The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
The Burgess Boys, Jim and Bob, fled small town Maine and never wanted to return. Jim, the eldest, left after winning a high profile case for New York City and a big money job as a corporate lawyer. Bob, who idolizes his brother, follows and gets a job working for Legal Aid. Many forget that there is a Burgess sister named Susan. It is Susan, more exactly the trouble her son Zach has gotten into, that summons the Burgess Boys back to Maine.
I saw this novel as exploring the ideas of the incidents and actions, some small, some large, which define us forevermore. What makes people from the same family so different, and what makes family dynamics so difficult to unravel and comprehend. I thought I was picking up a legal drama, but instead I got an intense character study. I was pleased.
