Welcome to Litsy!

“Lives, as flimsy as fabric, could be snipped capriciously with the shears of random moments of self-interest.”

Lounging with my library book, under the electric blanket, watching the sad news about measles outbreaks and banned Bradford Pear trees. Work was busy and I want a nap. 😴 Looking forward to a nice dinner 🍽️ prepared by my chef husband and watching Severance 📺

I do like a small town novel and this was no exception. I liked hearing the perspectives of each other and of events through both Amy & Isabelle. It was a very slow start (almost bailed) and it wasn‘t until the halfway point that I really got invested but the second half unfolded perfectly. Loved the backdrop of characters, how we get to hear Isabelle‘s story and see her opening up and the mother/daughter relationship. #readyourkindle

Strout‘s debut novel about a mother and a daughter, and their relationship. Amy is 16 and just starting life. Isabelle is a single parent, working as a secretary at the factory, trying to get by. It‘s the warmest summer in memory and things are about to change.

I think I‘ve found that for me Elizabeth Strout needs to be mood read. I‘ve loved books by her in the past, but her characters can be so unpleasant that sometimes I don‘t want to hear them whine and make bad decisions.

I know this is an #unpopularopinion for a lot of folks.

I may come back to this when I‘m in the mood for something Not Cheerful 😆.

Strout strikingly captures the fear a mother has that her daughter will repeat her greatest mistake and the shame and blame around it.

In a Maine mill town in the late 1960s, Isabelle struggles to raise her daughter, Amy, solo. Amy is a well behaved girl in general, however a high school teacher skillfully grooms her into a relationship. When it is revealed, the bond between them becomes strained as Isabelle lashes out terribly towards Amy.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you @Megabooks for my wonderful birthday gifts!! The only Strout I haven‘t read yet!! And the t-shirt is awesome 😎 Feeling so spoiled today and blessed to have made such amazing friends. I love all my gifts and appreciate all the birthday wishes.

I think everything Strout writes is so powerful. This was disturbing to read because of the teacher/student romance, but so moving.

I loved this book! It explores sex, people's longing for intimacy and pleasure, shame, judgment and fear of judgement, friendship... It's about a mother and daughter and terrible events that sets in motion a beautiful flowering in their lives in the end. Elizabeth Strout is a wonderful writer, quickly becoming a favourite. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A nice, slow paced, small town American novel, with a meandering plot. I really enjoyed this, although took a couple of hours reading time before I got swept up into the lives of the different characters.

+16 pts for #MerryReaders #WinterGames

Wow, Strout‘s debut is excellent! This is a mother and daughter story, told with honesty and both perspectives. I loved the female friendships that form - they felt so real and relatable. After I finished this, I picked up the last chapter of Strout‘s latest book, Olive Again, because Isabelle has a role in that story too. Such smart storytelling!

Starting this one today! This is the only Elizabeth Strout book I haven‘t read. It‘s always bittersweet to complete an author‘s collection.

“Please God,” Isabelle whispered piteously, kneading her face with her fingers. Please what? She hated God. She hated him. In the darkness she actually shook her fist in the air, oh, she was so sick to death of God. For years she had been playing some kind of guessing game with him. Is this right, God? Am I doing the right thing? Every decision made on what would Please God - and look where it had gotten her: no place. Less than no place at all.”

Beautifully written! First Elizabeth Strout read for me. Definitely won't be my last! Going out searching for more of her books!

Book 76
Strout's first novel, Amy and Isabelle, is an anomaly in her repertoire in that it has a storyline and main characters; its beauty, as in all her work, is her elegantly-described, relatable explanations of the minutiae of living as well as the dynamic characters and their relationships with each other and their world. A real pleasure to read! 4.5 stars

This is an older book by Elizabeth Strout that I started a few days ago and I‘m really invested in it. I love the narrative voice.

The high school math teacher that takes advantage of teenage Amy in this book is a super #creep. I love Elizabeth Strout and loved hitting up her backlist and reading this novel about the relationship between a mother and daughter. #anglophileapril

Love Strout! Primarily the story of one mother daughter relationship, Amy and Isabelle, it also delves into teenage #infatuation, the intricacies of adult relationships and friendships and how we learn to accept ourselves and each other. It felt so real. A book where I felt completely involved in their world. #literarylove

In a bit of reader serendipity I finished Shirley and immediately started this book which takes places in Shirley Falls and features women working in a mill. Perhaps Strout is a Bronte fan? #shirlitesunite

Finished my GR challenge (90 books) with a 5 star read. 😊This is Elizabeth Strout‘s debut novel and her skill at rendering complex characters and the gut punches in the small details she uses is astounding. Isabelle is a single mother of teenaged Amy. They are both intensely quiet and aloof from neighbours but something has happened to tear them apart. Over a slow stultifyingly hot summer, Strout unveils their story layer by layer.

Finished my GR challenge (90 books) with a 5 star read. 😊This is Elizabeth Strout‘s debut novel and her skill at rendering complex characters and the gut punches in the small details she uses is astounding. Isabelle is a single mother of teenaged Amy. They are both intensely quiet and aloof from neighbours but something has happened to tear them apart. Over a slow stultifyingly hot summer, Strout unveils their story layer by layer.

This is my first Elizabeth Strout and, so far, I‘m really enjoying the story, characters, and her writing style.

Well, that was harrowing!

Irma read

#anditsaugust #hairthereandeverywhere

Church book sale. All these plus four for my daughter for two bucks!👍🏼📚💯

This was the first Elizabeth Strout I read. I bought it as a bargain book and was blown away by this story about a mother and daughter. I meant to keep an eye about for her next book and then forgot until I was amazed by Olive Kitteridge and looked up her back list. Moments like make me think about organizing my bookshelves. #booksaboutmothers #maybookflowers

This was better than I expected, and definitely heavier. A good exploration of a mother/daughter relationship, and how fraught things can become because of small actions. I really liked the internal struggles of the mother and just wanted to hug almost everyone in the story. (ALMOST everyone, there are a couple douchebags who I want to slap.) A dark story in many ways, but realistic and well written. 4/5 ⭐

What she felt...was a fury and pain so deep that she would never have believed a person could feel it and still remain alive.

I don't know much about this one, but I absolutely loved Olive Kitteridge, so hopefully that bodes well! #nowreading

Picking up books left on stoops in Brooklyn since 2011.

#keepgoing #noquit #kindnesscostsnothing

Trying to read the #tbr books on my bookshelf. First up, Strout's debut novel from 1998, a first edition I scored at a school book sale. Loved Olive Kitteridge so prepared to love this, too. A blurb from Alice Munro on the back helps.

This author can write a character into existence: she starts to unravel in your head, and then you see her--walking around outside with you. Spot on. My third Strout book in a row. Can't stop. Now onto updating my neglected Reading Log!

Wine in a mason jar, campfire, sleeping baby, and a great book: kicking off the long weekend with ❤️ tonight.

As if the spot-on mother-daughter dynamic and themes of loneliness and longing weren't enough, Strout's writing of secondary characters elevates this book from good to great! Can't believe it was her first novel.

Wanting to start this immediately after finishing Olive, but it's past midnight. Sleep or read! The timeless struggle.

I loved this novel about a single mother and her teenage daughter. Elizabeth Strout is so honest in her writing. There were many truths that hit home to me. I highly reckoned this novel.