AMY AND ISABELLE by Elizabeth Strout

This is one of those books where I can’t quite put my finger on why I liked it so much.  The novel takes place during one summer in the lives of a single mother, Isabelle, and her teenage daughter, Amy, who becomes involved with her math teacher, Mr. Robertson.  Isabelle, however, is the more fascinating character.  Isabelle struggles not only with her somewhat distant relationship with Amy but also with her own personal loneliness that may stem just from shyness.  She works in an office with a group of other women, but she has slightly superior status as the boss’s personal secretary.  Isabelle gradually comes out of her shell, as she discovers the many tribulations of the women in the office, particularly Dottie, who claims to have seen a UFO in her yard after she undergoes a hysterectomy.  Isabelle has enough compassion to know better than to ridicule Dottie’s imagined sighting and finds herself inadvertently forming alliances.  Amy’s dalliance with her teacher is more than just an adolescent crush, and it becomes an unhealthy obsession, partly fueled by Mr. Robertson’s recognition and encouragement of Amy’s intellectual potential.  The more I came to know both Isabelle and Amy, the more I wanted to embrace them.  The writing just thoroughly and effectively evokes who these women are, and I devoured this book with relish.