The Things We Never Say, by Elizabeth Strout.
Once again – and as we fully expect of a writer of her calibre –
Elizabeth Strout has charmed and saddened us with the story of Artie Dam, a
popular and gifted high school teacher in a small town in Massachusetts, and
any of Strout’s legions of fans can empathise with his situation, for we recognise
so many of his problems, having dealt with similar crises in our own lives.
Artie has been married to Evie, his one
true love for many years and they have one son, now married himself. Because Artie is from a humble background and
his wife’s family is wealthy, he has married ‘up’ and she (in her family’s
opinion) has married ‘down’;
consequently their nuptials were official but muted; no big white wedding for Evie – that would be for her younger sister whose groom was
socially acceptable. But who cared? They were in love and, as we all know, Love
conquers all.
Except when it comes to conception: it took a long time for their son to arrive,
in fact hopes were fading for the completion of their little family when the
miracle occurred and Rob arrived to make their family complete Or did he?
Artie, instead of revelling in the good fortune and perfection of his
little family unit is feeling increasingly isolated and alone; in fact, he really would
not
mind resigning from life tomorrow if need be – until a near-fatal accident rejigs his
ideas about seeing a few more sunrises – and making some new friends
(his rescuers): Life definitely has its
moments!
But Fate with its many fickle fingers has
another shock for him in the shape of a letter received by his son, who badly
needs his advice – which Artie doesn’t know how to give, never having been in
such a situation, not to mention the fact that the information contained in the
letter affects him and his former assessments of his whole adult life: what should Rob and he do now: tell everyone that they finally know a huge
secret, or say nothing and condone a shameful act – perpetrated for all the
right reasons (naturally!)
Yes, we all have similar instances,
similar secrets – who to tell, when to tell, and IF, but no-one illustrates
these conundrums with more skill than Elizabeth Strout: in her gentle, understated prose she shocks
us all into wondering about the consequences of our actions – or the consequences
of doing nothing. As only a superlative
writer can do. SIX STARS
