The Things We Never Say By Elizabeth Strout Penguin 978-1405989091 206pp.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout, predominantly known for her novel Olive Kitteridge, has returned with another moving meditation on the delicate and ambiguous nature of human relationships.

As the title of her new novel suggests, The Things We Never Say offers a searing exploration of the role of silence. Conventional wisdom would have us believe that some degree of solitude inspires contemplation and, thereby, facilitates our emotional well-being. However, some forms of silence can be destructive, pulling us into an endless spiral of despair and leading to a sense of alienation.

Strout’s compelling new work examines this motif with sensitivity and grace. The novel’s epigraph, which features a quote from Carl Jung, echoes the theme of loneliness. Interestingly, the Swiss psychiatrist didn’t view this condition as the mere “absence of people.” Instead, he likened it to an inability “to communicate the things that seem important to oneself” and the willingness to hold beliefs others find objectionable and “inadmissible”.

Incidentally, Strout’s protagonist, Artie Dam, encounters a similar form of isolation, which urges him to ponder Jung’s view on free will. His loneliness stems from a silence that has cast a shadow over his marriage and other intimate relationships, but he continues to maintain his composure.

From the novel’s outset, Artie is advised by his friend on a sun-kissed, mid-June day to remain “jovial”. Yet, his chances at happiness have been eclipsed by a constant spell of despair, much of it beyond his control. Past and present uncertainties threaten to weigh him down in equal measure.

A moving novel by an acclaimed American author........

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