Bob, Jim, and Susan Burgess grew up in tiny Shirley Falls, a small town in Maine that has been on the decline for a while but has recently seen an influx of immigrants from Somalia. The book follows a year in the life of Bob and Jim Burgess, who have escaped their small hometown in Maine for New York. The novel is set in the fictional New England town of Shirley Falls, which was also the setting of Strout's first novel, Amy and Isabelle. Strout’s fourth novel, it tells the story of two brothers who return home to help their sister after her son is accused of a hate crime.

Tender, tough-minded, loving, and deeply illuminating about the ties that bind us to family and home, The Burgess Boys is perhaps Elizabeth Strout’s most astonishing work of literary art.The Burgess Boys is a novel by American author Elizabeth Strout, published by Random House in 2013.

With a rare combination of brilliant storytelling, exquisite prose, and remarkable insight into character, Elizabeth Strout has brought to life two deeply human protagonists whose struggles and triumphs will resonate with readers long after they turn the final page. And so the Burgess brothers return to the landscape of their childhood, where the long-buried tensions that have shaped and shadowed their relationship begin to surface in unexpected ways that will change them forever.

Her lonely teenage son, Zach, has gotten himself into a world of trouble, and Susan desperately needs their help. But their long-standing dynamic is upended when their sister, Susan-the Burgess sibling who stayed behind-urgently calls them home. Jim, a sleek, successful corporate lawyer, has belittled his bighearted brother their whole lives, and Bob, a Legal Aid attorney who idolizes Jim, has always taken it in stride. Haunted by the freak accident that killed their father when they were children, Jim and Bob Burgess escaped from their Maine hometown of Shirley Falls for New York City as soon as they possibly could. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post This edition includes an original essay by Elizabeth Strout about the origins of The Burgess Boys. is the perfect balance she achieves between the tides of story and depths of feeling.”- Chicago Tribune

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout