Oh William!

ах, вильям, ах, люси, ах, каждый из нас

It sometimes take time to know and forget who our spouse might be. Just like we know and forget who we are ourselves. I think Lucy Barton didn't know herself well enough when she married William. And William had no way of knowing who he was because he'd been lied to his whole life.

The book starts with Lucy and William, long divorced, both grappling with their current states of their significant relationships. William seems happy enough with his younger wife and a new young daughter, much younger than the two daughters he had with Lucy.

Lucy is widowed from her second husband who was nothing like William. But now she's alone except for the time she spends with her grown daughters, mostly shopping. This leaves her plenty of time to wonder why her early family life left her so traumatized and why William cheated on her which led to their divorce.

I love how Elizabeth works these two characters back into each other's lives later in life. Their “necessary conversations” have them exposing one another. When the author confines them in a car or on a plane, very real conversations occur that eventually leads them to silence and thoughtfulness. Over and over. Excellent book!

3.5 stars. In her unique deceptively simple writing, Strout reminds us that we are all mysteries to ourselves and each other

Although IMHO that doesn't excuse William's infidelities and his frequent belittlement of Lucy.

From the outset, I got sucked into this book. There's something so relatable, yet fascinating about the narrator's consciousness — the way she describes her perception of herself and others is true to the experience of personal relationships. The smallest, most random things about a loved one — like showing up to lunch with pants that are too short, or a sad look of disappointment— will suddenly overwhelm you with a crushing love for them. Similarly, small slights or gestures — a certain twitch of the mustache, a distant look, a dismissive response — will make you hate them.

Relationships are complex, mysterious. We can spend our lives with people and continuously learn new things about them, and have revelations about relationship dynamics 30+ years on. This book is really a fascinating exploration of all that, and something about the writing made it hard for me to put down.

Didn't love it as much as I am Lucy Barton but still the author has a lovely writing voice and I enjoyed how she told us how her husband was a jerk without telling us her (former) husband was a jerk.

I really enjoy this series... I don't usually read series back to back but I want to stay with Lucy as long as I can ❤️ I love Strout's writing and style. The books are short but deep.

Elizabeth Strout suomennokset aloitettiin Lucy Bartonin parissa, vaikka ensimmäinen Olive Kitteridge -kirja ilmestyi englanniksi ensimmäisenä. Oivallinen Kristiina Rikman on saanut suomentaa kerran vuodessa uutta Stroutia, ensin kaksi Lucy Barton -kirjaa, sitten kaksi Olive Kitteridgeä ja nyt sitten palataan taas Lucy Bartonin pariin.

Tämä kirja sai inspiraationsa näyttelijä Laura Linneyltä, joka esitti Lucy Bartonia monologinäytelmässä. Näytelmän harjoituksissa Linney mutisi jotain Lucy Bartonin ensimmäisestä aviomiehestä Williamista ja siitä se tuli: Voi William! Totta kai Williamistakin piti tehdä kirja.

Lucy Barton on köyhistä oloista kotoisin oleva nainen, josta on sittemmin tullut menestynyt kirjailija. Tässä kirjassa luodataan Lucyn ensimmäistä avioliittoa professori William Gerhardtin kanssa. Lucy kertoo heti kirjan alkajaisiksi, että William on hiljattain kokenut pari epämiellyttävää asiaa elämässään. Siitä tilanne sitten lähtee purkautumaan ja Lucy kertoo meille, mitä on tapahtunut.

Lucy nimenomaan kertoo: kirja on kirjoitettu täysin Lucyn näkökulmasta ja tekstiä ryydittävät Lucyn kommentit “nyt haluan kertoa tämän”, “tästä tuli mieleeni”, “ajattelin”. Tarina etenee pala kerrallaan, ikään kuin Lucy kertoisi sitä lukijalle sitä mukaa, kun asioita tulee mieleen. Jo iäkkäämpi ihminen – Lucy on tässä kuusikymppinen, William seitsemänkymppinen – muistelee menneitä ja pohtii aikaisempia asioita nykyisen tietämyksen valossa.

Kansiteksteissä Stroutia verrataan Alice Munroon ja vaikka Munro on toisaalta hyvin selkeä novellisti ja Strout ei, jotain samaa näissä kuitenkin on. Hyvin arkista elämänmenoahan tässäkin kuvataan ja kieli on aika pelkistettyä ja vähäeleistä. Elettyä elämää; Lucy päätyy olemaan paljon tekemisissä ensimmäisen miehensä kanssa ja se taas herättelee pohtimaan Williamin ja Lucyn välistä suhdetta, syitä sen päättymiseen ja vuosien jälkeistä viisautta siitä, millaisia ihmisiä itse kukin tässä on. Williamin ja Lucyn tyttäretkin ovat olennainen osa tarinaa, samoin äitien ja lasten väliset suhteet niin Lucyn ja tämän lapsien, Lucyn ja hänen äitinsä ja Lucyn ja Williamin ja Williamin äidin välillä.

Kaikkiaan Voi William! on oikein kiehtova kirja ja miellyttää varmasti Elizabeth Stroutin kirjojen ystäviä. Minulle Olive Kitteridge taitaa lopulta olla vähän läheisempi kuin Lucy Barton, mutta kyllä tässäkin monia hyviä kohtia oli ja mielenkiintoisia ihmissuhteita. Kelpo kirja siis!

Oh William is the story of Lucy Barton and her two husbands, especially her first, William. Lucy also shares stories about William's three wives and William's mother.

Oh William is a sequel to My Name is Lucy Barton, and my first thoughts after finishing this book are that I like Oh William much more than I liked My Name is Lucy Barton. While I was reading, I kept thinking about how realistic the actions and the voices of the characters are; the characters do and say things that are both anticipated and are surprising, and that's how people really are, I think. The other thing I like very much about this book is the insight into humans that it brings to me. Lucy and William and William's mother all reach old age, and all three of them come to different ways of coping with the trials of life. It is interesting for me to think about which of the three finds a better way of dealing with troubles than the other two.

While I was left thinking about Olive, I couldn't care less about William. Something about mediocre problematic men is just not compelling.

Elizabeth Strout has a very distinctive writing “voice”. It's intimate, brutally honest, but not always sweetness and light. Inevitably her characters seems more alive than most any other author I can think of, as though you're living inside their heads. Many readers I know insist Olive Ketteridge must be a real person, that's how spot on she is in Strout's novels. Now add Lucy Barton to that list, because in this new novel, Strout brings back the protagonist from My Name is Lucy Barton and fleshes her out at a time in her life when she's recently widowed and dealing with rebooting her life as an older woman. We learn more about her backstory, her first husband William, his enigmatic now deceased mother Catherine, the grown daughters they had together, and most of all, Lucy herself as she and William take a road trip to Maine to explore his family origins. The insights into this long-ago first marriage are heartbreaking and poignant, revealing a deep-seated love hidden beneath years of recriminations and heartache.

Not much “happens” in the novel if you're the type of reader who craves plot, but if you long for an intimate character-driven story, this one is for you. There are plain-spoken nuggets of wisdom hidden every few pages that make you stop reading to contemplate your own life choices, your own desires and relationships, and most of all, the roads and maybe detours that have brought you to where you are today.

Highly recommended.

Lucy Barton is such a fascinating character whom we know from an earlier story and a novel by Strout. Here she is at her neurotic best, over-thinking things and trying to help other people understand what's going on. This is truly a voice-driven novel with, it must be said, a pretty thin plot. So read it for Lucy's voice and her character and don't worry about what's happening.