THE BOOK FAIR
READ AND FULFILL YOUR LIFE
Elizabeth Strout
AMY
and
ISABELLE
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Published: 1998
Genre: Novel
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 303
Review::
Isabelle, a single mom, moves to Shirley Falls, a small, New England town, to raise her daughter, Amy. Amy is illegitimate although Isabelle claims to be widowed.
Isabelle found work at the mill and stayed, working there for fifteen years as secretary for Mr. Avery.
Isabelle early on set her sights on Clark Avery, imagining how much better a wife she would be for him, than Emma. She loves him in secret, doting on her appearance to please him at work.
Isabelle’s major concern is Amy’s well being, and that what happened to her, will not happen to her daughter. Amy, a tall girl with long beautiful blonde hair, is torn between shyness and male attention. When a young girl goes missing from a nearby town, Shirley Falls sits on edge. Isabelle keeps tighter tabs on Amy.
Amy begins to respond to attention from boys and men that notice her. She enjoys the compliments given by her Mr. Robertson, her math teacher, and soon falls prey to his advances. Amy and Mr. Robertson enjoy secret rendezvous. Amy believes she is in love and expects a relationship. Confusing his lust for love, Amy cannot fathom his real intent. But her mother does.
Elizabeth Strout portrays the classic battle between mother and teen-aged daughter. Tightly plotted, the novel presents genuine human characters who exhibit the full myriad of human emotions.
The
Burgess Boys
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Published: 1998
Genre: Novel
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 303
Review::
Jim, Bob and Susan Burgess grow up in the shadow of their father’s accidental death. Both Jim and Susan blamed Bob. When grown, Jim and Bob, both attorneys, escape the small town of Shirley Falls, Maine, for life in the big city.
In New York, Jim marries a wealthy woman, has children and becomes a powerful attorney. Bob, divorced, works for the public defender.
The town of Shirley Falls accepts a large population of Muslim Somalis into their town. The Somalis encounter a great deal of difficulty assimilating into the community and consider assimilation a loss of their heritage. The principals of the strict Muslim community and cultural differences open the door for clashes, misperceived insults and misunderstandings.
When Susan reaches out to her bothers for help informing them her son is about to be arrested, the brothers quickly swing into action to rescue their nephew.
Sensitively written; excellent character development. The story derived from the author’s intent to describe how different people or cultures deal with distress.
Olive Kitteridge
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Published: 2008
Genre: Novel
Cover: E-Book
Pages: 271
Review:
Elizabeth Strout’s short stories of Olive Kitteridge portray the school teacher, wife and mother, throughout her life, in vignettes as Olive views herself and as described by others in her community.
Olive’s husband, Henry, a pharmacist, and their son, Christopher, reside with Olive in a small town in Massachusetts. Henry, a warm, kind, gentle soul, struggles against Olive’s combative, brusque, prickly nature. The vignettes are told from the perspective of Olive, as she views her husband, her son, friends and acquaintances under specific circumstances. Stories are equally disclosed through the voices of Henry and a range of townspeople, who in turn, reveal their own narratives. The emotional and moving accounts, moving back and forth through time, express the everyday hopes, fears, loves, misgivings and desires in one’s daily life. The roles of women dominate the underlying theme.
Particularly poignant are the distinct differences in the views and memories shared between Olive and her adult son, who later marries and becomes a father.