Who Are The Main Characters In 'Amy And Isabelle'?

The heart of 'Amy and Isabelle' revolves around the complicated relationship between its two central characters. Isabelle Goodrow is a single mother working at a local factory, a woman who carries herself with rigid propriety but hides deep insecurities and unfulfilled desires. Her daughter Amy, fifteen and navigating the treacherous waters of adolescence, is the opposite—curious, impulsive, and aching for freedom. Their dynamic is the core of the story, strained by Amy's secret affair with her math teacher, a scandal that cracks their quiet New England town's veneer. Supporting characters like Fat Bev, Isabelle's co-worker, and Avery Clark, the sympathetic school principal, add layers to their isolation and longing. The beauty of the novel lies in how ordinary people become extraordinary through their vulnerabilities.

Elizabeth Strout's 'Amy and Isabelle' paints its characters with such raw honesty that they feel like neighbors you've known for years. Isabelle Goodrow is fascinating because she's both frustrating and heartbreaking—a woman so consumed by appearances that she smothers her daughter Amy with rules, yet you glimpse her loneliness in small moments, like when she touches her own reflection in the mirror. Amy, on the cusp of womanhood, is all restless energy and naive mistakes, particularly in her ill-fated relationship with her teacher. Strout doesn’t villainize anyone, not even the teacher, Mr. Robertson, who’s portrayed as weak rather than predatory.

The secondary characters are just as nuanced. Fat Bev, with her crude humor and unexpected kindness, becomes Isabelle’s unlikely confidante. Then there’s Dottie Brown, the office gossip whose cruelty masks her own disappointments. The town itself feels like a character—a place where everyone knows your business but no one truly understands you. Strout’s genius is in showing how these ordinary lives collide, revealing the quiet desperation and small redemptions beneath the surface.

If you pick up 'Amy and Isabelle,' you’ll meet two of the most achingly real characters in contemporary fiction. Isabelle is the kind of mother who irons her daughter’s underwear—controlling, yes, but also deeply afraid of life’s chaos. Her love for Amy is undeniable, but it’s tangled in her own regrets about the past. Amy, meanwhile, is every teenager who’s ever rebelled against the walls built around her. Her affair with Mr. Robertson isn’t just about romance; it’s a desperate bid to feel seen.

Around them orbit characters who amplify their struggles. Avery Clark, the principal, serves as a quiet counterpoint to Isabelle—he’s gentle where she’s rigid, and his care for Amy highlights what Isabelle struggles to express. Even minor figures like the factory workers or the town’s judgmental women serve a purpose, showing how isolation persists even in a crowded room. Strout doesn’t write villains or heroes; she writes people, flawed and yearning, and that’s what makes the story unforgettable.