Review: Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout, 2022

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout, 2022

The fourth in the Lucy Barton series, Lucy moves in with her ex-husband William during the pandemic lockdown of 2020.  

I wasn't sure I wanted to read another "pandemic novel," so I was happy to discover Covid-19 didn't take center stage in the story. Much of what takes place revolves around Lucy and William, her ex-husband, rekindling their relationship. It was a sweet and lovely story and often funny. However, I don't think it ever reached the same heights as its predecessor, "Oh William!"

Told in her very "Strout" style of writing, which is very character-driven, mostly melancholy, and with almost no plot in sight, the novel is endearing and engaging. Reading its predecessor, "Oh William!" is probably best before starting this, and it's perhaps best to read back-to-back.

I rate this novel 3.75 out of 5 stars.

#ElizabethStrout #LucyByTheSea #Amgash 

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Review: "My Name Is Lucy Barton" by Elizabeth Strout, 2016

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"My Name Is Lucy Barton" by Elizabeth Strout, 2016

"My Name Is Lucy Barton" was published in 2016 and quickly landed at the top of the Times best-seller list and adapted into a one-woman play starring Laura Linney. A compact novel meditating on family bonds over the years and the tacitly tragic ways they stretch and break.

The novel's narrator, Lucy, is implied to be a person searching in the dark of her childhood poverty and neglect for the sources of her adult resilience and vulnerabilities. The pellucid voice of the narrator did not have every detail sharply drawn, but a canvas with enough lines and intelligence that readers can inhabit the character.

It might be worth noting that I read "Oh William!" right before reading this novel. "Oh William!" is a sequel, and so I think my experience with this book might be slightly different from someone who has read the books in the correct order.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

#ElizabethStrout #MyNameIsLucyBarton #AmgashSeries

From Wikipedia:

Growing up in a dysfunctional household, Lucy Barton had a difficult childhood. Her father was abusive and while her mother loved Lucy, she was unable to protect her or her siblings from their father's mercurial mood swings and violent nature. As a result Lucy would frequently take solace in reading, which led her to realize that she wanted to become a writer. When she came of age, Lucy quickly fled the family home. Years later Lucy is hospitalized after she develops an infection following an operation. During her stay, her mother comes to visit and the two reconnect after years of not speaking to one another.

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