My Name Is Lucy Barton
Ratings92
Average rating3.7
Other reviews here say it all, but I'll add that this short novel packs so much in. It's beautiful and poignant, taking me to my childhood, my young adulthood, and my present. Such a skilled writer! So insightful.
Dochter die zich uit en achterstandsmilieu heeft onttrokken krijgt onbekende aandoening en eenmaal in het ziekenhuis komt haar moeder op bezoek, die ze al lang niet gezien heeft.
Wat volgt is een mengeling van flashbacks naar vroeger, iets dat mogelijk wel of niet heeft afgespeeld, en gesprekken tussen moeder en dochter.
Mooi beschreven, menselijk, maar het greep me niet voldoende bij de strot zogezegd voor vier sterren...
Nothing happened (besides her languishing in a hospital for a couple months not badly sick but not well enough to go home) and she didn't say anything (except that she likes New York, but with no sense of place to show me why). It's like Villette in that the narrator is definitely tiptoeing around something she doesn't want to talk about, except way more obvious and way less interesting. I've got a complicated relationship with my mom and even there, this book didn't do a darn thing for me. Maybe if I already liked the writer or was already invested in this character I would have appreciated almost 200 pages of random musings, but as it was it just bored me.
Este livro aborda um tema profundo de uma forma superficial. Dou 3 estrelas porque a escrita é simples, fácil de acompanhar e também porque me entreteve.
Just what I needed: a short tight novel that shows the inner life of a character. It explores the tight bond between a child and her mother - even in a relationship that seems broken. Looking forward to reading more of the Amgash novel series.
Favorite quotes from the book:
Lonely was the first flavor I had tasted in my life, and it was always there, hidden inside the crevices of my mouth, reminding me.
But I think I know so well the pain we children clutch to our chests, how it lasts our whole lifetime, with longings so large you can't even weep. We hold it tight, we do, with each seizure of the beating heart: This is mine, this is mine, this is mine.
Kylläpä on pieneen kirjaan mahtunut paljon aineksia. On sotaveteraanitraumoja, AIDS-muisteloita, WTC-iskut, natsimenneisyyttä, köyhyyttä, perhetraumoja, vaikea äitisuhde, hajoavia parisuhteita ja ties mitä.
Päällisin puolin kirjassa ei tapahdu juuri mitään, mutta kylläpä kuohuukin pinnan alla. Kaikki on kauniisti ja terävästi kirjoitettu. Todella miellyttävän tiivistä, taloudellista ja ytimekästä ilmaisua. Kiehtova, ajatuksia herättävä kirja.
This was a very unique story. It was a summary on Lucy Barton's life, but told in bits and pieces. Most of the story revolved around a period of time she was hospitalized and her estranged mother came to visit. It was a good story, and short. Easy reading (listening).
This is a gentle little book based on heavy material. Our protagonist is gentle, compassionate Lucy and the book focuses on her yearning for a loving relationship with her mother. While the two women spend time together, we learn that their relationship is very fraught, as we gets hints of Lucy's miserable childhood of poverty and occasional occurrences of abuse. Lucy's stories of growing up trash and the shame it brings and how it forever haunts you, are heartbreaking.
The book contemplates life and family, the inability to share emotions, human's tendency to feel superior to others, a passion for writing and how every author has 1 story, they retell again and again in different colors. I especially loved the scenes that included Lucy's author idol Sarah Payne, who in the literary circle is criticised for a “softness of compassion”, which functions well as a truth/fiction parallel for Lucy and/or Elizabeth Strout (I'd imagine).
I really wanted to embrace this as it felt like it was really beautiful writing but, and this probably says more about me than the quality of this novel, I couldn't quite get there emotionally
This is what happens when you love a book an author has written: None of her subsequent books measure up. I adored Olive Kitteridge. I liked Burgess Boys. I tolerated this latest book.
I'll just go ahead and say it: This book read like a first draft. I had glimmers of happy reading this book. But it needed work and somebody decided it was finished. Big mistake.
If you want to know more, here's a little plot summary: Lucy Barton grew up poor, without good relationships with her parents. She gets an opportunity to connect with her mother when Lucy ends up in the hospital.
Nice idea for a plot, I thought, but the book needed more work to really touch me. Perhaps I need to start a new category of books: Books that Need Revision.
Another short, powerful book (I read this and [b:The Light of the World 22875479 The Light of the World Elizabeth Alexander https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1422811469s/22875479.jpg 42439931] back-to-back). I liked Strout's [b:Olive Kitteridge 1736739 Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320430655s/1736739.jpg 3263906] so much that I avoided [b:The Burgess Boys 15823461 The Burgess Boys Elizabeth Strout https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351213545s/15823461.jpg 21553934] when I heard it wasn't as good. But this one is also excellent.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.
Elizabeth Strout writes with grace and subtlety, and her writing is what makes this story the mix of beautiful and tragic that it is. It's a story about one woman, but it's laced with moments that shine a light on the lives of many different people, even if only for a page or two. Every character that appears is treated with the same compassion, and written with the same depth, as Lucy Barton herself. It's worth reading if you're looking for a short book with depth.
I loved this detailed character study of Lucy Barton, a complex woman: raised poor, deprived of affection, determined to get out. In this book, while she is hospitalized, her mother comes to visit and the ensuing five days reveal much.
My full review is here: Review of My Name is Lucy Barton