Abide with Me

By Elizabeth Strout

Book Overview

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge and My Name is Lucy Barton comes a "deeply moving" (The Washington Post) novel that "confirms Strout as the possessor of an irresistibly companionable, peculiarly American voice" (The Atlantic Monthly).

"Superb . . . a shimmering tale of loss, faith, and human fallibility."--O: The Oprah Magazine

In the late 1950s, in a small New England town, Reverend Tyler Caskey has suffered a terrible loss and finds it hard to be the person he once was. He struggles to find the right words in his sermons and in his conversations with those facing crises of their own, and to bring his five-year-old daughter, Katherine, out of the silence she has observed in the wake of the family's tragedy. Tyler's usually patient and kind congregation now questions his leadership and propriety, and accusations are born out of anger and gossip. Then, in Tyler's darkest hour, a startling discovery will test his parish's humanity--and his own will to endure the trials that sooner or later test us all.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812971825
• ISBN13: 9780812971828
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Random House Trade
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Sad and sweet

I love anything Strout writes!!!

Brilliant!

Describing a whole world in a few words, as someone said, and such a resonating world - this is what great literature is made of. I couldn't put this book down. This is a writer with a sure grasp of the relationships between men and women, our foolish and guileless hopes and disappointments, how the landscape of our lives is reflected by everything around us. Every word in this book is true, even though it is fiction. The ending of the book doesn't disappoint, either. Truly a marvelous work that will live in my mind for quite awhile. I think it deserves 6 stars.

A very compelling read...

Just as when I read Amy and Isabelle, I was struck here by how Strout turns "quiet" on its head in Abide with Me. In the sense that this book takes place in a tiny and hard New England village, in the sense that it concerns a minister and his daughter treading at first ever so lightly in this village, it *is* quiet. And the landscape of Amy and Isabelle was "quiet" in the same sense: a mother and daughter living in one house, at first barely making any impressions at all. But what is distinctly not quiet here is what is going on inside the heads of these characters. And that is what Strout does so well: reveal the inner complexities of just about anyone, including those who at first you'd never believe could be interiorly complex. I think she does this best with Katherine, the minister's kindergartner, who is practically mute but who has a rich, thoughtful, even witty interior life. But many, if not most, of the characters in this novel, at first seeming to conform to the stereotype of hard, rough, private New Englanders, are revealed as having tremendous private pain, passion, and sensitivity. Meanwhile, the central figure in Abide with Me, the minister, starts out with a rich exterior in the form of his philosophical sermonizing, but hardly any interior at all. This is his lesson to learn, and Strout shows us exactly how he comes to gain self-awareness. Bravo to Strout for her characterizations. This is a beautiful book.

A WONDERFUL, MESMERIZING STUDY IN SMALL TOWN COMPLEXITIES

Five Stars!! Spinning off of the theme of life in small town northern New England, Elizabeth Strout conjures up another winner of a novel detailing the inner most feellngs of the human condition and inter-personal relationships, buffeted by duty, change, and tragedy. Much like the preceding novel, "Amy and Isabelle", set in a different fictional New England town, this is MESMERIZING writing. We already know from the editorial reviews that this novel is heading towards some sort of a surprise near the end, but in getting there Ms Strout's prose makes us want this journey to continue much longer! Considering the prosaic subject matter, the life of small town preacher Tyler Caskey, and his family, friends, parishioners, and gossipy townsfolk, she conjures up one heck of a fictional ride. Tyler, whose center of gravity balances between God's word and layman philosophers. Ms Strout effectively draws us in and keeps us beguiled with her rich cast of characters, her 'attention to detail' (Connie's hair, for instance; the minister's old shirt; or the effects of fall weather) and her elegant, stark prose, peppered with down-home phrases like "skitter-skatter". By the time Connie Hatch steps into the forefront, this novel is riveting in it's intensity and beauty. The church congregation scene is flat out wonderful writing, as are the final scenes between Tyler and George. I guessed at a different ending, but Ms Strout is firmly in control and takes us where her compass wants us to be and it's a wonderful ending. This is a great fictional study in small town complexities and humanity. And she leaves us wanting more! Highly Recommended. Five Wonderful Stars!! (Note: I found the Fournier typeface to be very elegant and readable. This review is based on an unabridged digital download, which makes digital disc a great new home storage alternative for novels. Thank you, Random House!)