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Tag Archives: Elizabeth Strout
“Mom, I don’t know who to trust!”
Elizabeth Strout’s new novel — a Christmas gift of the first order – is her most enigmatic. Reviewers have drawn wildly different conclusions about the book’s message. For me, the book explores what happens when you don’t know who you … Continue reading
Posted in fiction
Tagged a favorite author, Elizabeth Strout, Lucy by the Sea, Pulitzer Prize, trust
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“I have thought about this a lot, and I would like to know – I really would like to – when does a person actually choose anything?”
In an interview, Elizabeth Strout said that she once met an advisor in the Obama administration who said that he was there to help make choices. It turned out, however, that most often the best course of action was so … Continue reading
Posted in fiction
Tagged a favorite author, Elizabeth Strout, Oh, the option to choose, William!
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“Silence surrounded her as she waited.”
In Olive, Again there is a lot of waiting and a lot of people dying. And yet, there is an underlying sense of urgency as the main characters struggle to figure things out, which is difficult work because it’s clear … Continue reading
Four Favorite Books from 2017
I’ve already written about the best books of 2017 for teachers, and so today I will focus on the other books that I’ve read this year. My “favorite” books are the ones that I am most likely to read again. … Continue reading
Posted in fiction, non-fiction
Tagged best books of 2017, Charles Dickens, Desmond, Elizabeth Strout, Jane Smiley, Matthew
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“The Hopper painting hung on the wall with an indifference so vast it began to feel personal, as though it had been painted for this moment”
The passage continues: “Your troubles are huge and meaningless, it seemed to say, there is only the sun on the side of the house.” The troubles of the people in this illuminating book are vast indeed: no novelist, including Charles … Continue reading
Posted in fiction
Tagged Anything Is Possible, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Strout, Hunger, poverty
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