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| Published 5 May 2026 |
I rarely reread book, and if I do, I usually read them after decades have passed so that I can refresh my memory or read the book from the perspective of another stage in life. This was not the case with Elizabeth Strout's novel The Things We Never Say. I read it twice this year, and not just because it was shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize Award.
Why did I read this novel twice this year?
It is a gentle yet profound book that many readers in midlife and beyond might find relatable. It's thoughtful while still staying grounded in concrete events without taking long passages that move into the realm of abstractions.
The protagonist of Strout's novel is Artie Dam--aged 57--who has been working as a high school history teacher for decades. As the novel progresses, you learn more about the people where he works, his wife (Evie), his son (Rob), and a handful of friends and acquaintances.
What takes a while to learn is that Artie has a complex inner life, one that he does not always share with others. He also grows impatient with the fact that most people present a mask to the world, avoiding the discomfort of being authentic. Artie frequently takes a sailboat out on the Massachusetts Bay, a place where he used to take his son, but now mainly goes by himself, in part because his son has moved away, in part because it gives him the solitude to gain further perspective on his life and relationships.
Yes, this sounds a little like the major complaint held by Holden Caulfield, the anti-hero of The Catcher in the Rye. While Caulfield might unexpectedly end up with some valid critiques of society underneath the surface of his immature and chaotic behavior, Dam conducts more complex critiques without throwing himself into risk-taking behavior. Well, maybe Dam does become impulsive briefly on a small scale and briefly.
Dam feels the most anguish not because of pervasive inauthenticity within impersonal institutional structures. No, it's his growing awareness that a handful of people in his life have been suppressing personality traits or withholding secrets that leads Dam to question these relationships and question the significant of several years of his life prior to this point.
To some readers, this novel may seem slow paced and lacking dramatic events. However, as a reader in her late midlife (or early late life?), I found the friction between Dam's out life and inner life compelling. Similarly, I found his crisis on how to relate to or trust others heartbreaking. However, how I admire how Dam responds to potentially devastating information.
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