It’s hard to believe Elizabeth Strout is still writing books that capture us and take us into a world she has created. And this one is a world we haven’t been to before: no one in Olive Kitteridge’s orbit appears in this book. Olive herself made a very brief appearance when Artie, the main character, recalled reading a book about a grumpy old woman from Maine named Olive Kitteridge. In that book Olive noted that when they get older, some people die of loneliness and Artie thought he would be one of them.
There is so much to love and admire about this book. Artie is a high school history teacher who demonstrates his care for students over the years. His background made him an empathetic person, including his mother’s mental health issues. His sister died as a young woman and her anguish repeats in Artie’s head. He married Evie, a woman with money and they moved into her family’s beautiful big house. She’s not an appealing character; her work as a family therapist leaves her with little energy for talking about issues at home. Their grown son Rob is successful in his work, having survived a car accident that killed his high school girlfriend.
When we meet him, Artie has been thinking of suicide, realizing how hard it would be to do that, but attracted to the idea. He begins asking questions like whether humans have free will, to the annoyance of Evie. The backdrop of his struggles is the 2024 election. What Elizabeth Strout says about how that affects Artie seemed very well done to me. It changes everything and yet we keep going.
SPOILER ALERT:
Artie learned from his son Rob that he is not Rob’s father; Evie had an affair with a family friend who had since died. In the aftermath of the revelation, Artie and Rob became much closer. While they each reserved the right to talk to Evie about it, neither found a need for that. There’s something about the way that played out that I found appealing and satisfying.
There were a few moments when I found myself weary of living Artie Dam’s story through all the daily grind and moments of high drama. But then that may be the appropriate response to him at that time of his life and in the face of the loss of optimism about the future of our country.
Elizabeth Strout, The Things We Never Say, Random House, 2026, 206 pages (I listened to the audiobook). Available in the public library.