Park Slope is where Jim and Bob Burgess, the titular brothers in Strout's new novel, also found refuge when they came to New York. Down a quiet side street is a bar that Strout says is the kind of place where Bob Burgess might often be found. "It's a place where you come in, you can be friendly or you can just sit quietly. I could actually kind of see him sitting over there right now at that bar."
Just like Strout, Bob and Jim moved to New York from a small town in Maine. Their family had a certain notoriety in town — when they were children, their father was killed in an accident that everyone believes was Bob's fault. Even as adults, that event still haunts their lives.
"New York has provided them with a sense of being able to shake off the family tragedy that occurred when they were such young siblings and essentially have fled from," Strout says.
Jim is now a famous lawyer, married with three kids, and he and his wife live in one of the elegant townhouses that line the side streets of Park Slope. Bob lives nearby in a small shabby apartment on a busy street. He's divorced, drinks too much and likes to peek into his neighbors' lives as he sneaks a cigarette out his window.
First Reads
Exclusive First Read: 'The Burgess Boys' By Elizabeth Strout