The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

The quirkiness of an Elizabeth Strout book never fails to amaze me. She creates characters through whose eyes we can to see the peaks and valleys of the human condition. Best known for her Pulitzer Prize winning book "Olive Kitteridge," the author now turns her attention to a brand new character named Artie Dam. The protagonist is a married 11th grade history teacher with an adult son living in coastal Massachusetts. We meet Artie through his interaction with his family and students, but also are taken upon a private tour through the inner workings of his mind. He seems to have everything he needs for a rich, wonderful life, but there is only one catch: inside he feels isolated and lonely. His fears remain hidden until one day a family secret comes to the surface, and that turns his private insecurities into public ones. He begins to question not only his relationships, but also whether he wants to be alive at all. Strout's writing always seems so simple at first, but the more you spend time with her characters, the more complex and intriguing they become. And then, among the main characters, there are always little gems like this: In Artie's town there is a tailor who goes to the homes of overweight residents. He measures them inside the privacy of their homes to protect them from the shame of needing to go into his shop. Then later, the tailor mails the finished garments to each client. Strout has thus come up with another character who deserves his own book, too. Signs of humanity and goodness abound in Strout's books, and "The Things We Never Say" is a shining example of that as well. Artie Dam's journey is his own, but at the same time we are all headed on the same journey as Artie. To buy this book on Amazon click here.