What readers think of The Burgess Boys, plus links to write your own review.

“She thought nothing could be told and be accurate. Feeble words dropped earnestly and haphazardly over the large stretched-out fabric of life with all its knots and bumps”

The Burgess Boys is the fifth novel by award-winning, best-selling American author, Elizabeth Strout. Susan Burgess Olson stayed in her Maine hometown of Shirley Falls even when Steve Olson left her to return to Sweden. Her brothers, high-profile attorney Jim Burgess, and her twin, appellate lawyer Bob Burgess, ended up in New York. But now, she has a crisis with her nineteen-year-old son, Zachary, and they need to return.

Shirley Falls has become a destination for Somali refugees, and Zachary Olson does a stupid thing, as a joke, that understandably causes huge upset within that community and sees him facing court for his actions. His Uncle Bob drops everything to travel to Shirley Falls to support his twin and her son, even though he and Susan don’t get on, while Jim and his wife Helen don’t alter their planned vacation on St Kitts.

Jim does organise the best local lawyer he can find for Zach, later speaks at a rally for goodwill which, in hindsight, does more damage than good to Zach’s case, and is there to support his nephew at the court hearing. But the judge’s orders then are not an end to it, and Jim and Helen’s lives are repeatedly interrupted with new dramas concerning Zach.

Bob is always there to lend support, even though his contribution is belittled by Jim and not exactly appreciated by Susan. It’s on one of these occasions, when Jim has imbibed more than usual, that he reveals to his brother the truth about something that has plagued Bob since he was a boy: a shocking truth that turns his world upside-down.

Strout uses multiple narrators to tell the story, and from their different perspectives, the reader also learns about each character. Jim seems to be basically a good guy but hates Maine, hates Shirley Falls and treats his younger brother badly, heaping on the insults and criticism at every encounter. His wife Helen is entirely focussed on her own family and has nothing but disdain for the Burgess family members, except of course Jim.

Bob has a big heart and is kind to everyone, despite being the subject of his brother’s scorn from a very young age. Bob’s ex, Pam still considers the Burgesses her family, still loves them despite being married to Ted and bearing his sons. Police Chief Gerry O’Hare tries his best for the citizens of Shirley Falls, but has to maintain a balance between the various factions who support or revile the immigrants.

As a child, Susan suffered under her mother’s cruelty and was determined to better as a mother, but is at a complete loss with her quiet, friendless son. Abdikarim Ahmed has witnessed so much horror in his life, including the violent loss of his son, yet can see that Zachary is just a frightened boy, but the wheels of justice turn relentless.

Strout has a talent for describing ordinary people living ordinary lives occasionally punctuated by extraordinary events that bring great joy or sorrow or excitement. Over the course of about a year, she gives the reader significant episodes in the lives of the people from this small Maine town, and the reader can’t help feeling for them and hoping for positive outcomes.

Strout treats the reader to some gorgeous descriptive prose: “…the incident was an irritant rubbing already against the fine fabric or her family, and she felt right now the small pricks of anxiety that precede insomnia” and “…she learned – freshly, scorchingly – of the privacy of sorrow. It was as though she had been escorted through a door into some large and private club that she had not even known existed. Women who miscarried. And the women in the club mostly passed each other silently” and “No exchange rate for the confidence of youth” are examples.

Also: “The silence – where there had been for so long the sound of Pam’s voice, her chatter, her laughter, her sharp opinions, her sudden bursting forth of tears – the absence of all that, the silence of no showers running, nu bureau doors opening and shutting, even the silence of Bob’s own voice, for he did not speak when he came home, did not recount to anyone his day – the silence almost killed him” and “…he went about his life unencumbered by the crust of doubt he’d been so used to that he had not known it covered him until it was gone.” Moving and uplifting.

The quick review: This is now one of my favorite books…ever. It is nearly perfect because of the brilliant way author Elizabeth Strout crafts the story. It is truly a masterpiece.

This is a tale about the Burgess family—three kids: Jim, Bob and Susan. They are grown now. Jim is a hotshot and famous attorney, who is married to Helen and living a life everyone envies. Bob, who is divorced but still best friends with his ex-wife, is also an attorney, but he has so many emotional issues and conflicts from a childhood tragedy that he is a low-power version of his big brother. Both live in New York City, having fled their home state of Maine. Susan, Bob's twin, is bitterly divorced and still lives in their small hometown of Shirley Falls, Maine, which is no longer the white enclave it once was. Somalis have been immigrating en masse, and many in town are having trouble adjusting to this significant population change. Susan's son, Zach, is 19 and troubled. Very troubled. He commits what he thinks is a prank, but others consider the act so evil it could be a hate crime.

While the plot—a classic us vs. them—is definitely engrossing, the genius of the story is rendered in the characters, the Burgess kids, their spouses and friends, as well as one of the Somalis in town. Each has his or her own subplot going on and together become a kind of mirror image of the themes of the main story: In so many ways, we are all strangers to one another. We are all in turmoil and distress. We hurt each other, sometimes on purpose and sometimes not, but we are all in need of welcome and love.

This beautifully written book is not only profoundly moving, but also an emotionally searing tale for our times.

After starting slowly, The Burgess Boys became quietly fascinating. I kept reading and reading until I finished it in just two days (with many life interruptions). Although I didn’t like Jim, he was spellbinding in his dysfunction. Bob, the much more likeable brother, was engaging in his own brand of dysfunction. Susan, and her son Zach, were simply damaged by life and therefore potentially damaging to everyone around them. The supporting characters were as carefully drawn as the main characters and compelling in their own way.
I appreciated the way Strout revealed her characters in drips and drabs, constantly leading you further into an understanding their emotions.
The incident that brought all the characters together was never fully explained – possibly because the perpetrator didn’t know – or even have – a reason. The incident that damaged the family was revealed in the ending, but could be inferred much earlier in the book.
This was a lovely book, well written and engaging. The family dynamics would lend themselves to an interesting group discussion. The two “incidents” would also generate discussion. Other topics useful for book groups are birth order, twins, divorce, unfaithfulness in marriage, women’s roles, race relations, criminal punishment, defense lawyers who defend those they know to be guilty and family roles.