The Burgess Boys: A Novel

This is a subtle and layered story about a middle-class dysfunctional family. Yes, I know. Another one. Maybe you've had your fill of novels about how American families disintegrate for the year, but I must insist you read this one if you are a literary reader. It's different. I promise.I admit to a certain strong cynicism I beat down within myself whenever picking up a suburban green lawn, 2.3 kid, two-car mid-life sandwich family story or a book which turns out to be a small-town whine about growing up restrained by conservative values while protected by said same. I have a smaller sneer in my heart when the story takes place in middle-class city neighborhoods, mostly due to more shared values between myself and the characters - or at least, some shared life experiences. However, I grew up poor; thus, the sneer. I got educated; thus, the love of literature reads, whatever the environment. I prefer mysteries, science fiction, horror and emotional tragedy reads, with strong writing components developed around big ideas (and small dramas), which is how literary reads have found their way onto my reading lists. Subtle works for me only if the story reveals a dreadful horror hidden within, usually. I find most cozies a huge bore, unless well-written and imbued with clever slyness. The Romance genre is dead to me. Given my preferences, I almost gave up on this because it seemed like normal, cozy-inspired, family drama. If it had been longer, I would have quit. Fortunately for me, it was short. It slowly dawned on me how smart it was, and eventually there was a moment when I stood up stunned by the depth of the author's understanding of how people live.I don't really want to say what the plot is about because I experienced this novel the way I live through the daily opening of a flower in a garden. Each day reveals more and more delight. I listened to it the first time I 'read' it as a library audiobook. It was so good, I bought the ebook.What is a good life if you are a human being in an open culture? Is it accomplished through emphasizing individuality or community? Do you want comforting (or smothering) conformity with rigidly defined roles or a 'Live Free or Die' environment (thank you New Hampshire)? Are people REALLY free to choose who they are, whatever 'free' society they must live in? Is there an achievable balance possible in bringing individuals together for a successful community, whether it be familial, tribal or governmental? The author presents us with the cultural choices of the USA vs. Somalia vs. Sweden during the progress of the book, but it's really a red herring conversation. I think what Strout is actually demonstrating in her novel is that we are defined by our perceptions, whatever the cultural framework or individual freedoms with which we've been theoretically graced. Free will is only of use insofar as you understand the imposed and invisible boundaries of society and history.Perhaps the worst thing we do is manipulating the role we choose for others to live.I loved this book and I consider it a masterful work, if not a masterpiece. It has so many levels of understanding and wisdom an expert critic could fill the pages of a literary magazine with its ideas and characters. I wish I could give it that expertise, but I'll simply witness to interested readers on how much I enjoyed reading it.While the insightful exploration of family dynamics reminded me of a Thornton Wilder play, the real clue to the author's intention, I think, was the introduction of the pig's head. What else could that be but a hint of some kind of reference to The Lord of the Flies by William Golding? Having finished The Burgess Boys, I feel confirmed in my suspicion. Even better, I think the author added to the conversation that that allegorical story of Golding started.Why do many societies devolve into dictatorships and brutality? In Somalia, religion was the gateway to societal collapse. In the USA, the hierarchical order of religion, family or culture is more benign, but the light control nonetheless is felt as a threat to personal liberty, so we've (I'm an American) swung the other way - so much that we often appear to be under the dictatorship and cruelty of individualism. And Sweden? There have been many articles touting Sweden as the perfect society, with extreme taxation enabling a happy people without any worries. Really? Other articles have exposed that eliminating existential concerns about housing, education and health has not eliminated the dark side of human nature. It appears we carry along baggage impossible to lose.Real criminality may be in ALL manipulation of other people that benefits yourself alone, at the expense of the others. Criminal codes of government, religion or tribe can only cover the visible physical damage, but true indecency is the emotional devastation of secrets and lies hiding your own culpability. Yet, despite every designed effort and institution that humanity has developed to control our baser natures, those aspects of ourselves which harm others, the dark side of humanity surfaces again and again. It's obvious to me that people have reinvented and renamed our fragmented but inseparable parts we call our personalities over and over, which actually reflects what scientists are discovering about our brains, into concise and excisable sections which only exist conceptually. I think what we call our 'dark side' is not a SIDE at all, but in reality thoroughly incorporated in the warp and weft of who we are.Does that mean we submit to the horrors of Lord of the Flies? I think Strout is picking up the conversation where Golding abandoned it. Among the huge inventory of evolved genetic tools we have inherited from our ancestors, whether we be Americans, Somalis or Swedes, we have the capability of forgiveness. It is very likely the greatest bits of DNA that people possess to ensure our survival living with each other.

Elizabeth Strout is a talented, reliable author. I love the way she dives into the minute details of character’s lives. Her books are character driven and while this moves at a slow and steady pace, there are huge shifts within the Burgess Boys and their sister, nephew, wives and lives. I liked the immigrant community aspect as well. I have read 3 other books by Strout and this, though it preceded them, was also masterful.

How can we keep from falling into the same old patterns and traps of our childhood? Can we ever break free of the pull of family dynamics? These questions are at the crux of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout's new novel, The Burgess Boys.Jim, Bob, and Susan Burgess were raised by their mother in the small town of Shirley Falls, Maine, following the death of their father in a freak accident when they were young. Jim was always the strong one, the hero; Bob, the sensitive one, always seemed to get the most love from their mother, while his twin sister, Susan, bore the brunt of her mother's rages and insecurities. As soon as they were able, Jim and Bob fled Shirley Falls for New York--Jim became a corporate lawyer after garnering some notoriety defending a celebrity client, while Bob settled for a career as a Legal Aid attorney. Susan stayed in Shirley Falls, married, divorced, and raised a son on her own, and was never able to overcome the self-esteem issues she suffered because of her mother. All their lives, Jim has belittled Bob's every move--the collapse of his marriage and subsequent romantic relationships, his work for Legal Aid, even his apartment. And while everyone has told Bob to stand up for himself, he idolizes Bob, so he has allowed himself to be treated this way.One day, Susan calls Jim for help. Her lonely teenage son, Zach, apparently rolled a bloody pig's head into a Somali mosque during Ramadan. He doesn't know why he did it, except that he intended it as a joke, because he didn't even know what Ramadan was. Zach's actions have ignited a firestorm in Shirley Falls, where an influx of Somali immigrants had already been causing strain among the long-time residents. Jim and Bob come home to try and assuage Susan and Zach's fears, and Jim tries to smooth things over with the political and legal community. And as Jim's meddling actually makes things worse than better, and the three siblings find themselves reliving old habits and old hurts, all of the anxieties and pain are magnified, causing ripples in their relationships with each other, as well as Jim's relationship with his wife, Helen.Elizabeth Strout is a very talented writer, and she has created a compelling story of family dynamics and what it feels like to be an outsider, both in reality and within your own family. While the premise of her story is appealing, her characters are not, at least through nearly the entire book. I really struggled with why I cared what happened to these people when I didn't have any sympathy for passive Susan, guilt-ridden and sad-sack Bob, or boorishly aggressive and angry Jim. Even the gradual (or in some cases, sudden) transformations they make didn't completely win me over, although I understood the catalysts for them occurring.Can you enjoy a book when you have no empathy for the main characters? That answer differs for me from book to book; in the case of The Burgess Boys, I'd say it was a well-written book I didn't enjoy as much as I had hoped.

I love Strout's deep insights into family, relationships and redemption. The Burgess Boys feels like her most complete novel I have read to date. A beautiful read which ultimately exposes the good in people.

Engaging and endearing characters. Elizabeth Stout has an amazing way of showing seemingly ordinary people as fascinating and complicated. As of course we all are. Would recommend this book to anyone.

Alles wunderbar, großartige Literatur, kam pünktlich und schnell.Vielen Dank!

This was a really good read. The family dynamics and disasters stretched throughout the lives of the 3 siblings. Their connections to their town of old and their attitudes and understanding of the Somali community was very well described.Highly recommended.

Je ne connaissais qu'Olive ketteridge que j'avais beaucoup aimé , et j'ai retrouvé l'écriture fluide , la mosaïque des personnages , leur psychologie d'une grande finesse. Ce livre reprend la vie de deux frères évoqués le temps d'un chapitre dans le livre mentionné précédemment. On ne s'ennuie pas une seule fois, les romans d'Elizabeth Strout sont merveilleusement écrits et l'on découvre les strates des personnages et des parcours de chacun avec grand plaisir