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A Novel
by Elizabeth Strout
Book Reviewed by:Pulitzer Prize–winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Strout's new novel tells the story of a chance incident that sparks a powerful realization in a beloved teacher's life—a poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, parenthood, and the importance of truth in a capsizing world.
Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?
And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.
Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters. With exquisite prose and profound insight, The Things We Never Say takes one man's fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, captures the abiding love that sustains and holds us all.
1
It was the middle of June and the sun all day had kept right on shining with sweet mightiness. "Stay jovial, please, Artie! Just promise me that. Please stay your old jovial self!" Flossie MacDonald had wiped her napkin across her weeping eyes and told this to Artie Dam the last time she had seen him, which had been on this spectacular evening in June. And he assured her that he would.
They had gone to Spud's Bar and Grille, the place near Artie's house that was right there on the water on the coast of Massachusetts; the bay, seen through the windows, was calm, and many boats sat there quietly, sailboats and fishing boats and boats large enough to sleep eight people. The sun, which was not yet fully headed down, shone against the water with a golden brilliance, and when Artie looked at Flossie her large black-rimmed glasses had sun reflecting off them.
He and Flossie had come here every other Tuesday night since Flossie's husband died last year; her husband had been a retired math ...
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (5/14/2026)
My reading time has been limited because my husband and I will travel next week to attend our grandson's 8th grade graduation ceremony. I did finish The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout. The author continues with her perspective writing style as in the Olive Kitteridge series, but she surprisingly introduces new characters in the sto...
-Lynne_G
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (5/7/2026)
I finished Elizabeth Strout's 'The Things We Never Say' and it's very likely it will be my book of the year. How does she do it - How does she create these quiet worlds inside normal everyday people - but like everyone they are deep, complex, contradictory, and oh so incredibly fallible people, l...
-Evonne_Benedict
Upcoming Book Releases
Whistler by Ann Patchett (6/2) The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (5/5) The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (5/5)
-Evonne_Benedict
Strout has written a beautiful and devastating character study that also puts into words the psychological toll of our recent history. Though she never includes overt references to the time like mask wearing or red ball caps, the specter of COVID and the terrifying political unrest that hangs over the country permeate every part of the narrative. It is the real world where death happens abruptly, without warning or fanfare. Personal tragedies and triumphs are just that, and the earth keeps turning. Here a good man lives his life, carries his regrets, feels despair, finds joy again, and finally discovers that, in the end, "it was a private thing to be alive."..continued
Full Review
(723 words)
(Reviewed by Sara Fiore).
Artie struggles throughout The Things We Never Say with the concept of free will. He wrestles not just with the idea that he may or may not have control over his life, but also with what it actually means. Has he earned the good things he has in life or done things to justify the struggles he's faced—or is it all just random chance? Though he poses the question to various people in his life, he never arrives at an answer that feels like the right one.
The battle between the concepts of free will (the ability to make our own choices and forge our own destinies) and determinism (that everything in the universe is predetermined and cannot be altered) has been a frequent subject for writers throughout history. Characters struggle ...
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The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it
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