Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout is back with a new book about the life of Lucy Barton, who narrates the novel My Name is Lucy Barton and is featured in Anything Is Possible. In Oh William!, Lucy is now 63 years old, a successful writer and has recently lost her second husband David. She has remained connected to her ex-husband William, who is the father of her two grown daughters. Lucy overcame a difficult childhood yet has come to terms with her past. William cannot seem to manage his relationships and is having night terrors. He is struggling. Lucy is in mourning. Both are lonely and trying to fill a void in their lives. They decide to take a trip to Maine and set out to the hometown of William’s late mother Catherine. A recent DNA test on an ancestry site has uncovered some shocking revelations.
Oh William! is a short book packed with lots of emotion. Lucy remains a character to care about. Based on her traumatic childhood, she continues to deal with the feeling that she is an outsider. Lucy is an astute observer of others and is very aware of her strengths and failings. If you are at a stage in life where you have become reflective on where you’ve been, choices you’ve made (good and bad) and what might lie ahead, you will be able to relate to Lucy and Strout’s heartfelt book.
Many thanks to Random House, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read Oh William! in advance of its publication.
Rated 4.25 out of 5 stars.
Contemporary Fiction.
Publication Date: October 19, 2021.
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