Ann Patchett’s 5 Favorite Elizabeth Strout Books: ‘She Gets Better With Each Book She Writes’
From Lucy Barton to Olive Kitteridge, these characters will steal your heart from the start!
Key Takeaways
- Patchett admires Strout’s talents, saying "When I grow up, I want to write like Liz Strout."
- Patchett finds Strout's writing deeply inspiring and says she gets better with each book.
- These 5 novels showcase Strout's gift for unforgettable characters and small-town stories.
Ever wonder who your favorite author’s favorite author is? We certainly do! There’s something so generous about acclaimed authors—with dozens of bestselling novels of their own—openly sharing which books they’re reading and loving. And few authors do this better, and more eloquently, than Ann Patchett. The award-winning author of bestsellers like The Dutch House, Bel Canto and Tom Lake is as much a prolific writer as she is a reader. And when Patchett sat down with fellow book lover Jenna Bush Hager on her Open Book With Jenna podcast, she revealed one of her ‘very favorite’ modern authors: Elizabeth Strout.
Strout is known for many beloved novels, including Olive, Again and The Things We Never Say, which mostly exist in an interconnected fictional universe. But beyond providing incredible stories to read, Patchett credits Strout as a writer who inspires her own writing.
Interested to find out what Patchett said about Strout and her must-read book recommendations? Well, you’re in the right place! Here, Ann Patchett’s 5 favorite Elizabeth Strout novels that will have you turning the pages late into the night.
Ann Patchett tells Jenna Bush Hager how Elizabeth Strout ‘inspires’ her
During Patchett and Bush Hager’s nearly 45-minute conversation, they opened up about their first favorite book (Charlotte’s Web), the joy of re-reading classics and the magic of discovering novels that inspire you. During this moment, Patchett was quick to reference Strout’s writing.
“When I go back to things I used to love, or classics that I haven’t read, it’s a level of writing that I find inspiring to my own writing,” Ann said.
“I think that’s the deepest heart of it—when I’m reading somebody who really inspires me. I feel that way about Elizabeth Strout, who I love, and whenever I read one of her books I think, that’s who I want to be when I grow up. I want to write like Liz Strout.”
In 2019, Entertainment Weekly invited Patchett and Strout to a joint conversation about, books, of course, but also their deep affection for one another. During this interview, Patchett recalled a story about how they first met.
“Okay, so the reason that we have an affection, other than the fact that she is one of my top three favorite living authors, is that her editor was a really good friend of mine,” Ann said. “That was the basis of our very immediate personal connection.”
Ann Patchett’s favorite Elizabeth Strout books
Based on Patchett’s praise for Strout’s writing and books, it’s safe to say that she would recommend anything and everything written by her. But here, we collected the top 5 Elizabeth Strout books that Patchett has repeatedly talked about and openly adored. Get ready to add these to your TBR!
‘My Name is Lucy Barton’
A simple hospital visit sets the stage for Strout’s 2016 bestseller, My Name is Lucy Barton—and it’s one of Patchett’s absolute favorite novels by the author. Readers are introduced to Lucy Barton, who is recovering from what should’ve been a quick operation. To Lucy’s surprise, she receives a visit from her mother…whom she hasn’t spoken to in years. Gossip about people from Lucy’s hometown in Amgash, Illinois, breaks the ice between them at first, but soon, underlying tensions rise to the surface. This mother-daughter story shines a light on the pain of family turbulence and the love that persists anyway.
What Patchett said about this book: “Her new novel, My Name Is Lucy Barton, is now my all-time favorite Strout,” Ann wrote in a 2016 Parnassus blog post. “It’s short (a nice balance to The Blind Assassin) and exceedingly direct. The narrative voice will reach out and grab you. You feel like Lucy Barton is sitting across the table, telling the story of her life. It’s a tough life, certainly harder than most, but Lucy greets every act of kindness with gratitude and wonder. It is a splendid novel, a masterpiece in miniature.”
‘Anything is Possible’
One of Elizabeth Strout’s greatest strengths as a writer is how she reflects on ordinary human experiences in the most extraordinary way—and this 2017 novel is a fantastic example of just that. Anything is Possible is a collection of interconnected stories. It also serves as a sequel to My Name is Lucy Barton. Each tale in the book tells an emotional story about residents in the small rural town of Amgash, Illinois, including two sisters, a janitor and a war veteran.
What Patchett said about this book: “It’s hard to believe that a year after the astonishing My Name Is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout could bring us another book that is by every measure its equal, but what Strout proves to us again and again is that where she’s concerned, anything is possible. This book, this writer, are magnificent.”
‘Olive Kitteridge’
Released in 2008, this Pulitzer Price-winner is one of Strout’s most widely treasured books. The novel transports readers to the small coastal town of Crosby, Maine, where interconnected stories take place over the course of several decades. With wide-ranging themes like aging, loneliness and desperation, the book mainly focuses on the blunt and fiercely independent Olive Kitteridge, who is a retired math teacher. The stories also touch on other local residents’ quiet lives and struggles.
What Patchett said about this book: “I love all Liz Strout’s books,” Patchett said on Instagram. “But there are two characters she has been writing more about…one of them is Olive Kitteridge—which won the Pulitzer.”
‘Olive, Again’
This bestselling novel is a continuation of Olive Kitteridge and takes place a few years after the events in the first book. This novel chronicles Olive’s late-in-life second marriage to Jack Kennison as they navigate love, loss and everything in between. The book also revisits other townspeople in Crosby, Maine, as they face their own difficulties that come with unexpected moments of kindness and shared humanity.
What Patchett said about this book: Patchett also discussed Olive during her sit-down chat with Strout and Entertainment Weekly: “I love that she gets love twice!,” Patchett cheered about Olive finding love again in her seventies. “She is this really flawed person and she is deeply cherished twice, that’s amazing.”
‘Oh, William!’
When Patchett first read My Name is Lucy Barton in 2016, it was her ‘all-time favorite Strout’…then in 2021, Strout released Oh, William! and Ann declared it might be her new favorite! It’s not entirely surprising because this novel’s premise centers around Lucy Barton again. The book begins with a newly widowed Lucy reconnecting with her first husband, William, who is the father of her two adult daughters. William, a semi-retired parasitologist in his seventies, is dealing with a separation from his third wife. Then, he asks Lucy to join him on a road trip to Maine so he can investigate an unexpected family secret.
What Ann said about this book: “Elizabeth Strout is one of my very favorite writers, so the fact that Oh William! may well be my favorite of her books is a mathematical equation for joy. The depth, complexity, and love contained in these pages is a miraculous achievement.”
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