On a late winter afternoon, Strout visited Parke Slope, the Brooklyn neighborhood where much of the story is set. "This is Sixth Avenue, and Seventh Avenue is kind of like the Main Street of town, or it used to be," she says as the gray day fades into twilight.
It's been many years since Strout lived in Park Slope. But this is where she settled not long after she left Maine — a decision she says her family never really accepted.
'Burgess Boys' Author, Like Her Characters, Finds Refuge In New York NPR, All Things Considered Lynn Neary April 3, 2013