Years ago, Elizabeth Strout introduced us to the seaside town of Crosby, Maine, home of retired schoolteacher Olive Kitteridge. Since then, we have met some of Olive’s fellow residents who shared with us their lives and problems, thoughts, hopes and dreams. In TELL ME EVERYTHING, we happily reunite with them.

Famous writer Lucy Barton figures prominently in Olive’s story. But the novel is really about local lawyer Bob Burgess, Lucy’s dear friend. Bob and Lucy walk along the shore together nearly every day so Bob can smoke a cigarette and hide it from his wife. More than that, though, he just likes talking to Lucy. They have a special connection. At 65, Bob is at a stage where he has more questions than answers. On their walks, they try to figure out life’s eternal mysteries, like its very meaning. They do this through exchanging their deepest thoughts and seeing where those lead them.

"Readers will return to this novel time and again and always find some new nugget revealed to them. Don’t be the one to miss out."

As a writer, Lucy observes every detail from everywhere and every interaction. And then she forms them into a story to tell Olive, who is the perfect listener, now being nearly homebound. Irascible, even often irritated, Olive nonetheless loves stories, especially Lucy’s. They call these the tales of the “unrecorded lives.” In the telling, they lend substance to a person’s very existence, the most important part of being alive. It’s Lucy’s way of giving that person’s life meaning, by gifting the story to Olive, even if Olive never tells another soul before she dies.

But back to Bob. He thinks of himself as an average, normal guy, but mostly he thinks of others. He enjoys spending time with Lucy; in fact, he begins to look forward to those walks with her almost too much. He loves his wife, but there’s something special about Lucy. One day, Bob realizes he loves her too. But he is the sort of man who would never act on this impulse. So he holds his feelings in, which makes him uncomfortable. Maybe if he focuses more on work, his thoughts will become less troublesome.

So when Gloria Beach, who many in town despise, goes missing and the police take a hard look at her son, Matt, Bob decides to represent him. Matt has awkward social skills, still lives with his mother, and has been known to make comments about her that are less than kind. There was no doubt that Bob would take the case. Now he hopes it will distract him from his confused thoughts about Lucy.

At the same time, Bob’s brother, Jim, is having a crisis of his own in New York. Bob has his hands full with the Matt Beach case and now needs to help out his family. But, as someone pointed out, Bob is a sin eater who takes on burdens not his own. Exhausted and worried, he nonetheless does everything he can for everyone he can. What all this shows is the tremendous compassion a man of his caliber has for friends and family, how some people are natural givers, and how people need each other in ways they themselves may not fully recognize.

TELL ME EVERYTHING encompasses several years in the lives of the townspeople of Crosby, but it could be Anywhere, USA. People experience joys and tragedies. They need to get in touch with their feelings, dig deep into their hearts and understand what’s inside themselves, or they risk becoming numb. The characters here enrich themselves by exchanging stories --- by telling everything, as Olive asks Lucy. Readers will return to this novel time and again and always find some new nugget revealed to them. Don’t be the one to miss out.