thunderbolt_kid's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a lovely read (it's about brothers who are both lawyers, but isn't much about their work). It treats all of its characters with respect and kindness, even when they behave badly (which they sometimes do).
nae1226's review against another edition
5.0
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
An Amazon Best Book of the Month, March 2013: It can’t be easy to sit down and write a new novel after your last, Olive Kitteridge, won the Pulitzer Prize (in 2009). The pressure! The pressure! In The Burgess Boys, novelist Elizabeth Strout somehow manages to survive whatever next-book anxiety while at the same time revisiting the themes and types of characters that have made her famous: plainspoken Mainers (some transplanted now to Brooklyn) bound together by both love, competitiveness and the issues of the day. Here, hotshot lawyer Jim and bighearted Bob Burgess come together over a politically incorrect prank perpetrated by their sister’s son--and discover that their distrust of each other has never really gone away. But then, neither has their love. Nobody does buried conflict and tortured familial relations better than Strout. --Sara Nelson
Amazon.com Review
An Amazon Best Book of the Month, March 2013: It can’t be easy to sit down and write a new novel after your last, Olive Kitteridge, won the Pulitzer Prize (in 2009). The pressure! The pressure! In The Burgess Boys, novelist Elizabeth Strout somehow manages to survive whatever next-book anxiety while at the same time revisiting the themes and types of characters that have made her famous: plainspoken Mainers (some transplanted now to Brooklyn) bound together by both love, competitiveness and the issues of the day. Here, hotshot lawyer Jim and bighearted Bob Burgess come together over a politically incorrect prank perpetrated by their sister’s son--and discover that their distrust of each other has never really gone away. But then, neither has their love. Nobody does buried conflict and tortured familial relations better than Strout. --Sara Nelson
nicki_j's review against another edition
3.0
I agree with Sue's review - I didn't know who to root for. At times, I thought this was very well-written. Other times I thought "wow, no one talks like this." or "the way this person is acting makes no sense." There is a pretty significant subplot that the book summary doesn't mention - displaced Somali who live in the small Maine town where the Burgess boys grew up. I don't think it made the book better or worse, its just interesting to me that it is isn't mentioned in the description of the book even though it played a large part.
Spoiler
I had an inkling about halfway through the book that Jim had actually accidentally killed the father and not Bob. I expected that it would be this huge revelation and change Bob's life. I was right and wrong. It did not change Bob's outlook as much as I thought it would. But, he was somewhat happier by the end of the book, which is what I wanted for him.christiek's review against another edition
3.0
This is good, but maybe overhyped? So many people told me they loved it, that I was underwhelmed when it finally made it to the top of my stack. Jeez, Jim is a prick.
stacyculler's review against another edition
4.0
Growing up as a grownup
I definitely related to the major themes in this book: being defined and sometimes confined by the past you have tried to leave behind, feeling like an imposter once you have arrived in the world you have aspired to, fearing a return of more humble circumstances while simultaneously longing for the familiarity of them.
I definitely related to the major themes in this book: being defined and sometimes confined by the past you have tried to leave behind, feeling like an imposter once you have arrived in the world you have aspired to, fearing a return of more humble circumstances while simultaneously longing for the familiarity of them.
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
This was oddly compelling - on their own, I'm not sure the different threads would have worked, but mixed together they did.
The Burgess Boys are bombastic Jim, a famous criminal attorney, and schlumpy Bob, a Legal Aid appeals attorney. There's also a sister, Bob's twin, Susan, who is bitter and apparently overly attached to her strange son Zach. The Boys live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, while Susan has never really escaped Shirley Falls, the small town in Maine they grew up in. The trigger for the changes and disruptions in their lives is that Zach, for reasons unknown (but apparently not malevolent reasons) has taken a frozen pig's head and rolled it into a Somali mosque during Ramadan, Shirley Falls having become a refugee outpost for that population.
By the end of the book, Jim's career and marriage will be in shambles, Bob's assumptions about his life will have completely changed (he moves to Manhattan, becomes less schlumpy, and starts to question his role in the family), Susan is slightly less bitter but closer to both brothers, and Zach's hate crime will send him to his father in Sweden and some measure of happiness. In many ways, these changes are cliche, for example of course Jim will have an affair that leads to his dismissal from the Big Law Firm and his wife kicking him out. It's the writing, the way in which these cliches are approached, that kept me reading.
ARC provided by publisher.
The Burgess Boys are bombastic Jim, a famous criminal attorney, and schlumpy Bob, a Legal Aid appeals attorney. There's also a sister, Bob's twin, Susan, who is bitter and apparently overly attached to her strange son Zach. The Boys live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, while Susan has never really escaped Shirley Falls, the small town in Maine they grew up in. The trigger for the changes and disruptions in their lives is that Zach, for reasons unknown (but apparently not malevolent reasons) has taken a frozen pig's head and rolled it into a Somali mosque during Ramadan, Shirley Falls having become a refugee outpost for that population.
By the end of the book, Jim's career and marriage will be in shambles, Bob's assumptions about his life will have completely changed (he moves to Manhattan, becomes less schlumpy, and starts to question his role in the family), Susan is slightly less bitter but closer to both brothers, and Zach's hate crime will send him to his father in Sweden and some measure of happiness. In many ways, these changes are cliche, for example of course Jim will have an affair that leads to his dismissal from the Big Law Firm and his wife kicking him out. It's the writing, the way in which these cliches are approached, that kept me reading.
ARC provided by publisher.
misslezlee's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn’t find much to get excited about in this novel. Nothing about it made me eager to pick it up and read for a while. If I hadn’t finished it before my virtual library loan caught up with me I wouldn’t have made an effort to renew it. Couldn’t put my finger on what it was that made it such a boring read, but that’s what it was for me.
eamonneamonn's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
wendoxford's review against another edition
3.0
Didn't love this as much as Strout's other books. The same small town and complex characters. The main theme could be seen as living a lie and the consequences. However amidst these are bigger political stories and perspectives about American communities.
I stumbled through it. So different from being swept along in the riptide of her other novels.
I stumbled through it. So different from being swept along in the riptide of her other novels.
knit3314's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the Audible version of this novel.
If you like intimate stories about families and relationships that showcase the ups and downs of life this is one for you. If you've read Olive Kitteridge and enjoyed it you will definitely enjoy this as well. A story about 3 siblings; the oldest son and his younger fraternal twin siblings. Their childhoods are scarred and shaped by the tragic loss of their father in a freak accident. Their mother is a key influence on how they grow up and her grief melds into them impacting each in specific ways. This is their story told from their mature adult selves and highlighting their struggles stemming from that fateful day. And there is another generation impacted, one of the twins has a teenage son who makes a gross error in judgment that will bring this family full circle and it will not leave them as there were. The ending is well done.
I like this writer because she recreated real life, real people, and keeps it relevant to her readers. Her writing style is easy and flowing with the right amount of description for placing the reader into the setting; in this case Maine and NYC.
A really good read.
If you like intimate stories about families and relationships that showcase the ups and downs of life this is one for you. If you've read Olive Kitteridge and enjoyed it you will definitely enjoy this as well. A story about 3 siblings; the oldest son and his younger fraternal twin siblings. Their childhoods are scarred and shaped by the tragic loss of their father in a freak accident. Their mother is a key influence on how they grow up and her grief melds into them impacting each in specific ways. This is their story told from their mature adult selves and highlighting their struggles stemming from that fateful day. And there is another generation impacted, one of the twins has a teenage son who makes a gross error in judgment that will bring this family full circle and it will not leave them as there were. The ending is well done.
I like this writer because she recreated real life, real people, and keeps it relevant to her readers. Her writing style is easy and flowing with the right amount of description for placing the reader into the setting; in this case Maine and NYC.
A really good read.