The Things We Never Say

Artie Dam is fifty-seven years old and living on the coast of Massachusetts in the fall of 2024. He’s a decorated teacher at the local high school, married to his wife, Evie, with one grown son, Rob, and loves spending time on the water. Yet, despite a life that appears enviable to outside observers, Artie is contemplating suicide.

So begins The Things We Never Say, the latest offering from Elizabeth Strout. During a recent author chat, a writer recommended this book highly, but added thoughtfully, "Not much happens in it." While the plot is light on action, the novel is an engaging deep dive into a character's psyche. As Artie uncovers a handful of secrets, his foundation is shaken, forcing him to reexamine the core tenets of his life.

This reckoning prompts a profound crisis of conscience. Artie reflects on his upbringing, key pivotal moments, his bond with his late parents, and his relationship with his wife and son. He is deeply troubled by the upcoming presidential election and the prospect of another four years of Donald Trump. Throughout, he wrestles with whether free will actually exists or if his life is purely preordained—all while feeling an overwhelming urge to "say 'fuck you' to the world."

"Why don't people ever say anything real?" Artie wonders at one point, concluding that "to say anything real was to say things that nobody wanted to know. Or if they wanted to know, they would not care in the right way. Or even understand. It was a private thing to be alive."

The book is decent at times, confounding at others, and not particularly enjoyable. It doesn't shy away from politics, and right-leaning readers will likely be rankled by the anti-Republican rhetoric and would be best served steering clear. For an author who generally writes characters very well, she has some successes but misses badly in several instances here. It's a brief treatise on the human condition that I sped through, hoping for a revelatory moment, only to feel mostly indifferent by the end.