Susan Olson Character Analysis in Tell Me Everything

Susan Olson (born Susan Burgess) is Bob’s twin sister and Jim’s younger sister. She features prominently in Strout’s novel The Burgess Boys, which is about Susan’s struggle to cope after her teenage son commits a hate crime; this traumatic event is also briefly mentioned in Tell Me Everything. Susan is close with both of her brothers, and she occasionally acts as a go-between for them (as when Jim is hesitant to tell Bob that Helen is dying of cancer). Susan has also maintained a close relationship with Pam, despite the fact that she and Bob divorced years ago. After Gloria Beach is murdered, Susan often discusses the case with Bob and her friend Gerry O’Hare, an ex-boyfriend from high school. In one of the narrative’s most tender threads, Susan and Gerry eventually reunite romantically, holding hands at Bob’s birthday party.

Susan Olson Quotes in Tell Me Everything

The Tell Me Everything quotes below are all either spoken by Susan Olson or refer to Susan Olson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Storytelling, Empathy, and Meaning Theme Icon

“Do you remember what the weather was when our father died? The weather?”

“Yeah, it was pouring. Absolutely pouring rain.” Then Jim added, “And it was windy. All the foliage was coming off the trees because of the wind and rain. Bright orange leaves falling to the ground, wet, wet, wet.” Bob waited a moment and then he said quietly, “But, Jimmy, our father died in February.”

[…] Bob left Katherine’s office believing that no one would ever know who was responsible for his father’s death.

Related Characters: Jim Burgess (speaker), Bob Burgess (speaker), Susan Olson, Katherine Caskey , Larry Burgess

Page Number and Citation: 272

Explanation and Analysis:

Susan Olson Character Timeline in Tell Me Everything

The timeline below shows where the character Susan Olson appears in Tell Me Everything. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Family, Inheritance, and Cyclical Abuse Theme Icon

...police right away. When the case makes the local newspapers, Bob calls his twin sister Susan Olson, who still lives in Shirley Falls. Susan remembers that Gloria was the cafeteria lunch-lady,... (full context)

Susan thinks Matt killed Gloria (though she wouldn’t blame him for doing so, given how awful... (full context)

Susan and Bob were in the same grade as Diana at school. Susan now recalls what... (full context)

Now, Susan is telling these stories to her friend Gerry O’Hare, the retired former police chief of... (full context)

Gerry has come to rely on these morning coffees with Susan. The pair had dated in high school, but Gerry broke things off; now, he privately... (full context)

The next day, Pam goes to visit Susan in Shirley Falls. A few hours later, as Bob smokes a cigarette, Pam calls him... (full context)

With Lucy’s encouragement, Bob calls Susan to talk about Helen. Susan is relieved to hear from Bob, and she’s frustrated that... (full context)

The day Gloria’s body is found, there is a story about it in the newspaper. Susan is eager to discuss the case with Gerry O’Hare. Across town, Bob is trying to... (full context)

Over in Shirley Falls, Gerry and Susan are also talking about the case. Susan brings up her son Zack, who had years... (full context)

...looking chic and not at all like a woman from Shirley Falls. Bob recalls that Susan believes Diana has probably had plastic surgery. (full context)

...do with you?” Desperate, Jim finally decides to fly to Maine, where he stays with Susan. (full context)

Bob heads over to Susan’s house to visit Jim. When he gets there, his heart “positively overflow[s]” to see Jim... (full context)

...Jimmy,” Bob reminds his brother, “our father died in February.” Bob hangs up and calls Susan, who also remembers that it was sunny on the day their dad died. Bob leaves... (full context)

...is nevertheless truly evil, and Bob grows frustrated, telling Larry that he and Jim and Susan all have different memories of the day their dad died; they will never truly know... (full context)

Bob looks around at the rest of the party. Jim and Susan are there, and Susan is holding hands with Gerry O’Hare. Pam is also there, and... (full context)

Susan Olson Character Analysis

Susan Olson Quotes in Tell Me Everything

Book 4, Chapter 8 Quotes

Susan Olson Character Timeline in Tell Me Everything