Oh William! - Elizabeth Strout

 

Description

The Pulitzer Prize-winning, Booker-longlisted, bestselling author returns to her beloved heroine Lucy Barton in a luminous novel about love, loss, and the family secrets that can erupt and bewilder us at any point in life

Lucy Barton is a successful writer living in New York, navigating the second half of her life as a recent widow and parent to two adult daughters. A surprise encounter leads her to reconnect with William, her first husband - and longtime, on-again-off-again friend and confidante. Recalling their college years, the birth of their daughters, the painful dissolution of their marriage, and the lives they built with other people, Strout weaves a portrait, stunning in its subtlety, of a tender, complex, decades-long partnership.

Oh William! captures the joy and sorrow of watching children grow up and start families of their own; of discovering family secrets, late in life, that alter everything we think we know about those closest to us; and the way people live and love, against all odds. At the heart of this story is the unforgettable, indomitable voice of Lucy Barton, who once again offers a profound, lasting reflection on the mystery of existence. 'This is the way of life,' Lucy says. 'The many things we do not know until it is too late.'

Review

There is no doubt that Elizabeth Strout is a fine writer and I adored her other books, but this one not so much.

This book is only 240 pages long and yet it has taken me so long to read it. For me it felt like scraps of ideas that were on the cutting room floor from her previous books. It is maybe meant to be reminiscing but there are a lot of references which to me felt like repetition, but also a reminder. However not so useful if you don't know the characters. I think if you do decide to read this book you would be wise to read her earlier books first.

Her second husband David has just died. She recounts her life with her ex-husband William who she is still on amicable terms with. The parts about William's mother Catherine did intrigue me as having read the previous book she comes across as a totally different person, mainly through research that William does after receiving an Ancestry kit from one of his daughters.  I thought it strange there wasn't much about David until there was a little twist near the end. 

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.