ahh this was just lovely. Strout's writing is always so soft but still sharply observant, so excellent at writing relationships and the inner worlds of her characters. There is also so much sadness in this book - nothing that ever feels gratuitous or on the nose, but just in the way that is by virtue of being human. she writes sensitively, honestly and masterfully, it was lovely to be back in her world again. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

I love Elizabeth Strout, her storytelling and style of writing. Lucy and Olivia together, a story I didn’t want to end and love
One of the best books I read in 2024

One of my new favourites from Stroud! Her writing g is poetic and beautiful. Definitely one of my automatic read authors!

This is my first Elizabeth Strout book and honestly I just loved it. She has a quirky style of writing and I was hooked straight away. My first introduction to Bob and Lucy and I will now certainly be looking out for more of her books just to find them again.

Olives stories carried subtle morals of the story and Lucy and Bobs friendship was all about what could have been.

5 stars from me.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced ARC

Elizabeth Strout’s Tell Me Everything is a masterful slow burn—quietly paced yet brimming with depth. True to her style, Strout peels back the layers of her characters’ lives, revealing a world of longing, aging, grief, marriage, and childhood trauma beneath the surface. Every scene is rendered with such tenderness and precision that even the most ordinary moments feel profound.

One of the most striking scenes is the first meeting between Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton, two of Strout’s most iconic characters. Their encounter is subtle yet loaded with the unspoken—Olive’s brusqueness clashing with Lucy’s quiet reserve. “I don’t mean to pry,” Olive says at one point, her tone making it clear that prying is precisely what she intends. Their brief exchange is charged with a mixture of curiosity and discomfort, a perfect snapshot of how strangers size each other up, carrying their own histories into the moment.

Strout also brings Bob Burgess into sharp focus, evolving him into a fully realized character even for readers familiar with his appearances in earlier works. His reflections on aging and regret are particularly moving: “I thought I would be a different kind of man by now,” Bob admits in one poignant moment. “But here I am, still unsure, still looking for something I can’t quite name.” It’s in these quiet admissions that Strout’s brilliance shines—her ability to articulate universal truths through the intimate thoughts of her characters.

The novel’s exploration of longing and loss is perhaps best encapsulated in a passage where Lucy reflects on her childhood trauma: “What was left of her had been shaped long ago, in a house where silence filled the rooms like water. She had learned to hold her breath then, and now, it seemed, she had never let it go.” Strout’s prose is restrained but devastating, evoking pain and resilience in equal measure.

Tell Me Everything may require patience—it’s not a book that rushes to deliver its revelations. But for those willing to sink into its quiet intensity, it offers an immensely rewarding experience. With her signature compassion and insight, Strout reminds us of the complexity of human connection and the scars we carry through life.

If you love Strout then you will without a doubt love this . It’s classic Strout , we have all the characters we love , we have great writing and we have that same old feeling of being back with an old group of friends . Another winner !

I love Elizabeth Strout, and Tell Me Everything is no exception. If you're a fan of any of her other books then you'll love this. It's slow-paced in a very deliberate and skilled way.

I thought this book was a beautiful meditation on love, friendship, family and guilt. Strout‘s writing is so readable and enjoyable and her characters are realistic and incredibly human. I now can’t wait to go back and read the books in the series which I have missed as I want more time with this colourful cast of characters. I highly recommend this book.

Reading Tell Me Everything is like meeting up with old friends as Elizabeth Strout brings the world of The Burgess Boys, Olive Kitteridge and the Amgash novels together in this novel. The theme of love and what it means is explored across the stories presented. Highly recommended to readers of the previous novels, if you're new to Elizabeth Strout read the other novels first.

This is another gorgeous read. No one quite captures characters and brings them to life like Elizabeth Strout. It’s lovely to meet old and beloved characters including the formidable Olive Kitteridge. If you haven’t read her previous books you absolutely must! I look forward to more books by this talent.

Bob Burgess, the town's semi retired lawyer has a lot to process. His first murder defence, a crush on Lucy Barton and difficulties in his relationship with his minister wife. Lucy Barton meanwhile has befriended Olive Kitteridge, now in a care home, and they tell each other unrecorded stories.

This is a gentle book that mostly observes the behaviour of fairly average people - if somewhat caricatured - going about their daily business. Bob, for instance, going for a walk with Lucy and having a crafty cigarette, so that his wife, who thinks he has given up smoking, won't find out, his gentle hero worship of Lucy, Olive's quiet routine of visiting her friend every afternoon. Small stories of interwoven relationships beautifully described. Then there is the murder mystery that Bob is investigating. Elizabeth drops the breadcrumb trail of clues for the reader and when the true killer is revealed it is at once surprising and obvious.
Good read, although I probably prefer something that provokes a bit more emotion a bit more emotional investment - whereas Elizabeth Strout's style is very more of dispassionate observer. But that's just a personal taste.

Always love E Strouts books…no exception this time ….well written characters….enjoyed this one again
Recommended for Christmas present ………

Tell Me Everything is the fifth book in the Amgash series by best-selling, Pulitzer Prize winning American author, Elizabeth Strout. Lucy Barton and her ex-husband Willian Gerhardt have been in Crosby, Maine for two years now, having quit New York City at the start of the pandemic. They have a house, Lucy does some volunteer work and writes in her little studio in town, and William works on developing potato varieties resistant to climate change.

Lucy has a close friendship with Bob Burgess, himself returned to Maine from New York City some fifteen years earlier. Bob also does some volunteer work, caring for solitary elders, and a bit of legal work from his office in Shirley Falls, but each looks forward to their regular walks by the river where they talk, Bob smokes an illicit cigarette, and they understand each other very well. All manner of topics are covered: envy, knowing one’s partner, grief, the meaning of life. And about some things: “’Don’t think about it.’ And she smiled at him to indicate their joke about how they both thought of things too much.”

Now ninety, Olive Kitteridge is a resident of the Maple Tree Apartments where she makes sure to daily visit her best friend, Isabelle Goodrow, over the bridge in higher care. She’s heard about the author newly come to Crosby, make a point of reading her books, and decides she may have a story that would interest Lucy Barton. She’s initially unimpressed by this mousy-looking little woman, is a little sharp, but that changes as they spend time together.

Lucy and Olive begin exchanging stories of what they call unrecorded lives. Sometimes they are interesting, sometimes they seem to lack a point, but Lucy says “People and the lives they lead. That’s the point.” There are stories of family members, townspeople, and acquaintances whose lives contain thwarted love, cruelty, devotion, heartbreak, abuse, harassment, alcoholism, infidelity, sadness, and loneliness, but also beauty.

Somewhat in the background of life in Crosby, a woman who notoriously terrified the children when she was on school canteen duty, Gloria Beach goes missing while her youngest son Matthew is out getting groceries. A thorough search yields nothing, and investigations uncover a car hired with a stolen licence and credit card, the owner of which has a very strong alibi. The case goes cold.

When a body is found, months later, suspicion hangs over Matthew Beach. His sister, Diana begs Bob to take the case. When the woman’s will is located, it gives Matthew a motive, and it doesn’t help his case that Bob hears several women remark that they couldn’t blame him if he had killed her. Matthew is an enigmatic figure, a talented artist lacking social skills, but Bob is determined to help the man, even if he’s not telling the whole truth.

As always, Strout gives the reader a wonderful cast of characters with palpable emotions. Big-hearted Bob Burgess, unaware of his worth, excels at absorbing the suffering of others. In the course of the year, he loses a member of his extended family, almost loses another, tries to broker peace between a father and son, gives over and above care to a needy client, and, almost unwittingly, saves a good friendship from irreparable damage that acting on a crush would have wrought.

Lucy is now a grandmother but worries that she has become inconsequential to her daughters, while ageing Olive has lost little of her acerbic wit. Their chats are full of wisdom and insightful observations. Some people depend on a linchpin “I wonder how many people out there are able to be strong—or strong enough— because of the person they’re married to.”

Strout nails it on grief: “He was silently catapulted into an entirely new country, one he had never known existed, and it was a country of quietness and solitariness in a way that he could not—quite seriously—believe. A terrible silence seemed to surround him, he could not feel himself fully present in the world… And he understood then that this was a private club, and a quiet one, and no stranger passing him on the street would know that he was a member, just as he would not know if they were a member. He wanted to stop people he saw, older people especially who were walking alone, he wanted to say— Did your spouse die?”

Her writing, its quality, style and subject matter, is reminiscent of Sebastian Barry with shades of Anne Tyler. Strout writes about ordinary people leading what they believe are ordinary lives (although there are definitely some quirky ones doing strange things amongst them, like the vet giving a demented dog acupuncture) and she does it with exquisite yet succinct prose. Another moving, powerful read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Penguin UK Viking.

I have greatly enjoyed the 4 books so far in the Amgash series, and this fifth book adds greatly to the story, becoming a sort of multiverse to bring together her many characters from various series. What follows is a beautifully observed story about the intricacies of emerging out of a pandemic and trying to adjust to what life is now, against the backdrop of being older, and perhaps not wiser.

Further evidence of Strout's gift for capturing the seemingly simple parts of life.

Bless you, Elizabeth Strout! It is so nice to be back in the world of Bob Burgess, Lucy Barton and Oliver Kitteridge again. Elizabeth Strout's writing is so deceptively simply, but to me, it is truly masterful the way she manages to write about these often-heartbreaking themes or events in a way that is so hopeful and optimistic.

This book is very character driven, interior and introspective - just the way I like it. Reading this book is like hitching a ride on an inflatable tube down a stream; you can see all of the scenery flowing by, but you just keep moving forward and appreciating. Tell Me Everything offers glimpses into the rich and complex inner lives of its characters, each one vividly portrayed with her signature empathy and insight. I'm surprised by how often reading this book I thought "I know someone like that" or "that's just like me".

I found some of the dialogue to be a little more clunky than some of her previous books, but I'm not familiar with the patter of people from Maine. I also think I have a little crush on Bob Burgess!

Reading "Tell Me Everything" is like having a long conversation with a dear friend. It's a reminder that even in the mundane, there is beauty and joy to be found. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for the ARC.

Elizabeth Strout is one of my favourite authors. She has an incredible ability to capture the depths of human emotion, and becoming immersed in her stories is a real treat.

Olive Kitteridge is an exceptional character, and I have read every single of Strout's books following Lucy Barton, so I was incredibly excited to read a story where these characters were brought together. And, of course, it's not just Elizabeth and Lucy: many other characters from Crosby, Maine and Amgash, Illinois make an appearance!

Lucy has relocated to Crosby, Maine with her ex-husband, William following the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel kicks off with Olive telling another returning character, her friend Bob Burgess: “I have a story to tell that writer....I wish you would have her come visit me.” And so, Tell Me Everything begins; a novel about a community, and the people in it, and the lives they lead. There's other things happening: Bob's growing attraction to Lucy; a murder case in which Bob is defending a man accused of killing his mother; the long-running issue of who killed Bob and Jim's father; and Jim's wife's failing health. But at its core, Strout's book is a story about the humanness of people: the things the happen to them and the way they feel about it. Life in all of its colours.

The tenderness Strout shows to her characters is powerful, and any fan of the write will delight in this lovely tale.

The fifth novel in the Amish series. Return to Crosby, Maine thus autumn.
Love the unique characterisation within her books.
Bob Burgess focuses heavily in this last offering - he’s the local town lawyer, who becomes involved in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother
All her books are warm and life affirming.
I love how she depicts older people in such a loving positive way
You always feel such a deep connection to the characters
Thanks #elizabethstrout @vikingbooksuk & @netgalley for the heartwarming read

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance copy of this book in return for an unbiased review. This is part of a set of books all set in small town(s) in Maine. I haven’t read any of the others but actually I don’t think that matters- all the characters are so well drawn you feel like you know them very quickly into the book anyway. Early on I wondered if much would happen but plenty did, with common threads running through, such as Lucy and Olive’s shared stories of unrecorded lives. It’s really a story of Bob Burgess though, he’s such a great character, someone you could properly rely on and hope to have as a friend. I would imagine that if you have read the rest of the books you would absolutely love this.

Tell Me Everything has Strout returning us to the small town of Crosby, Maine. Here we see the convergence of 3 of her most popular book characters: Lucy Barton, Bob Burgess and Olive Kitteridge.

Bob has taken on a case where a man who is a loner is a suspect of his mother’s disappearance. He continues to meet Lucy regularly, on their walks together. Meanwhile Lucy is still living with her ex-husband William. She meets with Olive Kitteridge regularly and they discuss stories of people they have known, ‘unrecorded lives’.

While this does have some form of a plot (the murder storyline Bob is part of), the real force behind this book are people. Namely the relationships people have with each other. We see it reflected in the stories of tje 3 main characters interacting with each other, but also how they interact with others in their lives (with Bob, it’s his wife, his ex-wife and his siblings. With Lucy, it’s her ex-husband and her children. And with Olive, it’s with her friend Isabelle).

Outside of that, there’s also the stories that Olive and Lucy tell each other. Simple stories about others and their loneliness and vulnerabilities. Strout has such a simple but effective way of pulling at heartstrings.

I also loved all the cameos of other characters from the Stroutverse. It was great to see them all come together like that.

I've had mixed results with Strout in the past. I absolutely adored Amy & Isabelle (one of my favourite books ever), really enjoyed the Lucy Barton/Amgash series, quite liked Olive Kitteridge and The Burgess Boys and disliked Abide with Me. Strout's writing is always a joy to return to though, even if every book isn't a smash hit.

Tell Me Everything, Strout's latest novel out in September, is #5 in the Amgash series, and it's the first time that many of Strout's regular characters collide in one book. Lucy meets Olive, Bob Burgess is back as a main character, and there are many references to storylines in her other books that pull all the threads in the Strout universe together.

I loved Tell Me Everything. It's gentle and quirky, whilst not shying away from difficult subjects, and it's imbued with a humanity so typical of Strout's writing. I hate even saying it but this book had the feel of being Strout's last; I really hope it's not.

Lucy sums up what the point of the book is better than I can in the following passage:

"People," Lucy said quietly, leaning back. "People and the lives they lead. That's the point."
"Exactly," Olive nodded.

Thank you so much to @penguinbooksireland for the #gifted arc. Tell Me Everything will be published in September. It can be read as a standalone, do yourself a favour and buy the whole damn lot, as Bob might say.