Abide With Me (novel)

''Abide with Me'' is a 2006 novel () by the American author Elizabeth Strout.
The novel was published by Random House on March 14, 2006. The novel follows a religious leader, struggling with the death of his wife. It is set in a small town in New England, during the 1950s.

Literary significance and reception

The novel received mixed reviews from critics.
"'' The Washington Post'' said that while the novel is "dark, it's strenuousness pays off with an ending that provides a useful solution to all of us who are struggling. Strout cradles her characters - with all their weaknesses - in a level of understanding that 'somehow.. feels like a foretaste of salvation." The ''Atlantic Monthly'' said that "this lovely second novel confirms Strout as the possessor of an irresistibly companionable, peculiarly American voice: folksy, poetic, but always as precise as a shadow on a brilliant winter day." In their review of ''Abide with Me'', '' Publishers Weekly'' noted that, "the uplifting ending arrives too easily, but on the whole, Strout has crafted a harrowing meditation of exile on Main Street." However, Kirkus Reviews was critical of the book saying that "most of the characters in this novel are fundamentally bewildered, and many of them are quite bitter as well. The narrator's folksy tone does nothing to enliven this dispiriting story; the overall effect is rather like listening to a slightly cantankerous maiden aunt dispensing local gossip."

Notes

2006 American novels
Novels by Elizabeth Strout
Novels set in the 1950s
Random House books

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