There’s so much to love in Strout’s writing and this cast of characters just keep getting richer with every new angle on their lives. It isn’t exactly a page turner but there is much to savour in this slow burn masterpiece.

5★
“Lucy let out a huge sigh and said, ‘But it’s a sad story. Carrying that clipping with her all her life.’ She shook her head and said, ‘Jesus Christ. All these unrecorded lives, and people just live them.’ Then she looked at Olive and said, ‘Sorry for swearing.’

‘Phooey, swear all you want.’ Olive added, ‘Well, that’s the story. I always wanted to tell someone. But for whatever reasons I never did.’”

Olive Kitteridge is now ninety and living in a retirement home. She knows that Lucy Barton, the author, moved up to Crosby, Maine, from New York City at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. She’s read all of Lucy’s books and has plenty of stories to share herself.

Bob Burgess had mentioned to Lucy that Olive had a story to tell her, and Lucy has ended up in tears after hearing about Olive’s mother. Lucy has said in her books that she doesn’t cry easily, so this has surprised both women.

It is the first of several stories of unrecorded lives they are to tell each other throughout the book. Some are short anecdotes, some are ongoing even now.

I think the title means, “I’m listening – really listening.” It’s a book full of people who are familiar to Strout’s readers, and stories go back to childhoods, youth, and old relationships.

It’s something like listening in on private therapy sessions where people unburden themselves. Small towns are notoriously full of gossip, but opening yourself up is foreign here.

Bob Burgess and his brother Jim are discussing a legal case in Crosby, which touches on something sensitive in their own childhoods.

“But they had never spoken of it since; they were both from Maine, and all their years of living in New York City would not change that; people from Maine did not always like to talk of these things.”

Strout shows us the relationships between couples and friends and who is paying attention – ‘really listening’ – to whom, and how easy it is for people to become nostalgic about old romances or wish to rekindle old feelings with someone new.

“Lucy said, contemplatively, ‘I wonder how many people in long marriages live with ghosts beside them.’

‘Henry and I never did.’ Though as Olive said that she had a quick memory of Henry liking that foolish girl who worked with him for a while in the pharmacy, and she herself had been attracted to a man she taught with. But weren’t those tiny drops of oil in a fry pan? Not like the story she had just told.”

She mentions these to Lucy, who “waved her hand. ‘Little infatuations, unacted-on crushes, they’re not like living with a ghost.’”

Tiny drops of oil in a fry pan. Strout says so much in so few words.

Meanwhile, it’s autumn, becoming cold, and Bob Burgess takes walks along the river to have a secret cigarette, staying upwind of the smoke, hoping his wife, Margaret, a local priest, won’t smell it on his clothing. Lucy also walks along the river, and they’ve become regular walking companions, both feeling surprisingly comfortable talking to – and listening to – each other.

We can see where this particular story might be going, since both are with partners who are wrapped up in their own interests – Margaret with her church (and sermon performances), and William with his scientific research.

Bob has agreed to defend a strange local man accused of murdering his mother, which puts him back in business, so to speak. He now has a new interest, and so do we. Lucy and Olive continue swapping stories.


Strout fills in the backgrounds of her people well, which is good for readers like me who don’t remember all the details, but I still wouldn’t recommend this as a standalone book. It will be so much better enjoyed and appreciated by those who have read at least some of her earlier books.

This is not part of a series so much as one of a collection of linked books that revisit old friends and acquaintances whom you may have met on a previous trip to their part of the world. I love visiting them.

Now I’m tempted to go back and re-read some. I’ve read Olive Kitteridge three times, I think, and I pick up something new each time.

The writing is so smooth that conversations and stories just flow, full of subtle hints and shifts that suggest moods and feelings so that you end up with a sense of how things are, but you’re not always sure how you got there. Magic.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the advanced copy from which I have quoted (so quotations are subject to change).

Bob Burgess, or the banality of good, which is not holiness, but the ability to empathise with others at the highest level. Bob is one of those people who take on the misfortunes of the world, who feel them as his own, so much so that his friend Lucy calls him a sin-eater. Around Bob revolves a small Maine community, somehow turned upside down by the pandemic. A community that is almost an extended family, given the intertwining of kinship, friendship, betrayal and marriage. A community that is further disrupted by a crime, that of an elderly woman of whom everyone has very bad memories, and of whom the son, a solitary and strange figure, is blamed. Bob takes care of him too, helping him not only to rid himself of suspicion, but also of a heavy past and restoring him to a new, happy life. A beautiful novel, full of true goodness, and with incredible attention to detail.

Publication date: 19 September 2024
Narrative style: third-person, character-driven, conversational, introspective
Themes: ageing, self-discovery, small-town life, friendship
Trigger warning: grief, loss, sexual abuse, addiction
Emotional impact: poignant, funny, light-hearted
Overall rating: 3.5/5 stars

Elizabeth Strout's "Tell Me Everything," my first experience reading her work, is a quietly powerful novel that captivated me with its exploration of self-discovery and the intricate complexities of human relationships. Although part of a series, it stands beautifully on its own. While the initial introduction of numerous characters might seem overwhelming, Strout masterfully weaves their stories together, painting a vivid picture of a small town and its inhabitants.

The story follows Lucy Barton, a writer who returns to her Maine hometown after a long absence. As she reconnects with old friends, she uncovers long-held secrets and confronts her own past. The narrative gracefully unfolds through conversations and observations of the lives of Maine's inhabitants, revealing the hidden truths and unspoken yearnings that shape their lives.

Strout's portrayal of Maine is so vivid, I could practically picture the town's charm and its secrets. The well-crafted dialogues breathe life into the characters, and though some conversations occasionally meander, each story holds value and offers something to learn and appreciate.

The central themes of loneliness, friendship, and aging resonate deeply, and the characters' journeys toward self-understanding are both compelling and thought-provoking. While some repetitive elements and the occasional gossipy nature of the plot didn't fully captivate me, the overall impact of the story is undeniable.

"Tell Me Everything" showcases Strout's remarkable ability to illuminate the complexities of human connection and our enduring search for belonging with tenderness and insight. It's a perfect read for those who appreciate character-driven narratives that delve into the depths of the human experience with a light narrative.

When you wish for a new Elizabeth Strout book and it's everything you could ask for. The story of Lucy Barton continues but focuses on Bob Burgess and is set in Crosbie, Maine. The story revolves around the friendship of the two main characters and the web of love they spin around those closest to them. Lucy is introduced to the iconic Olive Kitteridge in her nursing home and they form a bond over stories shared. This is a great book and should be read by everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

I could not have loved this book any more if I tried. This one had me at the blurb. As a huge fan of Strout's books, having read them all, to have a book with my three favourite Strout characters (Olive, Bob and Lucy in that order) interacting, well it's like Christmas has come early! My expectations were high and I wasn't disappointed.

In Tell Me Everything Strout takes ordinary life and blows it up in technicolor glory. It's full of profound , astute observations on life and is my favourite Strout book so far (I hope there's a 'so far').

We get to see how Lucy, Bob and Olive are getting on since we last saw them, but what is really special is how much their lives now intertwine. The storytelling is sublime, themes of love and friendship are beautifully explored and the drama gently unfolds with just the right amount of tension to keep the pages turning, but not so much that I couldn't read slowly and savour every word.

I loved this book and if you enjoy Strout , you will no doubt love it too. I end with my favourite Lucy quote

"Love comes in so many different forms, but it is always love."

Elizabeth Strout’s writing is unique and we, her readers are enriched by that. This book brings us back to the lives of our old friends, Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton and introduces us to a new friend in gentle, loving Bob Burgess. As always the author delves into the inner lives of her characters and the relationships between them. We get to know all the characters in the book so well that they become visible in the reader’s imagination - to my mind the mark of a very fine writer indeed. Of course there are events in the book to keep the story flowing and each character’s reaction to these events tells us so much about who they are. A charming and engaging book and a gentle exploration of the human condition.

Elizabeth Strout once again immerses us in the ordinary lives of everyday people, transforming them into something innately captivating. Olive Kitteridge, now elderly and residing in a nursing home in Crosby, Maine, remains as outspoken and fierce as ever. She finds contentment in her daily conversations with her best friend, Isabelle, and visits from Bob Burgess. One day, Olive expresses to Bob her desire to meet his friend, the writer Lucy Barton, as she has a story to share with her.

This marks the beginning of an unusual friendship between Lucy and Olive, where they exchange stories about what they call "undocumented lives". These are tales of love and loss, friendship and loneliness, experienced by ordinary people living their everyday lives.

Thank you so much to the author - Elizabeth Strout and the team at Penguin Books for sending out the review copy!

I couldn't be a bigger fan of Elizabeth Strout and I was so thrilled to get another book set in Crosby so comparatively soon after the last one. Oliver Kitteridge is a minor character in this one and even Lucy Barton is somewhat sidelined as this is really the story of Bob - a character I have always liked but completely fell in love here. It has all of Strout's trademark wit and charm and if you've enjoyed her other books you'll love this one. Highly recommended and many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Here I am, back with Olive Ketteridge and her strange way of telling stories about people around her.
She's joined by Lucy, this time, an author who has a deep connection with the area and the people. We dig deep into the psyches of different people and help solve a murder!
It is an odd book style, but that is not a criticism. It's just different and compelling at the same time.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an ARC.

Published 19 September 2024. Another in the Lucy Barton series but this time it is not predominantly about Lucy. We are still in Maine where Lucy and William are living. Her friendship with Bob Burgess has continued and they take regular walks together so that Bob can have a secret cigarette as his wife, Margaret, does not approve. However, Olive Kitteridge appears in this novel - (I've never read these but the first is now on my TBR bookshelf)- and she invites Lucy to visit her to hear a story. And that is what this book is partly, the sharing of stories, of gossip, as Lucy and Olive trade stories of people whose lives are unrecorded. However, you could also see this as Bob's novel - (I think I also need to read The Burgess Boys( - we focus a lot upon Bob in this book when he takes on a case defending Matt Beach who has been accused of murdering his mother. We learn more about Bob in this novel than in the previous ones in the series but he is a man who does not know his own value, he does not see himself as others do and he is very much someone I would love to sit and talk to. There are many characters in this novel, many stories and you find that as in life, everyone's life can interact and affect others. It is a quiet read but touches upon love, mussed opportunities, friendship and loneliness - and getting old. I hope that Elizabeth Strout takes us to Maine again in the future. Rounded up to 5*

The Lucy Barton=verse crosses over with the Olive-verse in Tell Me Everything, where not a lot happens except characters nattering at one another, living up to the title, telling each other everything. And boy is it tedious! Strout seems to be going for the succession of Garrison Keillor for dull homely stories about boring older people with these last three books. Uninteresting, go-nowhere anecdotes that pile up on one another - Woe(begone) indeed. Strout used to write interesting Barton novels but now she's stuck writing the same dull rubbish in each book. Lucy's ex this, her other husband that, some other person's husband this, somebody's wife's daughter's... good lord.

The irresistible complexity, wonderful intensity and deep humanity of Elizabeth Strout's characters make her books utterly immersive. In “Tell Me Everything,” familiar faces such as Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton return in the evocative setting of Crosby, Maine. The characters' hidden inner lives gently emerge through Strout's wonderful prose against the backdrop of the ever changing seasons. Bob Burgess quietly assumes the spotlight. Profound. This might just be my favorite Strout book. Highly recommended. Special thank you to Penguin General UK (Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking) and NetGalley for a no obligation advance digital review copy.

In "Tell Me Everything", we return to the interlinked worlds of Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge and Bob Burgess. They live, in many ways, ordinary lives, but Elizabeth Strout gives each an emotional depth and you can't help but care about the characters and their lives.

This is a well-crafted novel that can be enjoyed and appreciated in its own right, but once you have a taste for this fictional world you can also delve into Strout's other novels to acquaint yourself with these, and other, characters to appreciate them all the more.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Elizabeth Strout for a ARC ebook copy of her latest novel, Tell Me Everything.
I first discovered Elizabeth Strout when one of her novels was shortlisted for the Booker and decided to read all the books in the series before the one on the shortlist. I loved the immaculate characterisation, the perfect understanding of humans and their frailties and the evocation of a place I’ve never been. This year I’ve caught up with the Olive Kitteridge novels, and not been at all disappointed, so to join these two amazing characters – Lucy Barton and Olive in one book seemed like a brilliant idea if you ask me.
So this book is officially Amgash 5 but as I say, really it is Olive Kitteridge 3 and The Burgess Boys 2 – all these characters, Lucy, Olive and Bob Burgess appear in these pages and interact with each other. The ability to gather these disparate people together, and have them change each other so delicately is the sign of a writer very much at the top of her game. Olive and Lucy could not be more different to each other but both are believable and you genuinely feel that there is a chance they are real. But it is Bob who steals the show here. I’ve not read The Burgess Boys yet, as I knew the story from earlier books, but here we deal with the ongoing effects he feels over the guilt of accidentally killing his father as a child. As you would expect, it influences all his judgements, his decisions and his fundamental personality, and that is why he takes on the central case of this novel.
We meet the characters we’ve met before in Shirley Falls and Crosby, it’s like going around to a friends for a chat and we catch up on all the gossip. That is one of the things I love about it so much, it is a gossipy novel. We learn about the characters, their friends, their families, their neighbours, their adversaries and there is nothing that can describe all this nosiness better than ‘gossip’ but I mean that with no disrespect. That is what we do as humans and this book gives us a community – albeit imaginary.
So, Bob introduces Lucy to Olive so that they can exchange stories and these stories form the main idea of the novel – that there are many lives that happen that are totally unrecorded. But it is one unrecorded story that is the main plot of the novel, an old woman almost universally hated by the town, goes missing and her son is the prime suspect of her murder. So lovely Bob Burgess is asked to defend him and he is caught by the fellow feeling of someone accused of killing a parent.
Ms Strout, as I have said, creates these beautiful characters who feel so real that you wouldn’t be surprised to meet a couple of them. But she also comments on the state of the USA, nature and love. She breaks the fourth wall, talking in her authorial voice directly to the reader, so this is not told from the point of view of any of her main characters but from her own. A person who is kindly relating all these stories to us. And these are things that make it seem relevant and incredibly current.
I enjoyed this novel immensely, loved my time with these characters and hope for more of them in the future. I recommend it to everyone.

I was so happy to have the opportunity to read this book. Elizabeth Strout is a wonderfully clever writer and I read Tell Me Everything with joy, often putting my kindle down to enjoy how beautifully she had expressed a feeling. I recognised many of the characters from previous books - Olive Kitteridge, Lucy Barton and Bob Burgess are the main characters in this novel - and was delighted to meet them again, with all their idiosyncrasies. I love how they grow as the novel progresses, even 91 year old Olive changes, but it’s Bob’s story more than anyone’s and this honest, kind, honourable man captured my heart during the pages of this book. A beautifully crafted and memorable read, highly recommended.

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout finally brings together two of her most wonderful characters, Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge in a book that celebrates the untold stories of everyday people.
"People," Lucy said quietly, leaning back. "People and the lives they lead. That's the point".
"Exactly," Olive nodded.

I think that to get the most from this book readers would need to be familiar with the author's previous works featuring these characters as there is very little in the way of recap or scene setting.
Lucy and William have moved to Crosby, Maine and Lucy has fallen into a deep friendship with local lawyer Bob Burgess . The two routinely meet up for walks where they discuss their respective families and the issues that besiege them, their own hopes and even occasionally their regrets. Lucy has also managed to strike up something of a friendship with Olive, now living in a retirement facility on the edge of town, and regularly spends afternoons visiting her and exchanging stories of people they knew , "unrecorded lives" as Olive describes them.

This is slow paced character driven book that fans of the author are sure to enjoy, but definitely not one for those who like a lot of plot or action. I loved revisiting Olive and Lucy as characters and was very quickly drawn to Bob and his story too. Despite several moments of darkness within the book the overarching feeling was one of hope. Once again I was drawn into the lives of these characters and I relished every moment of th3e time I got to spend with them.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I think I “discovered” Elizabeth Strout in 2016 when “My Name is Lucy Barton” was longlisted for the Booker Prize. So, I was a bit late to the party, but I set about doing some catching up. I’ve not yet read all her books, but I have thoroughly enjoyed all those I have read. This includes all the books which feature Lucy Barton.

Strout has a way of writing that appears very simple but which often penetrates to the heart of the matter in just a few words. Here, in this new book she is concerned with the “unrecorded lives around her” as Lucy and Olive Kitteridge (properly together in a novel) tell one another stories. “Everywhere in the world people led their lives unrecorded” we read and Lucy and Olive set about remedying that: several times in the novel the two of them sit together and tell stories of people they have known. And these stories form a kind of background for the events that unfold in Lucy’s life and the lives of those around her. We read mainly about Lucy’s friendship with Bob Burgess and about Bob’s involvement in a murder investigation as he takes one of the suspects under his wing. But there’s a lot of other stuff swirling around. It can be tricky at times to keep track of all the characters, but I think part of the point is that everyone’s life interacts with, and affects, a lot of other people’s lives.

If you’ve read the other Lucy Barton novels, then this is, I think, a “must read”. If you haven’t read them, I wouldn’t recommend starting here. In fact, if you haven’t read any of the novels you have a treat in store because I would think you need to read at least “Olive Again” and the three main previous Lucy Barton novels (“My Name is Lucy Barton”, “Oh, William” and “Lucy by the Sea”) before reading this. You don’t have to do that, of course, but this book will be a lot richer and more powerful if you do.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

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

If you've met me, or have been following me for a while, you'll know Elizabeth Strout is one of my favourite authors of all time. Particularly in Lucy Barton, she has created one of my beloved characters of all time, one I return to again and again like an old friend. This latest novel, publishing in September, is set in the same world as her past books, finally brings together her most popular characters, the patient, wounded yet hopeful Lucy and the full time gas bitch Olive Kiterage.

Lucy is still living in Maine since her ex husband William persuaded her to leave New York at the start of the pandemic, and has settled into her life in the small town with her new best friend Bob Burgess. She is introduced to the cantankerous Olive, now living in the local retirement home, who wants to tell the famous Lucy a story, obstensibly so she can use it in one of her books. From there, the two women meet and talk about so many of the people they have known and the stories they've heard and despite their clashing personalities bond over their wonder and admiration for human life in all its forms. Every story is important in its own way, just as every human life is so wonderfully special too.

If you're looking for an "exciting" book, I don't think this is the book for you (though I read it at a serious page, and I can tell you I don't very excited!). This novel has more of a plot than others through a case ex lawyer Bob gets involved in, but this is another, wonderful, quietly moving novel from Strout that is a joy to read though not much "happens". More than anything else, these books are just about ordinary people and the lives they lead, and about the everyday secrets and sadness the most unlikely people hold.

If you've never read Strout, lucky you! I am jealous of anyone coming to these beautiful books for the first time. However, this is definitely not the place to start. I'd recommend all the Lucy and Olive books first and I'd wished I'd read The Burgess Boys in advance too. Still, that just makes me delighted that I have more to read!

'Tell Me Everything' is another supremely wise, compassionate and pleasurable novel which features characters from all of Elizabeth Strout's previous novels.

The novel is mainly set in Crosby, Maine, and picks up slightly after where 'Lucy by the Sea' left off. Lucy Barton and her ex-husband William are still living together in their house by the sea. The novel is punctuated by Lucy's visits to 91-year-old Olive Kitteridge in her care home and the stories they tell each other - stories about love, about loneliness and about 'people and the lives they lead'. We also see the growing closeness between Lucy and Bob Burgess as they share stories about themselves and others on their regular walks together.

Unlike Strout's previous two novels ('Oh, William!' and 'Lucy by the Sea'), 'Tell Me Everything' is written in the third person - but with the intimacy of a narrator who is a close friend with all their characters. It is arguably Bob who is this novel's focal point. As Lucy observes, Bob is a 'sin eater' - someone who is always trying to take on others' problems - and we follow his complex relationship with his older brother Jim as Jim's wife Helen becomes ill, as well as his relationships with his ex-wife Pam and his current wife Margaret and his growing feelings for Lucy. As a criminal defence attorney, Bob also becomes involved in the case of Matt Beach, an isolated man who falls under suspicion for the murder of his elderly mother.

Anyone who has enjoyed a previous novel by Strout is sure to love 'Tell Me Everything' too - in some ways it feels like a 'greatest hits' novel, featuring so many of her most lovable characters (in addition to those mentioned above, the novel includes an adult Katherine Caskey from 'Abide With Me' and an elderly Isabelle Goodrow from 'Amy and Isabelle') and so many profound insights about 'unrecorded lives'. I really enjoyed getting to spend more time with Lucy and Bob in particular as they are both such unusually sincere characters. In spite of the many joys of reading Strout, this is not simply cosy reading as she once again confronts some of the darkest aspects of human existence, including repeated explorations of different forms of sexual abuse - but she always manages to find cause for hope. Nor is this novel simply retreading old ground as it offers new reflections on different aspects of growing older and on friendship. I was delighted to read this novel and it made me long to hunker down with all of Strout's previous novels and re-read them all before returning to this. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.