Tell Me Everything: Oprah's Book Club: A Novel

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 13,640 ratings

Price: 14.99

Last update: 01-08-2025


About this item

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From Pulitzer Prize–winning author Elizabeth Strout comes a “stunner” (People) of a novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world.

“Tell Me Everything hits like a bucolic fable. . . . A novel of moods, how they govern our personal lives and public spaces, reflected in Strout’s shimmering technique.”—The Washington Post

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time, NPR, Vogue, Parade

With her remarkable insight into the human condition and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters—Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, Bob Burgess, and more—as they deal with a shocking crime in their midst, fall in love and yet choose to be apart, and grapple with the question, as Lucy Barton puts it, “What does anyone’s life mean?”

It’s autumn in Maine, and the town lawyer Bob Burgess has become enmeshed in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother. He has also fallen into a deep and abiding friendship with the acclaimed writer Lucy Barton, who lives down the road in a house by the sea with her ex-husband, William. Together, Lucy and Bob go on walks and talk about their lives, their fears and regrets, and what might have been. Lucy, meanwhile, is finally introduced to the iconic Olive Kitteridge, now living in a retirement community on the edge of town. They spend afternoons together in Olive’s apartment, telling each other stories. Stories about people they have known—“unrecorded lives,” Olive calls them—reanimating them, and, in the process, imbuing their lives with meaning.

Brimming with empathy and pathos, Tell Me Everything is Elizabeth Strout operating at the height of her powers, illuminating the ways in which our relationships keep us afloat. As Lucy says, “Love comes in so many different forms, but it is always love.”

From the Publisher

Oprah’s Book Club Pick! Oprah says this novel has all the things: romance and mystery and secrets

Publishers Weekly says longtime fans and newcomers alike will relish this

People says Strout’s musings on life and the importance of storytelling are downright profound

The Boston Globe says an achingly moving and exhilarating novel.

Quote from book, “Opinions mean nothing.”

Top reviews from the United States

  • Rachel Glazer-DeRovira
    5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book
    Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2024
    This book is just outstanding. It is so quietly told, but it leaves a very large impact on one’s heart and soul. It truly lets you into the characters feelings and you can honestly feel what they’re feeling. That is my kind of book. It’s funny I had tried once before to read it and stopped and then I picked it back up and now gave it five stars. It is so poignant and the messages this novel provides is just so honest and true and makes you think about your own life and everyone’s life also. I highly recommend this book.
  • Hurricane Reader
    4.0 out of 5 stars very nice, quiet,thoughtful
    Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2024
    Lovely book about thinking, feeling, people living their lives. I loved it. It’s like a fine principle drawing. ……. …….
  • Word Nerd
    5.0 out of 5 stars *ALMOST* Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2024
    I'll start with the good stuff, which is truly almost everything. This, like all of Strout's books in the Olive's world series, is rich in its telling. The characters, most of whom we know well now, are multifaceted and perfectly imperfect. Relatable, even when we kind of wish we didn't understand what they're feeling because we know that doesn't show us in our best light. Strout has a wonderful way of balancing people's shortcomings with their humanity, which makes her work a joy to read.

    EXCEPT one little pet peeve I have. It's all the "Oh, (insert character's name)!" SO many times. Far too many. It drove me crazy when I read "Oh, William!" which was an otherwise terrific read and it drove me crazy again in this book. "Oh, Bob!" "Oh, Charlene!" "Oh, Pam. Pam. Pam." "Oh, Helen!" "Oh, Jim Burgess!" "Oh, Matt!"

    You get the idea. Add to all those (each in many multiples) all of the times characters begin their sentences with the word "oh" and it doesn't take long for the annoyance factor to take something away from the story.

    That being said, Strout's mastery of storytelling means that when she releases another book, I'll absolutely buy it. But a note to the author, should she by chance read this review:

    Oh, Elizabeth! I'm begging you! When it's time to edit the next one, please remove the word "oh" about 80% of the times it pops up.

    With enormous respect and gratitude,
    Word Nerd
  • LindaL
    5.0 out of 5 stars If you love character-driven novels that focus on conversation, this is the perfect book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2024
    Elizabeth Strout has the unique ability to make the ordinary seem extraordinary. The characters she has created over the years are probably stereotypes in some sense since they represent typical people in a small town in Maine—a minister, lawyer, writer, police chief, schoolteacher, and others. However, the introspective conversations she creates among her characters are amazingly representative of every human being and are relatable on multiple levels.

    I've read almost all of Strout's books, and along with a few other authors, I feel as though I have lived my adult life and grown through some of the perspectives of Olive Kitteridge, Lucy Barton, and the Burgess men. These familiar characters all appear in Tell Me Everything. Since they are all aging, the issues of dealing with adult children, failing health, and loneliness are addressed with poise, humor, and dignity.

    A central theme in this novel is "unrecorded lives." In her nineties, Olive Kitteridge wishes to tell stories about people to Lucy Barton, a writer. Lucy listens to her stories and relays a few of her own. As they ponder the meaning of the stories, it becomes apparent that all lives are noteworthy and chance encounters with unknown people can be significant. Storytelling, so much a part of our culture, is exalted in this novel, and those who can listen and learn from others' stories are the most likable characters.

    In conversations Attorney Bob Burgess has with his brother Jim, his wife Margaret, his ex-wife Pam, his client Matt, and his friend, Lucy Barton, the reader gains tremendous insight into various personalities and human needs. There is a detailed discussion about narcissism, gaslighters, and other character traits which cause consternation. In addition, some relationships include linchpins and cycles of abuse. There are discussions of alcoholism, suicide, patricide, and matricide. Strout's expressions when giving her characters words exemplify her understanding of the human condition. I loved when someone was referred to as a sin eater—they "eat" other people's sins and make themselves miserable. There are numerous depictions of "broken" people, those who need a good hug and those who just need to be heard. So much of real life is conveyed in Strout's fictional yet realistic characters.
  • Anna
    3.0 out of 5 stars The Olive Moments Were Good
    Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2024
    Olive Kitteridge and Olive Again are two of my favorite contemporary novels of all time, so I was really looking forward to this book. The Olive moments didn't disappoint - she's just as salty and inwardly caring as always. The character is Lucy is well-drawn as well - she's dreamy and full of love of all people and the world, yet prickly when poked. I also liked the character of Bob, whose thoughts on his bad haircut reminded me of the sweetly humorous insightful character studies of Anne Tyler. However, the story, unlike the stories within the story, dragged along for some reason. It was difficult to care about the woman who got murdered or the back story of her family, for some reason. I know that the story needed some sort of plot, but I'm not sure a murder mystery was a good fit to the character development within the story. I kept skipping ahead to the places where Olive and Lucy meet up and had hoped that there was more here. I also wished to know more about Margaret and Bob's relationship and Margaret herself, how she became a pastor, for example. This book will still find its place on my shelf with the Olive books, but it was not as satisfying of a read by a long shot.
  • Johnny DAmazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Tell Me Everything
    Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2024
    Elizabeth Strout's poignant tale of life and love is beautifully written. She proves once again, that she is one of Americas greatest story tellers. I did struggle with the parts of the novel that bleeds into the over dramatic, but her skill of drawing the reader into this dysfunctional group of senior citizens was,well worth the effort.

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