Content Warning: This section contains depictions of child sexual assault, abuse, and rape.

“Bob has a big heart, but he does not know that about himself; like many of us, he does not know himself as well as he assumes to, and he would never believe he had anything worthy in his life to document. But he does; we all do.”

The novel starts immediately by introducing Bob Burgess through the narrator, who speaks directly to the reader in a technique known as “direct address.” The narrator is also omniscient (can see into the minds of the characters) but indicates through the “we all do” that they are human. The question becomes who is telling the story, immediately raising the theme of The Importance of Perspective in Storytelling. In addition, this direct address builds a connection between the narrator and the reader, with the narrator offering opinions, backstories, and perspectives that deepen the reader’s understanding of the character.

“The story was one that Olive had been reflecting on with more and more frequency, and she thought—as people often do—that if her story could be told to a writer, maybe it could be used in a book one day.”

Early in the novel, Olive establishes rapport with Lucy, and they share stories throughout the novel that amplify the themes in the book and probe big, existential questions. In this quote, Elizabeth Strout offers an inside joke among writers, who are often approached with a story that someone thinks needs to be told. The aside “as people often do” also offers a clue to the narrator’s characteristics, which shape the narration.