Reviews

Bracia Burgess by Elizabeth Strout

donnawr1's review against another edition

5.0

I'm an Elizabeth Strout fan and enjoyed this book partly because of her beautiful writing. I also found the storyline intriguing and didn't realize until later that it uses events that really happened in a small town in Maine (https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/us/05maine.html). Not only does it bring out the tension between the original residents of small town America with large immigrant groups, but it wove in some interesting family dynamics where three siblings were each traumatized differently during their childhoods by the death of their father. The two brothers, the Burgess Boys, couldn't be more opposite, with one having all the success and the other appearing to be a loser. By the end your opinion of the main characters have all shifted and I love that a Somali man and a female minister are the wisest of the bunch.

dameagles's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kelshughes's review against another edition

3.5

My least favorite plot of the Elizabeth Strout books I've read,  but the quality of the writing saved it for me.

fionnualalirsdottir's review against another edition

I remember liking Strout's Olive Ketteridge but I found this story hard to get interested in.

catalogthis's review against another edition

3.0

My second Elizabeth Strout book. I definitely preferred Olive Kitteridge.

Not to say that there's anything wrong with The Burgess Boys. If you're looking for a vacation read that's not genre fiction, this is a good choice. Distinctive and flawed characters, interesting plot. Her prose, while often simple and lovely, can get a wee bit overwrought at times -- but there was nothing so bad that I felt the need to quote it here.

melody361's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sby's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

augustfae's review against another edition

5.0

I think I'll keep this book. I saw so much of myself in Helen's character and it helped me see myself from the outside in. Plus, there are just some truth nuggets in there. I read it in a day so it kept my attention, but simultaneously felt substantial. I could tell that of the characters was a whole person.

conn_lees's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

juniperd's review against another edition

3.0

i am still mulling this one. while i liked it, there is something niggling at me about it, which i can't quite put my finger on. i found the story and the characters interesting, but it felt a bit fractured and, by the end, it's feels unresolved. i don't require tidy endings when i read, so that's not generally a problem for me. every now and then, though, i encounter a book that just feels unfinished. and i think that may be what's bothering gem about strout's novel.

i read this as part of my reading through the 2014 women's prize for fiction longlist nominees. this was book #7 for me, from the list. held up against some of the others i have already read...i am not sure i would shortlist this one.

but, since i am still sorting through my feelings about the book...maybe my opinion will change?