OH WILLIAM!- the latest in Elizabeth Strout’s Amgash series- was a delightful, easy read. I always enjoy Strout’s writing and this novel was no exception.

The plot of this story is simple but Strout’s beautiful writing and insight into everyday life and love and loss is as compelling as ever. I highly recommend this story, which could likely be read alone (but I think is best enjoyed after the first two Amgash novels).

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC I received in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to read this book, since I loved Olive, Again. Strout is a beautiful writer with a keen eye for observing and reporting on the mundane, elevating every day observations into insightful wisdom. The themes of connection and loneliness, family and trauma, and compassion kept the book moving and engaging. I loved her relationship with William, complex and nuanced and not at all what I expected.

However, Oh William did not have the same charming “short stories that tie together” vibe as Strout’s previous books. As a straight novel, it was missing the common threads that were so much fun to discover in her previous books. Here, Olive continues as a no-nonsense and insightful character, but to me, she has lost her grumpiness and her edge. Her voice, which I found charming before, was annoying and repetitive, is what I’m saying (when you read the book, you’ll understand that reference).

My thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in any way.

This is my first Elizabeth Strout and I really enjoyed it, especially towards the beginning. Oh William! is the third book in the Amgash trilogy and though I have not read the other two, I was still able to enjoy the story and fall in love with the family. Our main character Lucy does mention events from her previous books, and she manages to fill the reader in without meandering too far from the current plot. If anything she has made me want to go back and start from the beginning.

Oh William largely involves the relationship between Lucy Barton and her first husband, William. Lucy’s husband David has recently passed away and she is pondering the life they shared as well as the life she had with William. Despite the years that have passed (and the infidelities that broke their marriage), Lucy and William maintain a friendly relationship. William’s life seems to fall apart after his latest birthday - his current wife leaves him (taking their daughter with her) and he discovers a secret branch of his family tree. Together, William and Lucy hit the road to find out the truth.

For me, the first half of this book was the strongest. I loved Lucy’s storytelling and her voice was calm and refreshing. I loved seeing her relationships with her daughters and the glimpses into her past. Overall, Oh William was a very approachable, quick read full of well developed characters. I look forward to reading the rest of the Amgash trilogy and exploring Lucy’s past further.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this book.

What a wonderful author Elizabeth Strout is! Her books are always a delight, and Oh William is no different. Hope we're not finished with Lucy Barton!

Really enjoyed this one - This one kept my attention the whole time and was a nice break from my usual reads! Thanks for the opportunity to read!

I realize that I can’t think everything that one of my favorite authors writes is amazing, but still I feel so reluctant to give this three stars.

The writing is beautifully done as always, it’s just the story just didn’t gel with me.

The story is told by Lucy Barton. It’s about Lucy and her first husband, William and also her second husband, David.

It feels like you are sitting next to Lucy as she just rambles on about her life. The writing is very much conversational, with a lot of conversational ticks - like “I mean” - which I find annoying when someone does it constantly while talking and find it even more annoying when reading it.

At certain points, I connected with the story, when Lucy would feel something exactly like something I’ve felt before, but between those times, not so much.

Overall, I can understand why this novel gets rave reviews from a lot of people, it really is unique.

I have to say of all the characters Elizabeth has Lucy Barton is my least favorite. I was Meh about her in the first book, liked her better in the second and finally realized that by the third she bores me. I found it really hard to care about her or William for that matter. Every conversation they had bored me. That being said, I love how Elizabeth Strout writes and that is why I continued on with the book. Oliver Kitteridge will always be my favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book but felt the pacing was somewhat slow. In reality it's more of a 3.6 rounded up to a 4 star.

Admittedly, I didn't realize this book was part of a larger series when I read it, despite having heard a lot of great things about it critically. Maybe the main character would grow on me if in the context of a larger series, but I found her to be simpering and sort of infantile despite being a grown woman. Don't even get me started about William. I don't think I would say Oh William!, but more of an "Oh, William......"

Oh William! is about Lucy Barton and her connection to her first husband, William, and the journey they embark on after two very significant things happen to him. The two events that drastically change William’s life is his current wife (number 3) leaves him and he discovers his has a half sibling. Lucy spends a lot of time reflecting on events throughout her life and how they have impacted it.

This is the third book in a series revolving around Lucy Barton and I can’t help but wonder if I read the previous books if I would have a different feeling about this book. Oh William! is the longest short book I’ve ever read. The story rambled on and it felt scattered at times with the random tidbits thrown in and not elaborated on. The second chapter of the book read smoother than the first chapter and I say chapters because there were only two chapters in the whole book.

Thank you @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Oh Elizabeth Strout!

I loved Oh William!, more than My Name is Lucy Barton. I think because in the first book you got a bit of the backstory of Lucy's family, but in oh William! she could dive deeper. I think a wonderful thing about Strout's writing is the lack of dialogue and you live in the head of Lucy - I loved how her inner dialogue bounced around all over the place but she brought you back to her original thought in a fun way.

So great! Elizabeth Strout is an auto buy author for me now.

Enjoyed reading another Lucy Barton title, it was a look into a amicable divorced couple and some family secrets that are revealed.

I’m struggling to get through this latest book by Elizabeth Strout. I’m bored reading it and it’s just not for me. I did enjoy her other one before this My Name is Lucy Barton but this one not so much. Dnf at 33%. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was a little wary going into Oh William!, the third in Elizabeth Strout's Lucy Barton related tomes, since I hadn't previously read the other two. I read it was a standalone novel, and I am glad that I pressed on in spite of my concerns because this was a lovely read. Oh William is the best kind of domestic story, 100% character driven. You meet William, Lucy's ex-husband in his 60s, but the story transitions as it goes into a story about Lucy and the way life deals us cards we aren't quite sure how to deal with. Strout beautifully captures the essence of humanness. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

Oh Elizabeth Strout!

I will read anything this woman writes. Elizabeth Strout creates such convincing characters and settings that the reader is transported.

Some authors create characters they don't like much and then invite us to judge them. By contrast, Strout has such warmth and empathy for hers, even when they aren't behaving well. She is good, humanist company; an antidote to the bitterness to be found so easily around us.

I struggled to connect with this book in any way - possibly because I couldn't identify with anything the characters were going through personally. I am sure it's a great fit for readers, but just wasn't a good fit for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Transitional, iconic, sweeping story of life and a reflection of love and friendship even through hardships. The characters truly shine in Oh William! and are so genuine.

“This is the way of life: the many things we do not know until it is too late.”

This is the third book of the Amgash, IL series which originated with the departure of Lucy Barton from the run down town and onto pursue her dreams. Lucy receives a college scholarship and eventually becomes an accomplished author. In this book, Lucy is older and writes this book as if taking notes in a journal, reflecting on her life, marriages, daughters and in particular, William Gebhardt her first husband who is 6 years older. At this time Lucy and William are both around 70 years old having made successful careers and remarrying. Lucy met William when she moved to attend college as he worked in a lab as parasitologist and taught microbiology at NYU. When they married, Lucy devoted herself to being a loving, caring mother to her two daughters. She wanted to give them all the support and attention she craved as a child. As the years past, Lucy realizes that she needs to put herself first and rekindles her passion to become a writer.

Although they divorced, Lucy and William continued to have a symbiotic relationship that only two people who know each other so well can have. They seemed to experience many life events relying on each other for support and advice. Lucy recalls how William provided comfort when her second husband, David Abramson, died. She remembers his second wife, Joanne, because he had been having an affair with her for 6 years before the divorce. William married her a year after their divorce. Then, William married Estelle, his third wife who is 22 years younger and they had a daughter Bridget together.

Lucy and William have come to rely on each other through the years. William has been tormented over the years with night terrors about his mother, Catherine. Another memory which lingers relates to Germany and how his father died when he was 14 yo following surgery to remove an intestinal polyp. Although he didn’t believe in the afterlife, he often thinks about death and his convoluted family history. They have an open, honest dialogue about the course of life and the comfort of the “familiar” place were most married people end up after years of marriage. Ironically, they seem to know each other’s quirks and routines but acknowledge that sometimes people end up with kind and thoughtful people. But the routines and familiar are often superficial with people not fully understanding the depths of the other person.

A coming of age novel for the older woman. Reading “Oh William!”, we are privy to an intimate conversation with Lucy — divorced from the oft-mentioned William, widow of her second husband, a writer, and a mother of two girls. Lucy grew up with extreme poverty and implied abuse and neglect. She grapples with her feelings on life, marriage, and motherhood, as she accompanies William, who wants to go to rural Maine to meet the half-sister he didn’t know existed growing up.

Oh William! is apparently one of a series, none of which I’ve read. I believe it works just fine as a stand-alone novel.

I can’t say I loved this work or even particularly liked it, but I do not believe I am the intended audience. Regardless, I would certainly give this author another chance for the simple fact that I read the whole book despite there not being a plot, per se, and she did do such a great job with the characters.

Thank you so kindly to the author, to #NetGalley, and to #RandomHouse for generously allowing me to review a digital ARC of #OhWilliam!

OH WILLIAM
BY: ELIZABETH STROUT

This exquisite novel called, "Oh William," by Elizabeth Strout was dazzling and I fell in love with the character Lucy Barton. She has wisdom and she is authentic. I had in my possession at one time the hardcover called "My Name is Lucy Barton," and I am kicking myself now for discarding it without reading it. It was a First Edition, First Printing so I am really upset that I didn't hold on to it. Until, I just finished "Oh William," I was utterly captivated by how I would love to have a candid and honest friend just like Lucy Barton. Her first husband William is on good terms with her and they share two adult daughters.. Lucy is a writer and her second husband has passed away. William has just been divorced from his third wife named, Estelle. Lucy notices that William has never processed rejection well when they take a trip to Maine to look in on the sister his mother Catherine had with her first husband. His half sister talks to Lucy and she seemed to have lived a good life while Lucy goes to her house and meets her outside gardening while William stays in the car. His half sister does not have any desire to meet William and Lucy the ever diplomatic person understands. She does notice William has trouble with feeling rejection or as the novel points out with Lucy remembering William's now deceased mother Catherine telling her that William couldn't accept when the teacher couldn't pick up William everyday he was upset.

My favorite part is when Lucy realizes that she can't be the problem because it happened with his two former wives.--both Joanne and Estelle. As Lucy has that epiphany I grew to love and admire her.

This novel really was balm for my soul after just reading a really depressing book this one was just what I needed to cheer me up and restore my faith in fiction. I can't praise Elizabeth Strout high enough for creating such real and a narrative with a huge heart. I loved it and can't wait to read "My name is Lucy Barton." This was an absolute gem.

Publication Date: Octobor 19, 2021; Available Now, Already! Get your copy today! I guarantee that you will love this because nobody writes with such AUTHENTICITY as Elizabeth Strout!

Thank you to Net Galley, the Talented Elizabeth Strout and Random House Publishing Group for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#OhWilliam #ElizabethStrout #RandomHousePublishingGroup #NetGalley