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FIC STR
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Random House (2022), 304 pages
Description
From Pulitzer Prize-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Strout comes a poignant, pitch-perfect novel about a divorced couple stuck together during lockdown--and the love, loss, despair, and hope that animate us even as the world seems to be falling apart. "No novelist working today has Strout's extraordinary capacity for radical empathy. . . . May droves of readers come to feel enlarged, comforted, and genuinely uplifted by Lucy's story."--The Boston Globe With her trademark spare, crystalline prose--a voice infused with "intimate, fragile, desperate humanness" (The Washington Post)--Elizabeth Strout turns her exquisitely tuned eye to the inner workings of the human heart, following the indomitable heroine of My Name Is Lucy Barton through the early days of the pandemic. As a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and on-again, off-again friend, William. For the next several months, it's just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea. Rich with empathy and emotion, Lucy by the Sea vividly captures the fear and struggles that come with isolation, as well as the hope, peace, and possibilities that those long, quiet days can inspire. At the heart of this story are the deep human connections that unite us even when we're apart--the pain of a beloved daughter's suffering, the emptiness that comes from the death of a loved one, the promise of a new friendship, and the comfort of an old, enduring love.… (more)
Media reviews
The disarming situation described at the opening of Elizabeth Strout’s new novel might seem fantastical, the stuff of a million post-apocalyptic movies, were it not for the fact that every single one of us has recently lived through it. And lockdown especially. Strout isn’t the first writer to
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go there, but she certainly makes magnificent and thrilling use of it in this, her most nuanced – and intensely moving – Lucy Barton novel yet Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member kimkimkim
Everyone who reads Elizabeth Strout knows there is something very special about her writing, her ability to communicate and to draw you into her story. Nothing is outrageous, nothing is over the top - just simple yet profound feelings, thoughts and situations.
“Privately staggered by grief” and
I was unsure of whether I wanted or needed to read another Covid lock-down, January 6th uprising story - I understood her need to insert her opinions and incorporate them into this story - it neither added nor detracted from my reaction to this book. Thank you Random House and NetGalley for a copy.
“Privately staggered by grief” and
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realizing that “grief is a private thing- a solitary matter” - what could be more simple yet more profound?! Recognizing panic, knowing that being homesick doesn’t necessarily relate to home. The simplicity of a hot water bottle bringing comfort and deprivation - she tells us so much - just lays it all out for us to feel, absorb, relate. I was unsure of whether I wanted or needed to read another Covid lock-down, January 6th uprising story - I understood her need to insert her opinions and incorporate them into this story - it neither added nor detracted from my reaction to this book. Thank you Random House and NetGalley for a copy.
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LibraryThing member dianeham
I’m reading [Lucy By the Sea] and so far it’s getting on my nerves. I liked [Oh, William] by this new one is set during covid pandemic. Lucy seems pretty out of it in this book. Since her ex-husband is a scientist, he’s the only one in the book who knows anything about the virus. It’s just
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silly. Lucy is supposed to be very intelligent but not here. Her and her daughters are pretty annoying. Show Less
LibraryThing member nancyadair
It was a though each day was like a huge stretch of ice I had to walk over.
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
Those early lockdown days. I remember them well. The empty streets. Standing at the window to wave at loved ones. Wiping down delivered grocery orders. Seeking out the lovely spots in life,
Those of us who are introverts fared better, lost in our books and hobbies and work. Perhaps some of us understand what Lucy Barton knew: “We are all in lockdown, all the time. We just don’t know it, that’s all.” We are mysteries to one another, holding onto each other for dear life, closer, closer, but really, who of us really understands another?
Lucy Barton’s imagination places her in other’s lives. After seeing the January 6 attack on the Capitol she remembers a time when she felt humiliated, dismissed by wealthy college students as an old woman writing about poverty, and for a moment understood them. “No, those were Nazis and racists,” she afterwards thought. And yet, everyone wants to feel that they matter. No matter how poor, how powerless. It is her ability to sympathize with people one can’t like that makes her remarkable.
Lucy was lucky; she escaped, went to university and wrote her memoirs. Married a man she loved, who broke her heart. Married another man she loved, who died and broke her heart. She had two daughters, now struggling with choices. Her siblings never escaped their childhood, never fit into the world or were too broken by the abuse of their childhood.
Lucy by the Sea is the latest Lucy Barton novel, set during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her first husband, William, rescues her from New York City, taking her to a small town in Maine, to save her life. Lucy can’t concentrate, has anxiety attacks, worries about her friends and family. And also makes new friends, marvels at the sea and the sunsets. And she and William bond anew.
The novel is filled with people from Elizabeth Strout’s novels, of course the Lucy Barton books, but also Bob Burgess from The Burgess Boys, and Olive Kitteridge, and people from Abide with Me.
The novel embraces the message Strout has been trying to tell us all along, what is important in life. Compassion. And, for whatever its worth, imperfect, beautiful love.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
Those early lockdown days. I remember them well. The empty streets. Standing at the window to wave at loved ones. Wiping down delivered grocery orders. Seeking out the lovely spots in life,
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an early flower, an orange sunset, streaming a concert. We thought it would end, but it hasn’t really ended. The virus continues to menace us, its legacy seen all around us. Relationships that couldn’t bear the pressure, the moments of anxiety or panic that still niggle at us, the divisiveness in society.Those of us who are introverts fared better, lost in our books and hobbies and work. Perhaps some of us understand what Lucy Barton knew: “We are all in lockdown, all the time. We just don’t know it, that’s all.” We are mysteries to one another, holding onto each other for dear life, closer, closer, but really, who of us really understands another?
Lucy Barton’s imagination places her in other’s lives. After seeing the January 6 attack on the Capitol she remembers a time when she felt humiliated, dismissed by wealthy college students as an old woman writing about poverty, and for a moment understood them. “No, those were Nazis and racists,” she afterwards thought. And yet, everyone wants to feel that they matter. No matter how poor, how powerless. It is her ability to sympathize with people one can’t like that makes her remarkable.
Lucy was lucky; she escaped, went to university and wrote her memoirs. Married a man she loved, who broke her heart. Married another man she loved, who died and broke her heart. She had two daughters, now struggling with choices. Her siblings never escaped their childhood, never fit into the world or were too broken by the abuse of their childhood.
Lucy by the Sea is the latest Lucy Barton novel, set during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her first husband, William, rescues her from New York City, taking her to a small town in Maine, to save her life. Lucy can’t concentrate, has anxiety attacks, worries about her friends and family. And also makes new friends, marvels at the sea and the sunsets. And she and William bond anew.
The novel is filled with people from Elizabeth Strout’s novels, of course the Lucy Barton books, but also Bob Burgess from The Burgess Boys, and Olive Kitteridge, and people from Abide with Me.
The novel embraces the message Strout has been trying to tell us all along, what is important in life. Compassion. And, for whatever its worth, imperfect, beautiful love.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
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LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
Lucy Barton is baffled. Not just because of the loss of her husband, David. Nor even because of the time she has recently been spending with her first husband, William. She’s baffled by the state of the world and a fair number of the people in it. It isn’t a pleasant feeling for a sensitive
This novel picks up almost immediately from where Oh, William leaves off, with the change of focus from William to Lucy. But the style is very similar as Lucy attempts to make sense of her increasingly strange world. Strout does excellent work capturing those first anxious months of the pandemic. It is Lucy’s bafflement at the behaviour of her fellow citizens, including her sister and brother, that is most telling. Her analyses of the root causes of the supposed anger in this group seem lifted rather than earned. Or maybe I’m just wishing she had an interlocutor who could challenge her on some of these points. Lucy is beyond tolerant of intolerant people, and that makes her a bit less believable here than she has been elsewhere. (I suspect Olive Kitteridge would have been a bit more incisive about the folly some people embrace.) But I loved spending time with her and was very sad to see the narrative end. I only hope that Strout returns us to Lucy’s story soon.
Always recommended.
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writer. And now William is insisting that she pack a bag and come with him to Maine, to leave New York City behind. It takes her much longer than she would ever have guessed to realize that he is trying to save her life. There is a pandemic coming, or maybe it’s already arrived, and William is determined to save Lucy, his daughters he had with Lucy, and his new ex-wife and their daughter. William just fixes things. (Though admittedly he is usually fixing things that he himself has broken.) And life, such as it is, goes on for Lucy in Maine, in a house on a cliff by the sea. With care, she and William survive the first onslaught of the pandemic. As do their various children. But not so for everyone. Friends die. Siblings die. Others get horrendously ill and nearly die. It’s impossible for Lucy to understand. Much like the country itself and many of its angry, angry citizens. For that matter, Lucy has been at it a lifetime and still doesn’t really understand herself.This novel picks up almost immediately from where Oh, William leaves off, with the change of focus from William to Lucy. But the style is very similar as Lucy attempts to make sense of her increasingly strange world. Strout does excellent work capturing those first anxious months of the pandemic. It is Lucy’s bafflement at the behaviour of her fellow citizens, including her sister and brother, that is most telling. Her analyses of the root causes of the supposed anger in this group seem lifted rather than earned. Or maybe I’m just wishing she had an interlocutor who could challenge her on some of these points. Lucy is beyond tolerant of intolerant people, and that makes her a bit less believable here than she has been elsewhere. (I suspect Olive Kitteridge would have been a bit more incisive about the folly some people embrace.) But I loved spending time with her and was very sad to see the narrative end. I only hope that Strout returns us to Lucy’s story soon.
Always recommended.
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LibraryThing member miss.mesmerized
When the pandemic hits New York, her ex-husband William convinces Lucy Barton to leave the city and to come to live with him in a house in a small town in Maine, by the sea. Lucy trusts Williams, in these fields he knows much better what to do and thus, she leaves her apartment behind, while their
I was not really sure if I was already willing to read a novel in which the pandemic was a central aspect while the virus is still raging. However, I totally adore Elizabeth Strout’s novels and since I have met Lucy Barton before, I was looking forwards to “Lucy by the Sea”. As anticipated, I found the novel a wonderful read, slow in pace, which was simply perfect for the time portrayed and the topic, and deeply reflective which I personally perceived just like an invitation for myself, to take some time and seize the chance of the standstill to look back and ponder on where I have come from and where I want to go to.
Apart from the new rules in life – keeping a distance, wearing a mask, obeying lockdown – Elizabeth Strout again focuses on the fragile and complex family bonds that her characters are born in and cannot escape. William finds a part of his family and gets closer when everybody is getting more distant; their daughters Chrissy and Becka have grown up and find a renewed sisterly bond. Lucy has to accept that the girls have become independent and do not need their mother that much anymore. But also the couples’ relationships are put to a test. William and Lucy have been friendly for some time after their divorce, but can living under the same roof work? Lucy comes to understand that love can take different forms and is expressed in diverse ways and loving also means that losing is hard.
Without a doubt one of this year’s absolute highlights. The protagonist feels like a dear and close friend and towards the end, I did not want the novel to stop, but just to go on forever. Elizabeth Strout, again, has not only captured the mood of the pandemic and chronicled our lives but also demonstrates her deep insight in our human condition and what makes us real humans.
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two daughters also flee the metropolis. Lucy experiences the first weeks and months like many of us did: life has come to a standstill, everybody is afraid of the fatal virus and interaction with human beings is reduced to the absolute minimum. However, this new situation also offers room for reflection and questioning decisions made, things said and done and all that ultimately matters in life.I was not really sure if I was already willing to read a novel in which the pandemic was a central aspect while the virus is still raging. However, I totally adore Elizabeth Strout’s novels and since I have met Lucy Barton before, I was looking forwards to “Lucy by the Sea”. As anticipated, I found the novel a wonderful read, slow in pace, which was simply perfect for the time portrayed and the topic, and deeply reflective which I personally perceived just like an invitation for myself, to take some time and seize the chance of the standstill to look back and ponder on where I have come from and where I want to go to.
Apart from the new rules in life – keeping a distance, wearing a mask, obeying lockdown – Elizabeth Strout again focuses on the fragile and complex family bonds that her characters are born in and cannot escape. William finds a part of his family and gets closer when everybody is getting more distant; their daughters Chrissy and Becka have grown up and find a renewed sisterly bond. Lucy has to accept that the girls have become independent and do not need their mother that much anymore. But also the couples’ relationships are put to a test. William and Lucy have been friendly for some time after their divorce, but can living under the same roof work? Lucy comes to understand that love can take different forms and is expressed in diverse ways and loving also means that losing is hard.
Without a doubt one of this year’s absolute highlights. The protagonist feels like a dear and close friend and towards the end, I did not want the novel to stop, but just to go on forever. Elizabeth Strout, again, has not only captured the mood of the pandemic and chronicled our lives but also demonstrates her deep insight in our human condition and what makes us real humans.
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LibraryThing member froxgirl
Will the continuing saga of Lucy Barton stop as a trilogy, or can there be more? Will Strout's writing powers just keep getting better and better? Will this be the ultimate Covid novel? Lucy and her former husband William are both single (widowed and divorced, William twice since his marriage to
Quotes: "I did not know where to put my mind."
"It was as though each day was like a huge stretch of ice I had to walk over."
"This is the question that has made me a write; always that deep desire to know what it feels like to be a different person."
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Lucy) when he recognizes very early on the danger of the pandemic and drags Lucy off from NYC to coastal Maine to ride it out. They hole up in an old mansion overlooking the water and become accustomed to living with each other (again) and to being completely isolated from their other family members. In the now, William's response seems extreme, but the novel successfully recreates the devastating fear and uncertainty of the flood of deaths in NYC and the paralyzing threat to older, immunocompromised people before a vaccine becomes available. Lucy and William's feelings for each other ebb and flow between anger and dependency as William reconnects with a half-sister he's never met and Lucy thrives on a strong platonic friendship with neighbor Bob Burgess (the main character in an earlier Strout novel). Lucy's voice is as strong as ever and her narration is touching and sometimes bogged down in the trivial, and aren't we all? I devoured this book in two readings and, as I did with her middle novel Oh William! I only wish that I could read it again for the first time, many times over.Quotes: "I did not know where to put my mind."
"It was as though each day was like a huge stretch of ice I had to walk over."
"This is the question that has made me a write; always that deep desire to know what it feels like to be a different person."
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LibraryThing member celticlady53
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout is the 4th book in the Amgash series. The story is about Lucy Barton, her ex-husband William and their two daughters, and their significant others. It is how Lucy's ex gets her out of New York City during the pandemic lockdown of 2020.
William has found a place
Lucy and William have a past that is complicated, a contentious divorce, he had cheated on her and she retaliates by having an affair also. She really worries about her girls, one having numerous miscarriages and how it affects her marriage, and the other daughter in an unhappy marriage contemplates an affair.
Lucy and William like to walk so that is what Lucy does on a regular basis, usually along with newfound friend Bob Burgess. We learn a bit about Bob's past also (it is referenced in The Burgess Boys) They become fast friends. This is a story also about dysfunctional families, Lucy's own in particular.
As time goes by, memories resurface that have Lucy and William questioning their relationship. Do they still love each other, even though after their divorce they both had marriages, Lucy's happy while William's not so much. Through long afternoons of thought, they come to conclusions that seem right for them. Getting back together. Is it just because they are lonely or the pandemic?
This story was written with great thought to the lockdown, mostly in New York, and how it affected the population. A passionate and thoughtful story that resonates long after the book ends. I think it is because we are actually living in a world with Covid. How we all deal with it is imperative to the story.
I really enjoyed it, read it in a couple of sittings. 5 Stars all the way!
William has found a place
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in Maine that he feels that they can go to to get away and stay safe from Covid. Lucy is an author and she can pretty much work from anywhere. It only starts out to be a few weeks but we all know that that is not what happens. We still have the virus going on in 2022. Lucy and William have a past that is complicated, a contentious divorce, he had cheated on her and she retaliates by having an affair also. She really worries about her girls, one having numerous miscarriages and how it affects her marriage, and the other daughter in an unhappy marriage contemplates an affair.
Lucy and William like to walk so that is what Lucy does on a regular basis, usually along with newfound friend Bob Burgess. We learn a bit about Bob's past also (it is referenced in The Burgess Boys) They become fast friends. This is a story also about dysfunctional families, Lucy's own in particular.
As time goes by, memories resurface that have Lucy and William questioning their relationship. Do they still love each other, even though after their divorce they both had marriages, Lucy's happy while William's not so much. Through long afternoons of thought, they come to conclusions that seem right for them. Getting back together. Is it just because they are lonely or the pandemic?
This story was written with great thought to the lockdown, mostly in New York, and how it affected the population. A passionate and thoughtful story that resonates long after the book ends. I think it is because we are actually living in a world with Covid. How we all deal with it is imperative to the story.
I really enjoyed it, read it in a couple of sittings. 5 Stars all the way!
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LibraryThing member Cariola
I've never been disappointed by an Elizabeth Strout novel--but there's a first time for everything. Maybe I just was not in the mood to rehash COVID paranoia yet, or maybe it was the fact that I listened to this book on audio and found the reader rather annoying. In any case, it was not a winner
The other thing I found really irritating about this book is that Strout brings in every conceivable news highlight from 2020-2021. It feels false, and it feels like a gimmick. She is shocked when Donald Trump is elected president. She is shocked by the murder of George Floyd, after which her pregnant daughter takes part in a march in New Haven ("Don't get COVID!"). William suddenly revives his interest in ecological studies. Lucy shakes her head in dismay when rioters invade the Capital. It's all so, SO annoying! This might have sat better with me ten years down the road, but not this soon.
The bottom line, I guess, is that I'm not ready to wallow in the horrors of the last 2-1/5 years all over again, especially through the self-pitying experiences of Lucy Barton. We all suffered, and we're all just trying to get on with life.
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for me. The story opens with Lucy, a well-known writer, living in New York when "the virus" hits hard. Her ex-husband William arrives to take her back to New Hampshire with him. She misses the big city and all the friends and fun she has there. She is upset that locals and strangers, who are themselves fearful of COVID, keep telling her to go back to New York. She worries about her daughters getting COVID. She has friends and acquaintances who get COVID, and some of them don't survive. She complains about having to wear a mask and then complains when other people don't cover their noses with theirs. She fusses over her daughters' decisions while maintaining that she wants them to live their own lives without her interference. Lucy comes off as a whiny, self-centered complainer. How William maintains his patience with her is beyond me.The other thing I found really irritating about this book is that Strout brings in every conceivable news highlight from 2020-2021. It feels false, and it feels like a gimmick. She is shocked when Donald Trump is elected president. She is shocked by the murder of George Floyd, after which her pregnant daughter takes part in a march in New Haven ("Don't get COVID!"). William suddenly revives his interest in ecological studies. Lucy shakes her head in dismay when rioters invade the Capital. It's all so, SO annoying! This might have sat better with me ten years down the road, but not this soon.
The bottom line, I guess, is that I'm not ready to wallow in the horrors of the last 2-1/5 years all over again, especially through the self-pitying experiences of Lucy Barton. We all suffered, and we're all just trying to get on with life.
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
We continue on with Lucy’s story at the beginning of the pandemic. Strout does an incredible job capturing the feelings of anxiety and fear of the unknown. It’s a quiet novel as Lucy and her ex-husband quarantine in a small Maine town, but there is powerful reflection in the mundane moments she
“This had often broken my heart, to realize that you never know the last time you pick up a child.”
“It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us.”
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shares. “This had often broken my heart, to realize that you never know the last time you pick up a child.”
“It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us.”
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LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
Lucy by the Sea, Elizabeth Strout, author; Kimberly Farr, narrator
When the pandemic hits America, Lucy’s ex-husband William offers her a way out of New York City. The death of her husband David, has left her lost and sad. So when he says pack a bag, I am taking you out of the city, she obeys. He
This author has an amazing gift because she seems to address the reader, in her books, as if the reader is a character and a participant, so personal is her approach to the narrative. I felt as if I was the only one she was addressing, and I was able to empathize with Lucy and her children, William and his sister, their friends and their acquaintances, as each tried to make it through the terrible trauma and trials forced upon them and the world by the spreading virus.
Strout writes with such simple and easy to understand language, equally about the most mundane events and the most momentous, always using the appropriate amount of gravity each time, so that the reader is never offended, and is always a part of the conversation. She is the first author to present politics in a more even-handed fashion, that I have come across. She illustrates both sides of the coin, both points of view, so that her approach is not offensive, but it is rational without being tarnished with the usual anger and bias of one political point of view. It does not feel like propaganda, but it feels like an honest appraisal of the current political atmosphere.
In this book, Lucy and William recapture their feelings for each other, grow more tolerant as they realize they are growing old and would like to grow old together. Loneliness and isolation have caused great stress to those with no one to share their fears and their joys. They realize that they are both still very compatible and they recognize the mistakes they made that separated them. There are no fairy tale moments, there are just honest appraisals of their past behavior and honest discussions about the future offered. Both enjoy and support each other, offering comfort and kindness when needed, offering silence when that is more appropriate. They both leave judgment aside.
Lucy, like many who have lived through this pandemic, feels it has made her old. Many of a certain age reading this book, will surely agree. On the other hand, it has also made many realize what is important in life, and it often is not selfishness or greed, but is more about compassion and love for each other. As we have the time to examine our past, we have the luxury also of mending our mistakes.
The author is spot on when she reveals that we are all trapped in our own personal lockdown, since we trap ourselves with our own ideas and emotions. She very poignantly approaches the idea of the loneliness and isolation caused by the pandemic, which was so devastating for those who were sick, as well as those who were well but who were prohibited from comforting their loved ones, who in their last moments of life, had to face their fear and pain alone. Some people neglected their own care, did things they normally wouldn’t as they felt so vulnerable. Often, they sat in judgment of others who didn’t think the same way and didn’t conform.
I loved the fact that Olive Kitteridge made a cameo appearance in this novel. It made me feel even more like I was part of the family, since I knew her well from past novels. The dialogue is so real, and the explanations are so simple and basic, while filled with common sense and compassion, that it is hard to disagree with any of the premises presented, even if you have alternate opinions. For instance, although she thought of George Floyd as innocent and disregarded his criminal past, she seemed even handed in her approach to the subject, neither spouting radical support or radical opposition. Chrissy and Becka, Lucy’s children, marched with the protesters without masks, but she feared for them, and still didn’t go overboard in her description of the event. Her description of the attack on the Capitol was also fair, since she seemed to understand what motivated them, but objected to the more radical participants.
The pandemic drove people to do things and say things they never would have under normal circumstances. The middle of the road disappeared and either end of the extremes of politics grew and the idea of compassion competed with the idea of vengeance, often with vengeance taking center stage. Strout’s description of life during the pandemic is probably one of the most honest and fair portrayals I have read. No one was untouched by the effects of the deadly virus. Everyone knows of someone who died, someone who suffered long Covid or other side effects. Her novel stops short of the continuing boosters, so does not support or condemn the mask wearing or the numerous shots that turned out not to be an actual vaccine.
When the pandemic hits America, Lucy’s ex-husband William offers her a way out of New York City. The death of her husband David, has left her lost and sad. So when he says pack a bag, I am taking you out of the city, she obeys. He
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picks her up and takes her to a small town in Maine, away from the hustle and bustle of a city condemned to suffer greatly from the Covid virus. Strout poignantly portrays the effect of the pandemic on both Lucy and those she encounters. Her experience is not that of a Pollyanna, but her way of dealing with it is measured and realistic, although she is afraid. As Lucy and William spend more and more time with each other, they grow in stature in the minds of each other and soon rekindle their affection. Each is able to support and comfort the other when the need arises.This author has an amazing gift because she seems to address the reader, in her books, as if the reader is a character and a participant, so personal is her approach to the narrative. I felt as if I was the only one she was addressing, and I was able to empathize with Lucy and her children, William and his sister, their friends and their acquaintances, as each tried to make it through the terrible trauma and trials forced upon them and the world by the spreading virus.
Strout writes with such simple and easy to understand language, equally about the most mundane events and the most momentous, always using the appropriate amount of gravity each time, so that the reader is never offended, and is always a part of the conversation. She is the first author to present politics in a more even-handed fashion, that I have come across. She illustrates both sides of the coin, both points of view, so that her approach is not offensive, but it is rational without being tarnished with the usual anger and bias of one political point of view. It does not feel like propaganda, but it feels like an honest appraisal of the current political atmosphere.
In this book, Lucy and William recapture their feelings for each other, grow more tolerant as they realize they are growing old and would like to grow old together. Loneliness and isolation have caused great stress to those with no one to share their fears and their joys. They realize that they are both still very compatible and they recognize the mistakes they made that separated them. There are no fairy tale moments, there are just honest appraisals of their past behavior and honest discussions about the future offered. Both enjoy and support each other, offering comfort and kindness when needed, offering silence when that is more appropriate. They both leave judgment aside.
Lucy, like many who have lived through this pandemic, feels it has made her old. Many of a certain age reading this book, will surely agree. On the other hand, it has also made many realize what is important in life, and it often is not selfishness or greed, but is more about compassion and love for each other. As we have the time to examine our past, we have the luxury also of mending our mistakes.
The author is spot on when she reveals that we are all trapped in our own personal lockdown, since we trap ourselves with our own ideas and emotions. She very poignantly approaches the idea of the loneliness and isolation caused by the pandemic, which was so devastating for those who were sick, as well as those who were well but who were prohibited from comforting their loved ones, who in their last moments of life, had to face their fear and pain alone. Some people neglected their own care, did things they normally wouldn’t as they felt so vulnerable. Often, they sat in judgment of others who didn’t think the same way and didn’t conform.
I loved the fact that Olive Kitteridge made a cameo appearance in this novel. It made me feel even more like I was part of the family, since I knew her well from past novels. The dialogue is so real, and the explanations are so simple and basic, while filled with common sense and compassion, that it is hard to disagree with any of the premises presented, even if you have alternate opinions. For instance, although she thought of George Floyd as innocent and disregarded his criminal past, she seemed even handed in her approach to the subject, neither spouting radical support or radical opposition. Chrissy and Becka, Lucy’s children, marched with the protesters without masks, but she feared for them, and still didn’t go overboard in her description of the event. Her description of the attack on the Capitol was also fair, since she seemed to understand what motivated them, but objected to the more radical participants.
The pandemic drove people to do things and say things they never would have under normal circumstances. The middle of the road disappeared and either end of the extremes of politics grew and the idea of compassion competed with the idea of vengeance, often with vengeance taking center stage. Strout’s description of life during the pandemic is probably one of the most honest and fair portrayals I have read. No one was untouched by the effects of the deadly virus. Everyone knows of someone who died, someone who suffered long Covid or other side effects. Her novel stops short of the continuing boosters, so does not support or condemn the mask wearing or the numerous shots that turned out not to be an actual vaccine.
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LibraryThing member browner56
It is the early spring of 2020 and the whole world is about to shut down. Lucy Barton, a recent widow and a long-time resident of New York City, is on the verge of being stranded in a quarantined city until her first husband William convinces her to move with him to coastal Maine to ride out the
Lucy by the Sea is author Elizabeth Strout’s fourth novel to feature what is perhaps her most beloved character. It is a very introspective story in which not much of consequence happens, but then that is really the point given the focus on the social isolation that the pandemic imposed on us all for so long. At the heart of the tale is the way in which Lucy addresses the grief of the recent loss of her second husband David, as well as the way she continues to reconnect with William and forgive him for his many past transgressions. If there is anything amounting to dramatic tension in the book, it comes from Lucy’s adult daughters, Chrissy and Becka, whose personal lives are a bit of a mess at the moment.
While the story falls a little short of being captivating, Strout’s writing is uniformly superb and her deep understanding of what makes Lucy tick is marvelous. This is an author who seems to be at the top of her game when it comes to insights into what makes us human and there is an admirable confidence about the way she allows Lucy’s inherent vulnerability to show through. She is even a little playful at times: there is a great line in which Becka quotes her failed poet husband in his attempt to insult Lucy by saying “He thought you were just an older white woman writing about older white women”. Of course, Strout could have been pointing at herself there, which is just one of the small surprises contained throughout this thoughtful volume.
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Covid storm. There she begins her fish-out-of-water existence as a stranger in a place where she is not always welcome while also struggling to keep her family life together and resume her writing career. As the months pass, life does bring her some joys along with the many hardships, such as her budding friendship with Bob Burgess, a long-standing member of the community and someone William has known for many years.Lucy by the Sea is author Elizabeth Strout’s fourth novel to feature what is perhaps her most beloved character. It is a very introspective story in which not much of consequence happens, but then that is really the point given the focus on the social isolation that the pandemic imposed on us all for so long. At the heart of the tale is the way in which Lucy addresses the grief of the recent loss of her second husband David, as well as the way she continues to reconnect with William and forgive him for his many past transgressions. If there is anything amounting to dramatic tension in the book, it comes from Lucy’s adult daughters, Chrissy and Becka, whose personal lives are a bit of a mess at the moment.
While the story falls a little short of being captivating, Strout’s writing is uniformly superb and her deep understanding of what makes Lucy tick is marvelous. This is an author who seems to be at the top of her game when it comes to insights into what makes us human and there is an admirable confidence about the way she allows Lucy’s inherent vulnerability to show through. She is even a little playful at times: there is a great line in which Becka quotes her failed poet husband in his attempt to insult Lucy by saying “He thought you were just an older white woman writing about older white women”. Of course, Strout could have been pointing at herself there, which is just one of the small surprises contained throughout this thoughtful volume.
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LibraryThing member rmarcin
It is March 2020, and William contacts Lucy to get ready to leave NYC. He is taking her to Maine to escape the strange happenings that are occuring. William, a scientist, knows that the virus is going to be dangerous, and he wants to protect Lucy. He also begs his adult daughters to leave NYC. Over
It was interesting to read Strout's perspective on how lives changed during the pandemic. It was also painful to remember everything we went through, the lives lost, and how people treated the severity of the virus differently.
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the course of the next year, Lucy and William's lives, as well as the lives of their daughters change dramatically. It was interesting to read Strout's perspective on how lives changed during the pandemic. It was also painful to remember everything we went through, the lives lost, and how people treated the severity of the virus differently.
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LibraryThing member bibliovermis
Elizabeth Strout's novels have always had a shared set of locations, but Lucy by the Sea makes clear that all of the main characters of her previous works inhabit the same world and know the same people (they are all met or mentioned in this novel). I don't know that this was necessary, but it's
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kind of interesting in a metafictional way. Show Less
LibraryThing member tamidale
Elizabeth Strout has such an easy way of writing. It’s like lying in a hammock and chatting with an old friend. No judgements, but lots of self-reflection and thoughtful conversation.
In this story, William convinces Lucy to leave New York because of the pandemic and stay for a few weeks in a
While I really wasn’t keen on reading anything else about the pandemic and I also didn’t always agree with Lucy’s opinions, I did like how she seemed to easily take whatever life sent her way and deal with it as best she knew how. I loved her honesty with her relationships and her self-reflection.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Random House for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.
In this story, William convinces Lucy to leave New York because of the pandemic and stay for a few weeks in a
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small town in Maine. The house is right on the sea. Lucy and William live a quiet, peaceful life taking daily walks and meeting new friends, in spite of the pandemic.While I really wasn’t keen on reading anything else about the pandemic and I also didn’t always agree with Lucy’s opinions, I did like how she seemed to easily take whatever life sent her way and deal with it as best she knew how. I loved her honesty with her relationships and her self-reflection.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Random House for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.
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LibraryThing member arlenadean
Title: Lucy by the Sea
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Publisher: Random House Publishing
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Lucy by the Sea" by Elizabeth Strout
My Assessment:
'Lucy by the Sea' was an excellent literary read that was very well delivered with the storyline. That featured the Covid
who had been married to two other ladies would come to the aid of the ex-wife Lucy at this horrible time in our history? But we find William doing just that and getting her out of New York to Maine, also making sure his daughters Chrissy and Becka, with their husband, were in a safe place. The story surrounds this 'covid quarantine island, mask fears, loneliness and pandemic, the election of 2020, along with the January 6 riots.' The author did an excellent job of bringing out the story about this family, with family ties and friends along the way. What exciting characters will the reader find that were brought out from this read? It was so good to see how 'Lucy and William will struggle through the surprising new phase of life and wonder just what life will look like on the other side.'
"Lucy by the Sea" ended up being quite a story of how this divorced couple with family and friends sheltered during one of the world's most horrible pandemics. So, to get a good read, pick up this novel and see how well this author brings it all out this pandemic read to the reader.
Thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Publisher: Random House Publishing
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Lucy by the Sea" by Elizabeth Strout
My Assessment:
'Lucy by the Sea' was an excellent literary read that was very well delivered with the storyline. That featured the Covid
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quarantine. Who would have that an ex-husband of Lucky Barton [William]who had been married to two other ladies would come to the aid of the ex-wife Lucy at this horrible time in our history? But we find William doing just that and getting her out of New York to Maine, also making sure his daughters Chrissy and Becka, with their husband, were in a safe place. The story surrounds this 'covid quarantine island, mask fears, loneliness and pandemic, the election of 2020, along with the January 6 riots.' The author did an excellent job of bringing out the story about this family, with family ties and friends along the way. What exciting characters will the reader find that were brought out from this read? It was so good to see how 'Lucy and William will struggle through the surprising new phase of life and wonder just what life will look like on the other side.'
"Lucy by the Sea" ended up being quite a story of how this divorced couple with family and friends sheltered during one of the world's most horrible pandemics. So, to get a good read, pick up this novel and see how well this author brings it all out this pandemic read to the reader.
Thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
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LibraryThing member lauralkeet
Lucy Barton is a writer based in New York City, and in March, 2020 she is unaware and not prepared for the changes that will soon dramatically impact all aspects of life. If Lucy is somewhat in denial, her former husband William is not, and quickly takes steps to improve Lucy’s safety and that of
When My Name is Lucy Barton was released in 2016, I had no idea it would be part of a series, let alone a series I have consistently rated 4.5 stars. Each book has struck an emotional chord that surprised me given the somewhat unreliable first-person narration and relatively spare prose. But perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised, as there are aspects of Lucy’s life I can relate to; namely, trying to create deep and loving relationships with adult daughters, having had no role model growing up. Lucy stumbles and then tries again, sometimes making progress and sometimes setting them back a couple paces.
That said, readers need to be prepared for a pandemic-centric novel, and one that also covers several other major US events from what was, by all accounts, a fairly ghastly year. Strout’s depiction is spot on, and resurrected some memories that I would prefer not to dwell on. I hope to see more Lucy Barton novels and perhaps the next time there will be more good news. I vote for a meetup between Lucy and Strout’s other notable heroine, Olive Kitteridge.
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their two adult daughters. Lucy agrees to share a rented house in Maine with William; their daughters make other arrangements. Everyone thinks this will only last a few weeks (didn’t we all?), but as time goes on they find new rhythms to their days. They also face loss in various forms, and at the same time forge new types of relationships with one another.When My Name is Lucy Barton was released in 2016, I had no idea it would be part of a series, let alone a series I have consistently rated 4.5 stars. Each book has struck an emotional chord that surprised me given the somewhat unreliable first-person narration and relatively spare prose. But perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised, as there are aspects of Lucy’s life I can relate to; namely, trying to create deep and loving relationships with adult daughters, having had no role model growing up. Lucy stumbles and then tries again, sometimes making progress and sometimes setting them back a couple paces.
That said, readers need to be prepared for a pandemic-centric novel, and one that also covers several other major US events from what was, by all accounts, a fairly ghastly year. Strout’s depiction is spot on, and resurrected some memories that I would prefer not to dwell on. I hope to see more Lucy Barton novels and perhaps the next time there will be more good news. I vote for a meetup between Lucy and Strout’s other notable heroine, Olive Kitteridge.
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LibraryThing member bobbieharv
Oh how I love Elizabeth Strout. And how amazingly she captured those crazy pandemic times: sitting 6 feet away from people, all masked, at picnic tables. The terror, not knowing at first how this virus actually spread, and how our isolation led to thoughts of death and getting old. This is the
Strout completely inhabits the women she writes about with her conversational style, and so one of my only criticisms, her overuse of "is what I'm saying," is really not a criticism because that's how Lucy has always talked.
The only other thing that mildly bothered me in this otherwise perfect book was the lack of any mention of the contentious, momentous, 2020 election. George Floyd and the subsequent demonstrations; the January 6 insurrection - both made it. But no mention of the defeat of the former president, whom she does not name, seemed odd.
Five stars, nevertheless.
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first, I suppose of many to come, pandemic novel I have read, and it felt so real to me - as if she read the journal I kept during that awful year.Strout completely inhabits the women she writes about with her conversational style, and so one of my only criticisms, her overuse of "is what I'm saying," is really not a criticism because that's how Lucy has always talked.
The only other thing that mildly bothered me in this otherwise perfect book was the lack of any mention of the contentious, momentous, 2020 election. George Floyd and the subsequent demonstrations; the January 6 insurrection - both made it. But no mention of the defeat of the former president, whom she does not name, seemed odd.
Five stars, nevertheless.
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LibraryThing member dawnlovesbooks
I have waited impatiently for the return of Lucy Barton. And William too! I didn’t like that this book took place during covid and all the other drama that occurred during this time. Perhaps, just because I am so tired of hearing about it all. I hope other readers don’t feel this way, because I
This book begins when covid first arrives in the city of New York. Lucy’s ex-husband, William, insists that she flee the city with him to stay safe and so they both travel to Maine where they rent a friend’s house by the ocean.
We get insight into the turmoil, loneliness and displacement that many people suffered during the times of covid. Lucy has a lot of time to think about her life and her family and all the things that have happened to them. Her relationship with her siblings, “sat like a dark wet patch of sand” on her soul. She finds comfort in the tides coming in and going out and the “sadness in her rose and fell like the tides.”
“We all live with people- and places- and things- that we have given great weight to. But we are weightless in the end.”
“We are all alone in these things that we suffer.”
“It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us.”
“Grief is a solitary matter.”
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love Elizabeth Strout’s books, her writing and the characters! This book begins when covid first arrives in the city of New York. Lucy’s ex-husband, William, insists that she flee the city with him to stay safe and so they both travel to Maine where they rent a friend’s house by the ocean.
We get insight into the turmoil, loneliness and displacement that many people suffered during the times of covid. Lucy has a lot of time to think about her life and her family and all the things that have happened to them. Her relationship with her siblings, “sat like a dark wet patch of sand” on her soul. She finds comfort in the tides coming in and going out and the “sadness in her rose and fell like the tides.”
“We all live with people- and places- and things- that we have given great weight to. But we are weightless in the end.”
“We are all alone in these things that we suffer.”
“It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us.”
“Grief is a solitary matter.”
Show Less
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
This novel left me conflicted. In this fourth book following the life of Lucy Barton, Lucy is hustled out of her apartment in New York by her ex-husband and taken to a remote house on the coast of Maine to wait out the pandemic with him. Elizabeth Strout has been writing about Lucy's life for
Which brings me to my conflict with this novel; I appreciate the project Strout is finishing up here, with this final book about Lucy, and I love the earlier novels in this sequence (Anything is Possible is brilliant), but Lucy is just not that fun a character to spend time with. By pairing this fussy woman who overthinks some things while entirely overlooking other more obvious things, with a focus on events we are arguably still living through ourselves, this novel is often more frustrating that illuminating. I'm on board for how Lucy, no matter how secure and loved she is, can't help but focus on the same uncertainties that blighted her childhood. But this older Lucy, inured to the real lives of those less privileged than herself, just doesn't see how the solutions her family finds to the problems posed by the pandemic, are solutions only open to those with ample resources, from extra homes waiting for when they are needed, to the ability to simply pay others to take the risks deemed too dangerous for themselves. It's an odd blind spot in a character consumed by assessing how she is perceived by others.
I'm curious how this book will be seen in years removed from the current moment. It also leaves me with the same question I've been thinking about since 9/11; when are we ready to read fictitious accounts about events we ourselves lived through? And which accounts do we want to read? I found myself unsympathetic to characters whose difficulties during the pandemic were the most minimal, sheltered as they were by wealth and a willingness to use that wealth to escape, but I think that I would have enjoyed a novel told from the point of view of someone who lacked the ability to distance themselves. Or maybe I just need more distance from events to be able to engage with them in novels.
I'm looking forward to Strout's next project, whatever form that takes.
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awhile and here we see what kind of old woman she is. It's interesting to see how people change (or fail to change) over time and I'm on board for this project of Strout's. There's even a look at Olive Kitteridge in this novel, now living in a retirement home. Looking at how Lucy is thinking more than ever about her childhood and about her siblings that she left behind as she fought to be free of background of deprivation certainly fits with the elderly people I know. And Lucy's situation is exacerbated by the isolation of the pandemic and by being isolated with William, her strong-willed and not hugely communicative ex-husband. Which is to say, Lucy's tendencies toward worry have solidified into a querulous focus on all the things that upset her, past and present. Which brings me to my conflict with this novel; I appreciate the project Strout is finishing up here, with this final book about Lucy, and I love the earlier novels in this sequence (Anything is Possible is brilliant), but Lucy is just not that fun a character to spend time with. By pairing this fussy woman who overthinks some things while entirely overlooking other more obvious things, with a focus on events we are arguably still living through ourselves, this novel is often more frustrating that illuminating. I'm on board for how Lucy, no matter how secure and loved she is, can't help but focus on the same uncertainties that blighted her childhood. But this older Lucy, inured to the real lives of those less privileged than herself, just doesn't see how the solutions her family finds to the problems posed by the pandemic, are solutions only open to those with ample resources, from extra homes waiting for when they are needed, to the ability to simply pay others to take the risks deemed too dangerous for themselves. It's an odd blind spot in a character consumed by assessing how she is perceived by others.
I'm curious how this book will be seen in years removed from the current moment. It also leaves me with the same question I've been thinking about since 9/11; when are we ready to read fictitious accounts about events we ourselves lived through? And which accounts do we want to read? I found myself unsympathetic to characters whose difficulties during the pandemic were the most minimal, sheltered as they were by wealth and a willingness to use that wealth to escape, but I think that I would have enjoyed a novel told from the point of view of someone who lacked the ability to distance themselves. Or maybe I just need more distance from events to be able to engage with them in novels.
I'm looking forward to Strout's next project, whatever form that takes.
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LibraryThing member FormerEnglishTeacher
Some of the reviews of this book have been critical simply because it was “another pandemic book.” I, for one, enjoyed (if that’s the right word) reliving a little of that awful time through “Lucy by the Sea.” I wouldn’t feel that way if most of the people I know hadn’t come through
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the pandemic in one piece. This is the fourth Elizabeth Strout book I’ve read, and I loved each one, this one probably the best. Lucy Barton is such a lovable character, it’s hard not to like her in spite of her weaknesses. Her relationships with people are endearing, and her family reminds me in many ways of my own. This book is a fast read, but, as I told my wife, it’s one of the first books I’ve read in a long time that I really didn’t want to end. Show Less
LibraryThing member elwetritsche
We live with Lucy so closely that there is almost no space between her thoughts and insights and ours. Sometimes I forget to breathe following her thoughts. I was a little bit surprised how she let's William guide her out of the city at the beginning of the pandemic. It is almost as though she
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doesn't have an opinion, as if she stayed away from the news on purpose. Time felt different during the lockdown and we feel this witnessing Lucy and William settling in to this empty house. It helps tremendously to have one friend. Many interactions happen on the phone and via text, especially with Lucy's daughters. Then there is more time for introspection pondering what has just happened. Both girls go through difficult times and Lucy is a good mother, the mother that she hasn't had. Show Less
LibraryThing member kayanelson
I love Elizabeth Strout’s character, Lucy Barton and Lucy by the Sea did not disappoint. Lucy and her ex-husband, William go to Maine for the Covid pandemic. Strout writes so clearly and simply and Lucy’s thoughts are also clear and simple. I wish I could think like Lucy; she is kind and
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compassionate. Show Less
LibraryThing member sleahey
We can welcome Lucy and her ex-husband William back into our lives, this time with the backdrop of the Covid pandemic. When I read about the early days of the pandemic from Lucy's point of view, it all came back: how little we knew, how little the experts knew, the quandary of how much to isolate,
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the logistics of isolation. What stands out again in this novel is Strout's ability to convey Lucy's voice. As someone of a similar age, to me it seems spot on in its conversational style, its introspection, and interesting observations. I was disappointed when it ended. Show Less
LibraryThing member Narshkite
You know the old saying, sex is like pizza, even when it is bad it is still pretty damn good. I will say the same for Elizabeth Strout books. But that is unfair, this is not at all a bad book, it is in fact a pretty damn good book, but also, not as good as most of the others.
This is Strout's (and
Aside from the cliffhanger though, there is a wishy washy quality to some points. The ongoing theme of not talking politics with people so you can stay friends with them was not handled particularly well from my perspective. Strout touches on George Floyd and the BLM marches, and Lucy's dawning awareness that black people in America face danger and obstacles every time they leave the house, and she acknowledges the racism and antisemitism at the heart of Trump Nation, she has Lucy and William watch in horror the events of January 6th. Still though Lucy clings to friendships with people whom she knows support hate and keeps she her mouth shut. Lucy spends a lot of time and exposition to understanding how it is that so many white working class Americans feel (justifiably) embattled and let down by America. She then spends not one second of time or one line of exposition on wage compression, anti-union activity, skewed tax policy, or the many other real problems that have left poor Americans behind. Strout uses this topic as a vehicle to let Lucy think about her roots as a poor person and her feeling of never fitting in in the more affluent and educated world she now inhabits. Then Lucy sits in silent disagreement with those who espouse hate ideologies, advocate for theocracy, and disregard science. Strout makes this book political, and has Lucy feel horror at the violence, hate, and anti-vax nonsense and then just backs off so Lucy can keep the peace and avoid conflict. That is the sort of cowardice that got us here, white people not wanting to feel bad so they donate $20 to BLM and then go about their business. I think Lucy is smarter, braver and more decent that that. I want to stress that I would have been fine with Strout not addressing any of this, but she raises the political again and again, and then leaves Lucy as a person who silently endorses a hateful and ignorant world view. That bummed me out.
I still enjoyed the story, I look forward to Lucy smartening up in the next book, not just with respect to political, but also to personal matters. I have not discussed the personal matters here, but there are major developments in Lucy's personal life here that are very interesting. My hope is that Lucy takes more control of her own life in the next book, starts requiring the people around her to give her same the care and patience she gives them, and starts speaking a bit more of her truth. As you can tell I remain wholly invested in Lucy and in her story so you know the book was good, warts and all.
This is Strout's (and
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Lucy's) pandemic book, and I suspect the book was not given enough time for Strout to think things through and gain some objective distance. The other Lucy books are so orderly, even when there are questions left there are also complete stories. This book was not that. There are so many threads in the stories of Lucy's family are left hanging, and so many thoughts about America are not brought to a comfortable resting spot, just sort of lobbed at the reader. Perhaps that is intentional. The pandemic did leave us all unsettled and with more questions than answers. Perhaps that sense of purgatory is exactly what Strout wants us to feel. If that was the goal with this book, brava. But Lucy By the Sea feels really unfinished to me. I don't read Strout for cliffhangers, and this book had a proper cliffhanger. Actually more than one, but one is giant. Lucy mentions several times that they (her family) did not know about how sad the next time they were all together would be, and then it ends, on the eve of them all getting together.Aside from the cliffhanger though, there is a wishy washy quality to some points. The ongoing theme of not talking politics with people so you can stay friends with them was not handled particularly well from my perspective. Strout touches on George Floyd and the BLM marches, and Lucy's dawning awareness that black people in America face danger and obstacles every time they leave the house, and she acknowledges the racism and antisemitism at the heart of Trump Nation, she has Lucy and William watch in horror the events of January 6th. Still though Lucy clings to friendships with people whom she knows support hate and keeps she her mouth shut. Lucy spends a lot of time and exposition to understanding how it is that so many white working class Americans feel (justifiably) embattled and let down by America. She then spends not one second of time or one line of exposition on wage compression, anti-union activity, skewed tax policy, or the many other real problems that have left poor Americans behind. Strout uses this topic as a vehicle to let Lucy think about her roots as a poor person and her feeling of never fitting in in the more affluent and educated world she now inhabits. Then Lucy sits in silent disagreement with those who espouse hate ideologies, advocate for theocracy, and disregard science. Strout makes this book political, and has Lucy feel horror at the violence, hate, and anti-vax nonsense and then just backs off so Lucy can keep the peace and avoid conflict. That is the sort of cowardice that got us here, white people not wanting to feel bad so they donate $20 to BLM and then go about their business. I think Lucy is smarter, braver and more decent that that. I want to stress that I would have been fine with Strout not addressing any of this, but she raises the political again and again, and then leaves Lucy as a person who silently endorses a hateful and ignorant world view. That bummed me out.
I still enjoyed the story, I look forward to Lucy smartening up in the next book, not just with respect to political, but also to personal matters. I have not discussed the personal matters here, but there are major developments in Lucy's personal life here that are very interesting. My hope is that Lucy takes more control of her own life in the next book, starts requiring the people around her to give her same the care and patience she gives them, and starts speaking a bit more of her truth. As you can tell I remain wholly invested in Lucy and in her story so you know the book was good, warts and all.
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LibraryThing member novelcommentary
December 13th.
Elizabeth Strout is one of the very few authors whose books I automatically read as they come out, but with Stout it feels like a Christmas letter from a dear aunt describing what's new in the world of people we know. With her newest, Lucy by the Sea, we pick up where we left off
In an interview Strout says,
“I feel like I’ve got millions of stories to tell,” she says with delight. “They just keep burbling up.” Thank God
Lines:
We are born with a certain nature, I think. And then the world takes its swings at us.
It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us."
“If I hold you any closer, I’ll be behind you.” Just as he had when we were young: the line from Groucho Marx.
The walk was a tarred path that went alongside the river, which sparkled in the sun that day; the leaves had finally started to come out and there was a sense of green and bright light; I thought the trees looked like young girls, tentative in their beauty.
What is it like to be you? I need to say: This is the question that has made me a writer; always that deep desire to know what it feels like to be a different person.
where bad memories become scraps of Kleenex in the bottom of a pocket.
My job is to help you get into the world, but you do not belong to me.
Elizabeth Strout is one of the very few authors whose books I automatically read as they come out, but with Stout it feels like a Christmas letter from a dear aunt describing what's new in the world of people we know. With her newest, Lucy by the Sea, we pick up where we left off
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with Oh William. They are a familiar couple, divorced but alone again, comfortable together. Here William, always the scientist, is insightful about the upcoming pandemic and has arranged for Lucy to join him in Maine, to stay in a house by the sea that they can rent with he help of a realtor friend named Bob Burgess. Yes it is the same Bob we know from the previous novel, The Burgess Boys. Lucy continues to worry about her daughters and with some cause here as both of their marriages contain some drama. Mostly though we get the sense of the same pandemic that we lived with, taking walks, having conversations in lawn chairs six feet apart, appreciating nature more than we had time to notice before. William continues to relish his new relationship with a half sister and Lucy finds time to begin a new book. We get a great insight into Lucy creating a story from a simple scene she witnesses from a car window. She muses, "What is it like to be you? I need to say: This is the question that has made me a writer; always that deep desire to know what it feels like to be a different person." She goes on to tell William: “I was watching a policeman who was sitting in his cruiser while you were in the store. I’m going to write a story about him.” William glanced over at me. “His name is going to be Arms Emory. And he has a brother named Legs in the next town who sells insurance. They’re called Arms and Legs because they used to play football when they were kids, they were the stars. Arms could throw that football like the wind, and Legs could run down the field like a crazy man.” I'll look forward to it.In an interview Strout says,
“I feel like I’ve got millions of stories to tell,” she says with delight. “They just keep burbling up.” Thank God
Lines:
We are born with a certain nature, I think. And then the world takes its swings at us.
It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us."
“If I hold you any closer, I’ll be behind you.” Just as he had when we were young: the line from Groucho Marx.
The walk was a tarred path that went alongside the river, which sparkled in the sun that day; the leaves had finally started to come out and there was a sense of green and bright light; I thought the trees looked like young girls, tentative in their beauty.
What is it like to be you? I need to say: This is the question that has made me a writer; always that deep desire to know what it feels like to be a different person.
where bad memories become scraps of Kleenex in the bottom of a pocket.
My job is to help you get into the world, but you do not belong to me.
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Awards
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Fiction — 2023)
Writers' Prize (Shortlist — Fiction — 2023)
NPR: Books We Love (2022)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Fiction/Poetry — 2022)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Fiction — 2022)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — Hall of Fame — September 2022)
Pages
304
ISBN
0593446062 / 9780593446065
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