I did find myself sympathizing most with Bob.
In the end, the book is a story about family, but it's also a story about tolerance and forgiveness.
I almost gave up on Burgess Boys. I was a third of the way in and I wasn't feeling that I-can't-stop-turning-the-pages feeling like I did when I read Strout's Olive Kitteridge.
Then I went to see Strout in Houston. She was charming. Funny. Endearing. She read aloud from the book. She talked about how messy she is. She spoke about how she taught herself to write.
Okay. Let's give her one more chance.
Glad I did. No, BB is not OK. But it is close. Ordinary life. Characters who are a just-right mix of good guys and bad guys. Solid plot. Yes, a worthy read. But, be forewarned, it's no Olive Kitteridge. Just so you know.
