Oh William!

 [a:Elizabeth Strout|97313|Elizabeth Strout|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361387789p2/97313.jpg]'s 2021 [b:Oh William!|56294820|Oh William! (Amgash, #3)|Elizabeth Strout|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617988577l/56294820.SY75.jpg|87609499] is the first of hers I've read. From reading it, I'd recommend that anyone who hasn't first read her [b:My Name Is Lucy Barton|25893709|My Name Is Lucy Barton (Amgash, #1)|Elizabeth Strout|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450653428l/25893709.SX50.jpg|45584499] because while Oh William! stands alone, the narrator, Lucy Barton, often refers to incidents that she won't go over here but has written about before, so I think you'll get more out of it.
 That's my only real criticism of it. Overall, I liked the voice of the narrator, a once divorced, once widowed sixty-three-year-old woman, very much. Questioning, uncertain of herself in nice ways. She often repeats herself, but not in a vague or careless way. It's like she's restating things to make them real to herself.
Excerpt:

Please try to understand this:
 I have always thought that if there was a big corkboard and on that board was a pin for every person who ever lived, there would be no pin for me.
 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 fundamental level, I feel invisible in the world.

I like Elizabeth Strout's books. I've read most of her books by this point. She writes very simply, about every day seeming people and events. But, I don't know how to explain, there is a quiet emotionality (is that a word?) that appeals to me. It is never ostentatious or show-offy but she makes her characters come alive and you can understand what makes them tick. Lucy Barton is a very lowkey character. She confesses to feeling invisible to others. But she has a rich inner dialog and she treats others with respect and dignity. She is a very easy person for other to feel able to be themselves around and they open up to her.

I don't know how to explain... Elizabeth Strout takes a simple book about a quiet person and makes it come alive. It's magical really. I can't give it 5 stars because nothing really happens out of the ordinary, lol. It is, however an enjoyable read for a certain type of reader who enjoys this type of thing.

Love Elizabeth Strout. I'll read anything she writes.