Elizabeth Strout on Her New Novel 'The Things We Never Say'
Elizabeth Strout, renowned for her Pulitzer Prize-winning works 'Olive Kitteridge' and 'My Name Is Lucy Barton', is set to release her latest novel, 'The Things We Never Say', in May 2026. The story centers on Artie Dam, a high school history teacher, navigating life in a small New England town and the surrounding Massachusetts Bay, where concealed truths disrupt his peaceful existence. Strout drew inspiration from an overheard tale in a garden about a man saved from the waters near Massachusetts. At 70, she shares her writing approach, crafting scenes with a 'heartbeat' and discarding ineffective elements. After teaching for 13 years at Manhattan Community College, she reflects on the freedom of age to explore new themes, including the intersection of inner lives and the external world. The novel begins with a quote from Carl Jung on loneliness, and Strout frequently revisits classics by Tolstoy, Turgenev, Pushkin, and George Eliot, along with John Cheever's journals.
Key facts
- Elizabeth Strout's new novel 'The Things We Never Say' is released in May 2026.
- The book was inspired by a story overheard in a garden about a man rescued from the water off Massachusetts.
- Strout won the Pulitzer Prize for 'Olive Kitteridge'.
- She taught at Manhattan Community College for 13 years.
- The novel opens with a Carl Jung quote about loneliness.
- Strout rereads classics by Tolstoy, Turgenev, Pushkin, George Eliot, and John Cheever's journals.
- She describes her thematic focus as 'our inner lives bump up against the outer world'.
- Strout, now 70, feels a freedom in her writing as she ages.
Entities
Artists
- Elizabeth Strout
- Artie Dam
- Carl Jung
- Raymond Carver
- John Cheever
- Tolstoy
- Turgenev
- Pushkin
- George Eliot
- Virginia Woolf
- William Trevor
Institutions
- Manhattan Community College
- Penguin Random House
Locations
- Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Bay
- New England
- New York
- Western Ireland