Hardcover, 272 pages
Published Sept. 20, 2022 by Random House.
An absolute indulgence by the coast. The complexities of familial relationships as Lucy grows wiser by the decades.
Hmmm. I usually love anything Elizabeth Strout has written. She does a great job creating characters so real you feel they live in your hometown. And yet, I did not love this book. In part, probably because it's too fresh. All the events of the last three years are there: the pandemic, the 2020 election, the Jan 6 coup attempt. I've experienced fictional re-tellings of most of these events (eg. The Morning Show) and generally haven't been put-off by them, but this one was different. Maybe it's because Lucy isn't that relatable? Despite being a successful author who has spent most of her adulthood in NYC, she's some cross of naive/disconnected from reality. Watching her grapple with disbelief, denial, boredom and frustration makes her hard to like. It's been a while since I read "My Name Is Lucy Barton" or the other two books directly related to this story line, …
Hmmm. I usually love anything Elizabeth Strout has written. She does a great job creating characters so real you feel they live in your hometown. And yet, I did not love this book. In part, probably because it's too fresh. All the events of the last three years are there: the pandemic, the 2020 election, the Jan 6 coup attempt. I've experienced fictional re-tellings of most of these events (eg. The Morning Show) and generally haven't been put-off by them, but this one was different. Maybe it's because Lucy isn't that relatable? Despite being a successful author who has spent most of her adulthood in NYC, she's some cross of naive/disconnected from reality. Watching her grapple with disbelief, denial, boredom and frustration makes her hard to like. It's been a while since I read "My Name Is Lucy Barton" or the other two books directly related to this story line, so I can't remember if she always rubbed me the wrong way, or if –as often happens – she's doubled-down on the less pleasant aspects of her character as she's aged.
I'll be curious to re-read this one in a few decades (knock wood!) to see how it ages. Strout has captured details of the pandemic that are likely to dull for the rest of us over time.
The real star of any Elizabeth Strout novel is her voice. Her sentences are simple, clean, and elegant.. Her main character, Lucy Barton, is always, eventually, able to examine her feelings until she can express them with a rare eloquence. We spend time with Lucy and her thoughts, while not a lot happens around her, and yet there is a story here that does not drag.
This is a pandemic story. The world is going into lockdown before Lucy can absorb what is happening. Luckily for Lucy, her ex-husband, William, comes to her aid, insisting that she evacuate New York City with him, to a place on the coast of Maine. He also makes arrangements for their two daughters.
When life suddenly becomes unrecognizable to her, Lucy expresses how alone and adrift she feels, bereft for her late husband, her apartment, and her purpose. Lucy feels like she is losing …
The real star of any Elizabeth Strout novel is her voice. Her sentences are simple, clean, and elegant.. Her main character, Lucy Barton, is always, eventually, able to examine her feelings until she can express them with a rare eloquence. We spend time with Lucy and her thoughts, while not a lot happens around her, and yet there is a story here that does not drag.
This is a pandemic story. The world is going into lockdown before Lucy can absorb what is happening. Luckily for Lucy, her ex-husband, William, comes to her aid, insisting that she evacuate New York City with him, to a place on the coast of Maine. He also makes arrangements for their two daughters.
When life suddenly becomes unrecognizable to her, Lucy expresses how alone and adrift she feels, bereft for her late husband, her apartment, and her purpose. Lucy feels like she is losing her mind, and can’t concentrate on reading or writing. As time goes on, she makes some friends in Maine, and settles into this house with her ex-husband.
Strout’s prior books have shed more light on the love and friendship between Lucy and William. It’s complicated, and within these pages, their relationship does take a different turn. Has Lucy been so wrapped up in her daughters’ marital issues that she doesn’t see the possible problems ahead, for herself? That door is obviously left open, to be continued.
I loved the backdrop of this installment of Lucy Barton’s history, the little house perched atop a hill overlooking a turbulent sea. It can reflect and foreshadow so many things…
Lucy by the Sea is another beautiful novel by Elizabeth Strout, I enjoyed it immensely, and thank Random House books and Netgalley for giving me the special opportunity to read this and write a review!
