The Burgess boys – Jim and younger brother
Bob - left their home town of Shirley Falls in Maine for New York years
ago. Jim has made it big as a celebrated
defence lawyer, married well and with the children now off to college life is
fine in their swanky brownstone apartment.
Less so for Bob; confidence dented by a childhood tragedy he’s divorced,
living in what his brother terms ‘a student dorm’ but making a decent living
reviewing legal appeal cases.
Left back in Shirley Falls is their sister,
Bob’s twin, Susan. She phones with the
news that her son Zach, withdrawn since his father left home, has committed a
misdemeanour with religious overtones and political implications in the town
struggling to come to terms with an influx of Somali refugees.
The Burgess boys are mobilised and while Jim
uses his contacts to get Zach a top lawyer Bob heads home to provide emotional
support.
The case drags on and even Jim has to slum
it for a few days back in Maine; and as the siblings get back together old
tensions and recriminations surface. By
the end lives - Jim’s, Bob’s, Susan’s, even Zach’s – have changed.
Strout’s portrayal of family relations is
very good, capturing the mix of irritation, loyalty, resentment, love and envy
with subtle but effective writing. The
pulse doesn’t race but the heart goes out to characters all too human, and by
the finish there is deep concern that each will be left with their lives set on
a favourable course.
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