Review: The Burgess Boys By: Elizabeth Strout

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To be fair, I think that 3 1/2 stars would be more accurate.

Welcome to the story of Jim, Bob, and Susan Burgess. Growing up in a small town in Maine with a tragedy upon their heads of their father's death brings their adulthood to a standstill when Susan's son is in legal trouble.
Both Burgess boys escaped to New York, one with high profile clients, the other legal aid - one with 30 years of marriage but deep dark secrets that eat away at him every day and the other with a guilt that has left him with broken relationships and a broken life. Now that their nephew is in trouble they must go back to where they come from knowing they never truly escaped.
So many characters come into play and although they can make brief appearances within the book, they also show the haunting and actions of the Burgess family and how they affect everyone around them. I found the characters development through situations very enlightening and found them to be very human and vulnerable.
A family so raw, so pained comes off the page and hits the reader's compassion and anger all at once.

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