"The Things We Never Say" by Elizabeth Strout. How a 200 page book could possibly have so much impact is beyond me. This is one of the most deeply moving books I have read in a long time, if ever. I have been so lucky recently to read some fantastic books, but this is indescribable. It made me think about things that I may not have spoken about, not being sure if there are those things. And the way the world and the political situation factors in to everything. That, I already knew but so succinctly described almost my own words. FIVE stars all the way and already have 2 more books by Elizabeth Strout in my TBR pile.

Father and son must now reimagine what fatherhood means. And Artie must decide: Does he tell Evie that he knows? Will telling the truth destroy his 30-year marriage?

As the 2024 presidential election results come in and Artie sees the country re-elect a man he sees as a lunatic, he feels like the country is committing suicide too.

*Theme:*

It's a very quiet, short book (only 224 pages), but devastating. Elizabeth Strout asks:

How is it that we know so little about one another, even those we love most?

It's about the things we never say to keep civility intact, how loneliness builds up in layers, how grief echoes through decades, and how love can still hold us even when we have been keeping huge secrets from each other.

As the judges for the Booker Prize said: _"A devastating look at the dangerous cracks in family life and in the contemporary world at large."_