il Fatto Quotidiano: Elizabeth Strout: “Disegnate i protagonisti dovete poterli vedere”

For Italian readers, an interview with Elizabeth in il Fatto Quotidiano:

Elizabeth Strout ha il dono di trasformare donne normali, donne qualsiasi, in personaggi eccezionali. In Olive Kitteridge la protagonista è un’insegnante di provincia. In Amy e Isabelle, Isabelle è una segretaria qualunque e Amy un’adolescente piena di paure come tante. In Resta con me, Tyler è un reverendo di un piccolo paese del Maine e Connie una domestica. Anche I ragazzi Burgess è la storia di gente comune, Susan e Helen sono madri che hanno vissuto per i figli e basta, Bob e Jim due fratelli in competizione come migliaia di altri. Eppure è proprio da questo nucleo di normalità che la Strout tira fuori grandi storie e figure potenti, indimenticabili.

Elizabeth Strout: 'Disegnate i protagonisti dovete poterli vedere'
Caterina Bonvicini
il Fatto Quotidiano
December 9, 2013

Maryville Talks Books: One on One with Elizabeth Strout

HEC-TV: Maryville Talks Books: One on One with Elizabeth Strout

For Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Elizabeth Strout, writing is an "act of communication" between herself and her readers. Her new novel, "The Burgess Boys," continues that conversation with an unsettling look into the lives of siblings, their families, an immigrant haunted by loss, and the small town that ties them together.

One on One with Elizabeth Strout
HEC-TV: Maryville Talks Books
June 7, 2013

NPR: 'Burgess Boys' Author, Like Her Characters, Finds Refuge In New York

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

Politics & Prose: Elizabeth Strout "The Burgess Boys"

With the masterful storytelling and insight into character that won her a Pulitzer for Olive Kitteridge, Strout's new novel delves into the dynamics of the Burgess family.

One of the many things I like about writing is that I get to be sort of judgement free. Because in real life we're full of judgement, and to some extent we have to be because we have to make decisions about what's safe and what's not safe and how to live. But for me, to write a story or write a novel, you know, I make these people up, so I don't have to condemn them. I can watch them behave badly and love them!

—Elizabeth Strout

Elizabeth Strout "The Burgess Boys"
Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C.
April 2, 2013

The Diane Rehm Show: Elizabeth Strout: "The Burgess Boys: A Novel"

Main Street, Port Hope, Maine.
Image used under Creative Commons from Flickr user Kiril Strax

There's an incident that occurs that's based on something that really happened.… It was very interesting to me, because as a citizen, I mean, it's a reprehensible act, and I was very interested in what do we do as a society about that? What laws do we use, or what services do we use, you know, how does society respond to let people know this is not going to be tolerated.

—Elizabeth Strout

Elizabeth Strout: "The Burgess Boys: A Novel"
Interview by Diane Rehm
The Diane Rehm Show
April 1, 2013