7.6 /10 1 Votes
4/5 The Telegraph Language English Pages 326 pages Originally published 26 March 2013 ISBN 1400067685 Preceded by Olive Kitteridge | 3.5/5 Goodreads Audio read by Cassandra Campbell Publisher Random House Followed by My Name Is Lucy Barton Country United States of America | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print, e-book, audiobook Nominations Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction Similar Elizabeth Strout books, Saga books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elizabeth strout the burgess boys
The Burgess Boys is a 2013 novel by American author Elizabeth Strout and her fourth book. It was first published in hardback on March 26, 2013 through Random House and follows two brothers who must return home to help out their sister after her son is accused of a hate crime. The novel is set in the fictional New England town of Shirley Falls, the setting of Strout's first novel, Amy and Isabelle.
Contents
Book review the burgess boys by elizabeth strout
Synopsis
After their father died in a freak car accident, Jim and Bob Burgess were eager to leave their home in Shirley Falls, Maine. In the years that followed they managed to find careers in the legal field in New York City. Jim has been especially successful as a corporate lawyer while Bob became a Legal Aid attorney. The two have a seemingly loving but competitive relationship that is only truly challenged after their sister Susan calls them to seek their assistance. Her son Zach has been accused of committing a hate crime against the Somali community of Shirley Falls. He had been caught throwing a pig's head into a Somali mosque during Ramadan, which he claims was meant only as a joke
As the siblings reconnect, long-running tensions are brought to the surface. It's revealed that Bob has always resented Jim's teasing and Bob's twin sister Susan actively dislikes her twin. Jim is not immune to all of this, as he eventually finds that he has been taking his seemingly perfect home life for granted.
Reception
Critical reception for The Burgess Boys has been positive. Author Sylvia Brownrigg has rated the work favorably, writing that "Strout handles her storytelling with grace, intelligence and low-key humor, demonstrating a great ear for the many registers in which people speak to their loved ones. If there’s a weakness here, it’s Zach, offstage for much of the action in spite of being the catalyst for it." The Washington Times also praised the novel, as they felt that Strout "has a gift for straightforward storytelling and original turns of phrase, coupled with insight into the human heart and psyche."