Abide with Me (novel)

Literary significance and reception

The novel received mixed reviews from critics. Atlantic Monthly said that "this lovely second novel confirms Strout as the possessor of an irresistibly companionable, peculiarly American voice: folksy, poetic, but always as precise as a shadow on a brilliant winter day." Publishers Weekly said in their review of Abide with Me that "the uplifting ending arrives too easily, but on the whole, Strout has crafted a harrowing meditation of exile on Main Street." Kirkus Reviews was critical of the book saying that "most of the characters in this novel are fundamentally bewildered, and many of them are quite bitter as well. The narrator's folksy tone does nothing to enliven this dispiriting story; the overall effect is rather like listening to a slightly cantankerous maiden aunt dispensing local gossip."