Elizabeth Strout, Tell Me Everything. Penguin, 2024. First published 2024.
Those who haven’t read the numerous previous novels by Elizabeth Strout in which the central characters in Tell Me Everything also appear will probably miss some of the nuances in relationships. But it would no doubt stand alone without that knowledge.
I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve read (links at the end). Olive Kitteridge, now turned 90 and living in sheltered accommodation, is still formidably outspoken and spiky. She forms an unlikely friendship with novelist Lucy Barton, now living in the same coastal town as her, Cosby, Maine, with her ex-husband William, with whom she has a curious on-off relationship. Lucy goes to meet often with Olive to swap stories, which form a large part of this novel.
Olive makes no bones about finding fault with Lucy. On first meeting she’s rude about her boots and clothes. Even the way Lucy sits on her uncomfortable sofa meets with her disapproval. Yet slowly they find they have a mutual interest in the ‘unrecorded lives’ of the ordinary people whose life experiences they exchange. What’s the point of such lives, Olive challenges. None, just that they are all just trying to live and get by. That’s the point, Lucy insists. She’s right.
The other main strand involves genial, semi-retired defence lawyer Bob Burgess. He and Lucy meet for weekly walks during which he takes the opportunity to have a furtive cigarette. His wife disapproves of his smoking. Lucy is also married, so Bob’s undeclared love for Lucy remains so…more or less.
Not much else happens for the first third of the novel, then there’s a murder and later another death. Bob steps up to defend the man suspected of the murder – a recluse who doesn’t even own a mobile phone. Bob is a lovely character, and goes way beyond the duties of a lawyer to look out for his client and help him negotiate a way into modern life. He too has to find a way to live.
There’s also an ongoing subplot involving Bob’s complicated relationship with his brother Jim, who lives in New York. Their father died in an accident that happened when the boys were very young. For most of their adult lives Jim allowed Bob to believe that he was at fault for the accident. He’s a bit of a swine, and this is also apparent in his strained relationship with his grown-up son.
Elizabeth Strout’s great strength is her ability to spin a series of apparently unrelated stories and anecdotes, most of which at first sight are mundane and inconsequential, but which are woven together with effortless artistry into the central storylines involving Olive, Lucy (and William) and Bob. All of these different strands combine to form a fascinating image of the ways people deal with the stuff life throws at them. How meeting a stranger on a train can become an almost loving experience, or meeting an ex-wife to help her deal with alcohol addiction can enhance the lives of both of them, without compromising their integrity or self-esteem.
The way we treat each other has consequences, and too often we pay insufficient heed to this, and damage each other irreparably. But also we enrich other people’s lives, often by simple acts of kindness or empathy. Elizabeth Strout is a tremendous story-teller, a connoisseur of human nature and relationships.
Links to my other posts on novels by Elizabeth Strout: