The Burgess Boys

A Novel

By: Elizabeth Strout

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Haunted by the freak accident that killed their father when they were children, Jim and Bob Burgess escaped from their Maine hometown of Shirley Falls for New York City as soon as they possibly could. Jim, a sleek, successful corporate lawyer, has belittled his bighearted brother their whole lives, and Bob, a Legal Aid attorney who idolizes Jim, has always taken it in stride. But their long-standing dynamic is upended when their sister, Susan - the Burgess sibling who stayed behind - urgently calls them home. Her lonely teenage son, Zach, has gotten himself into a world of trouble, and Susan desperately needs their help. And so the Burgess brothers return to the landscape of their childhood, where the long-buried tensions that have shaped and shadowed their relationship begin to surface in unexpected ways that will change them forever.

With a rare combination of brilliant storytelling, exquisite prose, and remarkable insight into character, Elizabeth Strout has brought to life two deeply human protagonists whose struggles and triumphs will resonate with listeners long after the ausiobook is over. Tender, tough-minded, loving, and deeply illuminating about the ties that bind us to family and home, The Burgess Boys is Elizabeth Strout’s newest and perhaps most astonishing work of literary art.

©2013 Elizabeth Strout (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Deeply human... Though loneliness and loss haunt these pages, Strout also supplies gentle humor and a nourishing dose of hope.” ( Booklist)

Wonderful story and engrossing characters.

If you like the author, you will enjoy this book.
A good read and well told story.

Decent story but awful narrator/reader.

The person who read the story ruined this book. She didn’t get the Maine dialect and butchered it. She made listening to the character of Jim almost unbearable to hear, with a one note “nasty” voice that grated. When she changed her voice to denote a different character, she characterized them as caricatures of the personality.

Superb novel that will stir the reader's emotions

This is a book that is about two brothers, Jim and Bob, and a lifetime of agony each has suffered in his own way as a result of a childhood incident. Each has lived with unspeakable memories about a day where a terrible tragedy occurs. However, though this event brings tremendous hurt to an entire family, nobody speaks about it. One brother is sent to a therapist, but for the most part, the family pushes their pain away to get on with life.

This story begins with their nephew Zach committing a hate crime--does he do it from intent or ignorance of what he is doing? This is the central question that underlies the entire first part of the book, and forces the brothers to face what they have run from looking at all this time.

On another level this is such a book for our time! It addresses the question of differentness, of otherness--whether at the level of family who don't know really know each other, or cultural groups who have uneasy relationships as immigration shifts the balance of community and townspeople must come to grips with the presence of people they cannot understand.

This portion of the book explores the way people respond to outsiders, to those who are not like themselves. The author includes the reality that the Somali immigrants who have located in a Maine town are equally suspicious and wary of the Mainers, with whom they now live, after fleeing political horrors and wars in Somalia. The book seems to point out that none of us, at base, even those comfortable with engaging with those different from themselves, are spared the conflict stirred by the challenge of some who find the presence of otherness threatening. Stepping outside the comfort zone of the known and familiar can be so terrifying that people will do all sorts of things to avoid having to adapt to new people and knowledge, even about those they thought they know the best.

This book explores how family must come to terms with the differences, secrets, conflicted emotions and strangeness of their own members, much as the townspeople must find ways to adapt to the changes of having the Somalis enter with their different language, religion and habits.

The author does a masterful job of depicting the intricate tapestry of love, hate, fear, emotions and reactions to having to come to terms with those they find they do not understand. This is a powerfully written book that will stir the reader with emotion as the story unfolds. There were often times when I found myself wondering, "what would I have felt or done in similar circumstances." That is the genius of this book--it engages the reader deeply, and forces us all to examine our own assumptions and beliefs, as well as telling a deeply moving story. I cannot recommend reading it highly enough. I only wish I could give it 6 stars!

Love Elizabeth Strout's writing

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

Yes, and I already have.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Burgess Boys?

When the woman was going to leave America and go home, the discussion of family values here in America and what she wants to return to, having family.

What about Cassandra Campbell’s performance did you like?

I did like it but she needs to re-record and learn the correct pronunciations of Orono and Bangor. Here in Maine we put the emphasis on first syllable of both city names. The way she pronounced Orono was particularly wrong. Why don't narrators do some research about place names??? This really bothered me.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

As I said before, the discussion about family values in America vs. those of some other countries. Also, how the Burgess family became more of a family then ever before in many years.

Ansolutely Excellent!

Wonderful writing, compelling characters, well-constructed plot This is the first I've read in a long time that I was sorry to see end.

Made me cry and made me think more deeply about immigration

I have been steadily making my way through Elizabeth Strout’s books and her skill creating characters that was very believable leaves me wanting to contact the nameless narrator’s motherDefined out what happened to Jim and Helen, Bob and Sue and of course Zachary. Each novel It’s like a tapestry with some threads hanging. You begin to care about what happens to people you begin to feel you know or have met.There were a few times when I was sure I knew what would happen but I got my Comeuppance. Her words create wonderful pictures overtime in a place that you will feel you know. I highly recommend

Its just grow on you...

Took me a while to get into the book but then I couldn't put it down. The figures, the narration and the story build this delicate story which you are not sure that you want it to end.

A little slow to start, but worth the wait

A story that covers so many levels of human relationships that you'll be sad when it ends. Well worth the read.

Family is at the heart of this story

Nothing is ever as it seems. Ms. Strout tells a compelling story about three siblings and is an excellent story teller.

Fantastic reader and great story

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

Absolutely, the reader is one of my favorites. Every word is spoken with emotion.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Burgess Boys?

When Jim admitted he was the one who killed his father not Bob.

Which character – as performed by Cassandra Campbell – was your favorite?

I liked Pam.

If you could take any character from The Burgess Boys out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Although Jim was the villain of the story he was also the most interesting. I would take Jim out and just let him talk about everything.

Any additional comments?

Elizabeth Strout does an excellent job of weaving a story together. Her characters are in-depth, lovable and flawed. She is a keen observer of family dynamics and the listener can see how everything fits together at the end.