Amy and Isabelle

A Novel

By: Elizabeth Strout

Narrated by: Stephanie Roberts

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The debut novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge evokes a teenager's alienation from her distant mother, and a parent's rage at the discovery of her daughter's secrets.

“One of those rare, invigorating books that take an apparently familiar world and peer into it with ruthless intimacy, revealing a strange and startling place.”—The New York Times Book Review

Before there was Olive Kitteridge, there was Amy and Isabelle…

In most ways, Isabelle and Amy are like any mother and her 16-year-old daughter, a fierce mix of love and loathing exchanged in their every glance. That they eat, sleep, and work side by side in the gossip-ridden mill town of Shirley Falls—a location fans of Strout will recognize from her critically acclaimed novel, The Burgess Boys—only increases the tension. And just when it appears things can't get any worse, Amy's sexuality begins to unfold, causing a vast and icy rift between mother and daughter that will remain unbridgeable unless Isabelle examines her own secretive and shameful past.

Critic reviews

"Strout's insights into the complex psychology bewteen [mother and daughter] result in a poignant tale about two coming of age." —Time

"Impressive....Strout writes with abundant warmth." —People

"Poignant...sensitively imagined...[Amy and Isabelle] recalls the elgegiac charm of Our Town." —The Christian Science Monitor

"Stunning....Every once in a while, a novel comes along that plunges deep into your psyche, leaving you breathless....This year that novel is Amy and Isabelle." —San Francisco Chronicle

"Excellent....Strout's collective portrait...remains unflaggingly engaging....[W]hat a pleasure to gain entry into the world of this book." —The New Yorker

"Lovely, powerful...a kind if modern 'Rapunzel.'" —Newsweek

"Amy and Isabelle is an impressive debut....with an expansiveness and inventiveness that is the mark of a true storyteller." —The Philadelphia Inquirer

beautiful characters

Where does Amy and Isabelle rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

#1

What was one of the most memorable moments of Amy and Isabelle?

that would be a spoiler

Have you listened to any of Stephanie Roberts’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

excellent reader

If you could take any character from Amy and Isabelle out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Isabelle, I'd like to sit down and talk to her. Or maybe Fat Bev. I liked all the women characters in this book.

Any additional comments?

Elizabeth Strout's characters are so real. Complicated people who do dumb stuff, make mistakes. But they are also capable of love, and those wonderful moments of real human love and insight. I find it easy to identify with all of them.

Amazing.

Beautiful story of mother and daughter and life in a small town. I couldn't stop listening to it.

Elizabeth Strout is always a unique read.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this title to any current Elizabeth Strout fans. I feel one must either have a) an open mind, or b) an existing appreciation for Strout's heavy exposition.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the painful believability of the characters.

What three words best describe Stephanie Roberts’s performance?

Patient. Impassioned. Believable.

If you could rename Amy and Isabelle, what would you call it?

The Sins of the Mother

Another unforgettable lesson in Compassion

Every book I listen to by Elizabeth Strout, reminds me of people I've know and forgotten about, some of whom I judged before I forgot about them. At some point during every book I think of myself in various forms. The insecure me, the child me, or the judged me. I cannot read Ms. Strout without feeling empathy and compassion for the characters who inhabited my life, and for myself. She has a gift.

Wow. So many intimate life moments captures beautifully

This books stats slow but man, does it build. What an intricate pattern appears. Such a lovely portrait of how much friendship and kindness are needed in this world. A great read

Loved it!

Loved the story the narrative and the ability to give such interest to every day events

I wanted to love this book...

It had some really good story lines, then it had some story lines that felt like fillers, this won't particularly be rememberable for me - but it could be for someone else...

Amy and Isabelle

I read about the story and the synopsis on Amazon. I really enjoyed this book. It’s about a young woman who lives with her mother. They had a very strange relationship. I never knew what was going to happen next. I didn’t like that they left a few loose ends hanging. But, the narrator did such a fabulous job reading the book. There were parts where I laughed, parts that were unexpected, and things that happened that were unfortunate. I don’t want to give the storyline away, but it is a very enjoyable book. It reminded me of my strained relationship with my own mother.

Absorbing, beautiful

I loved this debut from the author. Hard to believe it’s a first book. Some passages catch you by surprise with their wisdom and maturity. Innocence lost by mother and daughter, and it’s the same villain, but quite complicated.

Story

Brilliant as usual; read the newer books before the first. Heartbreaking like life. Where does she get it from?