The Crosby Show

Elizabeth Strout returns to the fictional town of Crosby, Maine in the fifth instalment of her Amgash series, Tell Me Everything (2024). Normally I like to read a series in order, but I am a newcomer to the Strout universe having only read her Olive Kitteridge (2008) novel this year. I had intended to start this series, but when I heard Tell Me Everything was longlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction, I figured I would start at the end and see how it stands up as a novel for those unfamiliar with the series.

Semi-retired lawyer Bob Burgess is happily married to Margaret, a local minister, and has a deep, platonic friendship with writer Lucy Barton. Barton came to Crosby a few years earlier from New York. Bob is able to confide in Lucy and tell her things he could never talk about with his wife. They go for regular walks together and enjoy each other's company.

Olive Kitteridge is now 90 years old and lives in the Maple Tree Apartments retirement community. She asks Bob to introduce her to Lucy and says she has a story to tell the writer, known to be interested in hearing tales of unrecorded lives. Lucy listens intently while Olive shares a story of unforgotten love. 

Bob takes on a case defending a troubled man accused of murdering his mother. Bob is a pure soul who helps this man in a multitude of ways. Lucy calls Bob a 'sineater' as he takes the burdens of others. But this is no murder mystery, the case is an opportunity for Strout to explore her central thesis that you can never truly know yourself or others. 

Bob is central to this novel. Through him we meet his ex-wife Pam, his brother Jim and others in his orbit. He is such a good soul, caring for isolated people in the community, like delivering groceries to elderly people. In many ways he holds his family and the community together. Through brief vignettes, we learn more of the successes and failures of their lives, their regrets and roads not taken. 

I absolutely loved this novel. It was wonderful to meet up with Olive Kitteridge again and to be introduced to all these other characters. I now understand why Strout has such a following. 

So, can Tell Me Everything be enjoyed by readers who haven't read the other books in the series? Absolutely. Strout gives snippets of back story to help readers along. It may be a richer experience for those who have been on the journey since the beginning, but I never felt that I was missing out. But what I did feel was a yearning for more. I expect it won't be too long before I crack the spine on another Strout novel. I may even start at the beginning...