I have a love/hate relationship with this author and her books. I'm always in the minority too. This is only the second book I've read in this series (My Name Is Lucy Barton was the first) and I sort of liked the first one it seems by my review which was back in 2016.

It's written as a novel of course as Lucy said because she's an author. It's also written in first person but with conversation.

Lucy and William were married for 20 years and have two daughters. She's now a widow and she's 7 years younger than William who has been remarried twice. He is on his third marriage and is now 71 and his wife is 42 and they have daughter along with Chrissy and Becka who he had with Lucy. Despite being divorced, they seem to get along and he asks her to travel with him to uncover a recently found family secret. I can't believe how well they got along on that trip (mostly) and they reminisced about their marriage, etc. She was very close to his late mother and took care of her when she was dying. She reflects on her own life too and a few mentions about her writing career. She doesn't seem to be doing much writing now.

I can't believe I finished this book in one day. It was a pretty good read. Do I want to go back and read the others that I haven't read? Not sure. If they find me, yes, if not I'm not going to pursue them! ( )

I didn't care much for previous books by this author, but this one worked for me. It is the story of a divorced couple who are still friends. It's written in a conversational style....like the main character, Lucy Barton, is talking to the reader. And in this way, we come to know her and her ex, William, as they support each other through widowhood, divorce and finding a sibling William never knew he had. I must say, Lucy did most of the supporting and William most of the needing. That bugged me a little. A bigger problem was that Lucy often tells the reading that she wrote about something in a previous book. This seemed like little more than a marketing ploy. But it is a good story and an interesting look at family dynamics. ( )

The third volume in Strout's series about Lucy Barton, who grew up very poor in a small town in Illinois, but who is now living a rather more high-class life in New York City. This one focuses on her relationship with her ex-husband William, as he deals with some newly discovered family secrets and with being left by his current wife.

Strout, at her best, does this thing that I don't entirely understand but am always very impressed by, where she writes in this very, very plain, almost ridiculously simple kind of way, with prose that is so unpretentious that it might almost seem to border on inarticulate... and from that, she creates this incredibly insightful and realistic-feeling depiction of what it's like to be a human being and the complicated, half-understood stuff that's going on in our minds all the time.

That's at her best. I'm not sure this one quite achieves for me what the previous books in this series have, though. The extremely simplistic prose is here, and the human realism is here, but instead of the former somehow magically giving rise to the latter, this time I could see the seams between the two, and I kept getting distracted by them and feeling vaguely annoyed by some of the narrator's repetitive linguistic quirks. Is that because Strout has handled her narrative less smoothly this time? Or is it something to do with me as a reader, whether because I went in with too-elevated expectations or approached it in the wrong mood? Maybe William as a character didn't quite interest me enough for me to become sufficiently engrossed.

In any case, it's not that I didn't enjoy this one, or appreciate what it was doing, or find the characters believable and well-observed. I did. But it still just didn't quite do for me what I remember the previous volumes doing.

Rating: 3.5/5, although admittedly it's that low only because I'm making comparisons. ( )

While I was left thinking about Olive, I couldn't care less about William. Something about mediocre problematic men is just not compelling. ( )

Another wonderful read. I love Elizabeth Strout's books. After the first sentence I am already in Strout mood and not leaving it until the book is finished. ( )

Inesperadamente, Lucy Barton se convierte en confidente y apoyo de William, su exmarido, el hombre con el que ha tenido dos hijas ya adultas, pero que ahora es casi un desconocido presa de terrores nocturnos y empecinado en desvelar el secreto de su madre.

Mientras su nuevo matrimonio tambalea, William quiere que Lucy lo acompañe en un viaje del que no volverá a ser el mismo. ¿Cuántos sentimientos –celos, piedad, temor, ternura, decepción, extrañeza– caben en un matrimonio, incluso cuando ha terminado –si tal cosa es posible–? Y en el centro de esta historia, la voz indomable de Lucy Barton, su reflexión profunda y perenne sobre nuestra propia existencia: «Así es como funciona la vida. Todo lo que no sabemos hasta que ya es demasiado tarde». ( )

Ugh ( )

This book’s writing style did not agree with me. A quite diffident and uncertain voice with consistently annoying verbal tics. So many “What I mean is…” and “…, I mean to say.” I suppose it’s going for a humble, intimate effect and for many readers it appears to work but I wouldn’t be one of them.

It’s a low key story being told by Lucy as she goes with her ex-husband William to look for some of his familial roots in another state, and while on this journey she reflects back on her life, character, and relationships.

I am only saying: I wondered who William was. I have wondered this before. Many times I have wondered this.

Well, that’s an example of the dull prose I didn’t care for, as well as an illustration of Lucy’s uncertainty about people and her own capabilities that are woven through the story. In the end she decides that, “we do not know anybody, not even ourselves! But we are all mythologies, mysterious. We are all mysteries, is what I mean.”

It’s a little mysterious to me how this novel made the Booker longlist; I’m afraid it missed me, I mean to say. ( )

A melancholy story of learning that we really don?t know ourselves or the ones we love/loved. Kirkus:Pulitzer Prize winner Strout offers a third book linked to writer Lucy Barton, this time reflecting on her complex relationship with her first husband, before and after their divorce.While Anything Is Possible (2017) told the stories of people among whom Lucy grew up in poverty in Amgash, Illinois, this new novel returns to the direct address of My Name Is Lucy Barton (2016). Lucy?s beloved second husband, David, has recently died, and ?in my grief for him I have felt grief for William as well,? she tells us. Her stuttering, stop-and-start narrative drops this and other pronouncements and then moves on, circling back later to elucidate and elaborate. After the pain of their separation subsided, Lucy and William became friends, close enough so that when he begins having night terrors at age 69, he confides in Lucy rather than his much younger third wife. (Wife No. 2 was among the many infidelities that broke up his marriage to Lucy.) Perhaps it?s because the terrors are related to his mother, Catherine, who ?seemed central to our marriage,? Lucy tells us. ?We loved her. Oh, we loved her.? Well, sometimes; Lucy?s memories reveal a deep ambivalence. Catherine patronized her, referring frequently to the poverty of Lucy?s background and her unfamiliarity with the ways of more affluent people. So it?s a shock to Lucy as well as William when he learns that his mother was married before, abandoned a baby daughter to marry his father, and came from a family even poorer than Lucy?s. Their road trip to Maine prompts William?s habitual coping mechanism of simply checking out, being present but not really there, which is the real reason Lucy left him. Strout?s habitual themes of loneliness and the impossibility of ever truly knowing another person are ubiquitous in this deeply sad tale, which takes its title from Lucy?s head-shaking acknowledgment that her ex will never change, cannot change the remoteness at the core of his personality.Another skillful, pensive exploration of Strout?s fundamental credo: ?We are all mysteries.?

I love Elizabeth Strout's writing and the characters she brings to life. This was a short and thoughtfully written book and it will stick with me. Whether it's Lucy or Olive or William...these characters tend to hang around long after I've finished reading. ( )

In a brilliant sequel to My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible, Strout just keeps on revisiting, expanding and revealing more of her imaginative world.
This short book ruminates on the unknowability of another person, and of oneself, as life is built up of perceptions which may, or may not, be correct. It reports this through the first person reflections of Lucy following the death of her second husband, David, as she helps her first husband, William, deal with the discovery that he has an older half sister who his mother, Catherine Cole, had abandoned to be with William’s father, and had never mentioned.
I’m unsure what exactly touches me in Strout’s storytelling, the circling around the protagonist’s character with carefully meditative language, illuminating life with glimpses.

It’s odd, because on one hand I think I am invisible, but on the other I know what it is like to be marked as separate from society, only in my case no one knows it when they see me. But I thought that about that fat man. And about myself. (Page 201) ( )

This is an ok read.
It is a first edition and signed by the author . ( )

Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize!

4.5⭐

“I feel invisible, is what I mean. But I mean it in the deepest way. It is very hard to explain. And I cannot explain it except to say—oh, I don’t know what to say! Truly, it is as if I do not exist, I guess is the closest thing I can say. I mean I do not exist in the world. It could be as simple as the fact that we had no mirrors in our house when I was growing up except for a very small one high above the bathroom sink. I really do not know what I mean, except to say that on some very fundamental level, I feel invisible in the world.”

The third book in her Amgash series, Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William is divided into two parts. The first half explores Lucy Barton's relationship with her now ex-husband William Gerhardt. Now in their sixties and early seventies respectively, both Lucy and William have moved on – William having been married twice since parting with Lucy and Lucy having married and recently widowed. However, they are cordial and friendly with one another, can depend upon one another in their times of need and remain confidantes. The second part of the novel sees Lucy and William embark on a road trip to Maine in search of details about William’s family history. The narrative follows Lucy as she navigates widowhood, her past and present relationship with William and their time together as friends and parents to their adult daughters, both of whom are married and settled. Both William and Lucy find themselves confronting their respective childhood memories, relationships with their parents, and the impact their respective upbringings have had and still have on their present lives, relationships and insecurities. We accompany Lucy on her journey as she explores her memories from past relationships and marriages, losses and grief, parenthood, friendship, and codependence and in the process gain a deeper understanding of not just herself but also those around her.

"This is the way of life: the many things we do not know until it is too late."

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout is a beautifully penned novel. As with all of her books, Elizabeth Strout's prose is simple yet elegant. The first-person narrative follows Lucy’s train of thought (close to but not quite a stream of consciousness narrative), often flitting between past and present, digressing and often going off-topic but ultimately making a “point” justifying her occasional rambling. While this style of expression might not appeal to everyone, I found it very real, relatable, insightful and comforting. Her simple words, yet so full of meaning, the depth of emotion and profound insight behind every ”point” she makes touches your heart and inspires introspection.

“But we are all mythologies, mysterious. We are all mysteries, is what I mean.- This may be the only thing in the world I know to be true.”

Please note that I would not recommend this as a standalone novel. I feel that to fully appreciate this novel one should have read the preceding books in the series. ( )

Elizabeth Strout’s latest is a fantastic humdinger. Her simple yet elegant writing keeps the reader engaged with the on-going saga of Lucy Barton. ( )

The "Lucy" books (at least for me) need to be read close together in time, preferably in sequence. I started "Oh, William" six or seven years after "My Name is Lucy Barton" and after the first few pages I found myself unable to make much progress. I was constantly wondering how much of this she talked about in the first book. So I re-read it, and it turns out she shares almost all of it, but only in the barest detail and I hardly remembered any of it. The earlier book is hyper-focused, through her long hospitalization, on Lucy's horrific upbringing, her escape from it, her troubled and at times, completely bewildering relationship with her mother, and the beginning of her writing career. The William book is all about her life with her first husband, it's breakup, the upbringing of their two daughters, and her subsequent happy second marriage. William and Lucy are on the road, visiting Maine, the birthplace of his mother, in search of answers to a family secret. This offers the opportunity to be in Lucy's head and enjoy her observations, speculations, and penetrating insights about people, life, and relationships. ( )

listened to most of it and did not care for it, too detailed and did not care for the story line

Despite understanding that this book is typical Eliz. Strout with short statements and meaningful pauses like real conversations, I did not get immersed as Inhad with her Ilive booms and The forst Lucy Barton. I am disappointed either with missing something profound or with the novel. ( )

I enjoyed this book.
This book is about Lucy and William and their children in NYC as Lucy deals with the dead of her 2nd husband, and William deals with some major issues including finding out he has a half-sister, the end of his career, and being left by his 3rd wife.

Spoilers Abound.
I read Oh William! after I read Lucy By The Sea, and I wondered if they actually make sense together. There is the scene at the end of OW where she says William isn't where she feels at home any more. I wonder what change that made to their future relationship. Is that what allowed her to get back with him in LBTS? Or should I now doubt whether they will last together even though I remember her saying that they would?
Maybe someday I will read the book again, in order.

I honestly love everything Elizabeth Strout writes. She has a way of getting at life's truths with simplicity. Her mastery of the telling details is beyond. As with previous books, there won't be enough plot for some readers' taste. I get it. But Strout unveils interpersonal relationships with mastery.

Here, the focus is Lucy's relationship with her former husband, William. This book builds upon two prior books, and now I want to reread them both.

If you like Strout, you will not be disappointed. She continues to tell quiet stories that illuminate the challenges and rewards of family dynamics. ( )

More on Lucy and William, mainly William and his family and background. He is certainly a man in personal pain. As one character asks, "Is there anything -- you know -- wrong with him?" So now we get an inkling of that. ( )

Derde deel van Lucy Barton, ik vond het minder dan de andere delen. ( )

A wonderful book, like all of her books. Don’t know what else to say. All the characters are imperfect, and we listen in as Lucy learns to understand herself and her various family members including her ex. ( )

Read it right after My Name Is Lucy Barton, so it feels like the same book. I felt like not a lot happened and small things were carefully revealed, but in a way that feels slightly unreal. Made up, as it were. Easy read, though. On to Lucy By The See, which is the book chosen for Cyndi’s bookclub. 🙄 ( )

56. Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
published: 2021
format: 241-page kindle ebook
acquired: December 1 read: Dec 2-5 time reading: 4:36, 1.1 mpp
rating: 4.5
genre/style: contemporary fiction theme: Booker 2022
locations: New York city and rural Maine
about the author: born in Maine, 1956.

My 6th from the #booker2022 long list, and the 1st I‘ve read instead of listened to.

Despite the title, the novel is Lucy again talking about herself, exposing her strengths and weaknesses, but she spends a lot of time with her (philandering) ex-husband William. I like Lucy and I like her voice, in Strout's condensed way. Strout ramps up the adjacent emotions - cry/laugh/intensity/discomfort/joy - that's practically every page. I found I can relate to large degree to her characters (with the exception of all the extra-marital affairs). I found that intense and a little stressful. I loved the book.

Looking at my review of [My Name is Lucy Barton], I was struck by my enthusiasm. I believe I liked it better than this one, but this is terrific (for anyone it works for)

2022
https://www.librarything.com/topic/345047#7998339 ( )

Slow paced, going nowhere, the narrator is introspective (or is it self-absorbed?) In the end I didn’t care much for any of the characters. I also felt many were left undefined. I would like to have known Lois better and maybe Estelle as well. What about Bridgit? The author lets you know all you can know about Lucy, but so little about those she engages with.
I felt like the whole book was a big sigh…Oh William, Oh Lucy, Oh Everyone Do we need to look at everyone’s loneliness all the time to know that everyone is lonely in one way or another?

Ed. A couple weeks out and the book is settling in for me. I am now open to going forward to Lucy By the Sea. I want to like this author's works so maybe it was wrong time for me. ( )