Elizabeth Strout Releases 'The Things We Never Say'
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- Elizabeth Strout published her 11th novel, The Things We Never Say, after a career that includes a 2009 Pulitzer Prize and multiple Booker and Women’s prize nominations.
- The Things We Never Say shifts from Strout’s usual small‑town Maine setting to coastal Massachusetts and introduces a new central character, 57‑year‑old history teacher Artie Dam.
- Artie Dam is portrayed as a beloved, quirky teacher with habits like white socks and “old man black sneakers,” living in a spacious ocean‑side home with his wife Evie.
- Artie Dam’s marriage is strained by class differences and a tragic car accident ten years earlier in which his son Rob’s girlfriend died, leading to lingering grief and emotional distance.
- Rob, Artie’s son, survived the accident, attended MIT, works as a software developer, but remains quiet and withdrawn, causing Artie continual heartbreak.
- Anne Merrill, an English teacher in the novel, is described as “a little bit in love” with Artie, adding another layer to his personal turmoil.
Why it matters: Long‑time readers gain a fresh, richly drawn world that tackles class‑based marital strain, lingering trauma from a fatal accident, and the anxieties of a post‑pandemic, election‑heavy America, while the novel reinforces Strout’s reputation for intimate, socially resonant storytelling and offers new emotional terrain for fans seeking depth.
