Strout has a real talent for making the mundane daily lives of people interesting. What readers will take away from this story about Lucy Barton, is that the past is never totally gone, that life isn’t as straightforward as we would wish, and that we need other people. Lucy has been in other books, and its not necessary to read them to enjoy this book. Lucy is grieving for her second husband, David. She’s remained friends with her first husband, William, and in this story becomes even more connected to him as William’s third wife walks out of his life and William discovered he has a half-sister—a sister his mother gave up before marrying William’s father,

I always find it difficult to review books that are part of a series. Do you evaluate based on the book as a standalone or as part of a whole? It’s been such a long time since I’ve read the previous books but from the first page of ‘Oh, William” I was there with Lucy again. Not much happens in this book—it is a character-driven story of an older women evaluating her life. But Lucy’s observations are universal and her musings are poetic. Strout’s writing is majestic in its simplicity. Simple turns of phrase can contains worlds. I just love her writing.

Elizabeth Strout is an acclaimed writer, so I was excited to give this book a try. Unfortunately, I found it very underwhelming and rather boring. It was not a bad book by any stretch, but there was very little interesting activity in this one. I felt the same about “Olive, Again”, but wanted to keep an open mind. I just don’t think this author’s books are for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher. 2.5 stars ⭐️ rounded up to 3 stars ⭐️ rating for this one.

I really enjoyed this. It was so raw and real. Kind of like someone reading from their diary their deepest darkest thoughts. It was just thoughts, but it kept me entertained from beginning to end. This was a story of an older lady recounting the life she lived and the thoughts she had regarding her first husband, William.

Thank you so much to #Netgalley and @Libro.fm for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.

I was very excited to receive a copy of Oh, William from #netgalley. I am a fan of Elizabeth Stout writing and Oh, William was no exception. I loved the story telling and I adored the relationship between Lucy and William. This book will definitely stay with you and pull at the heart strings.

Strout fans will love this latest novel, a continuation of Lucy Barton's story as she reviews her marriage and continuing friendship with her first husband, William. Although it took me a little longer to get into Oh William! than Strout's other novels, it wasn't long before I was captivated by Lucy's narrative voice and the book's quiet yet absorbing storyline. While reading, I was reminded of the long car rides I used to take with my grandmother when I was a kid, when she'd tell me stories of her life and experiences. I loved her honesty as she talked about her life and how she felt about all that had happened to her, and it made me feel very close to her. That's much the same feeling I get reading Elizabeth Strout's books -- Although it often seems like nothing much happens on the surface, the quiet events of her protagonists' lives feel a lot like our own, and their reflections as they look back are intriguing and at times, profound.

Elizabeth Strout is my Annie Dillard/Maya Angelou of fiction. She's a true sage and she always leaves me with so many emotions and so much to think about. Strout is definitely one of my all-time favorite authors and every book of hers that I've read has been an absolute treasure.

Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout is the third book in the Lucy Barton series. Each book is relatively short in length, but superbly written. I had read Lucy Barton, the first in the series, but not the second book. Strout summarizes her life so I was able to follow pretty easily. Oh, William! is a very interior novel and character studies of both Lucy and her ex-husband, William, whom she has kept a friendly relationship with. William is in his early 70s and has some health issues and Lucy is in her mid-sixties. We slowly learn about their relationship and families. The story starts a little bit slowly, but they soon become more entangled to unearth a family mystery that has come up. Elizabeth Strout is one of the best contemporary American writers and it's a joy to read her eloquent, authentic prose. I loved journeying into the lives of Lucy and William.

Thank you Random House for providing this ARC.

First rate, as always. While I was taken aback by the title at first, her stories are always so warm and wonderful.

Elizabeth Strout has returned with the story and voice of Lucy Barton as Lucy, now 63 and widowed as her second husband David has died, becomes more involved in the life of her first husband, William with whom she has always stayed in contact and had a friendship.

In her often faltering thoughts and speech, as she second guesses herself often, Lucy meditates on her life, beginning in that small house in the Midwest where things were done that she doesn’t want to discuss. (Lucy is talking to us, the readers, I suppose, and mentions her success as an author.) She moves on through to college, meeting William, and then into far more details of their marriage than we have had before. Always she questions what she has done, experienced, how her childhood may have impacted her adulthood, and on. And William also is a person in crisis. How do the two of them relate. How have they ever?

This is a novel of self-witness and self-discovery, with a good deal of soul searching included. A difficulty arises when the person searching their soul has been raised by warped parents and has to work out norms themselves over their life’s course. Strout has written another beautiful work that reflects the work, the difficulty, the pains and beauty and self knowledge that can come from it. Oh William can also be Oh Lucy or Oh Elizabeth! I will read anything Elizabeth Strout writes.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

"Oh, William!" A humbling book that aids in pondering and observing the flawed human nature. With such elegant writing, Elizabeth Strout allows us to peer into other souls much like our own and draw out the human conditions that make us all unique, yet imperfect. The characters are impacted by the connections they made from their past and the complex relationships that can sometimes tear through our heart leaving us raw and exposed for the next trampling. I felt that with our main character, Lucy Barton , who "know nothing of popular cultural".

Lucy's observational personality sometimes left her feeling invisible due to lack of being celebrated in her younger years. Growing up in poverty, she could not see past it to see her empathy for the human soul is a gift, but always saw the lack of. This was enhanced with her marriage to William Gerhardt and their complexities were due to his philandering will to always seek someone else and never appreciating what was in front of him. He appears "cold" throughout with even his children, daughters Chrissy & Becka lacking in understanding of his behavior. What they did display, was pity for the loss of each woman in his life. After twenty years of marriage, Lucy walked out after the discovery of him and one of their closest friends.

The basis of this book reminds us of the way we live and love and the re-entering of William into Lucy's life after his 3rd wife walks out on him and after her husband, David's death. Her love for David is withstanding and true of nature in regards to love and respect. The touching moments and her description of his hand gesture, or a loving glance of approval melted my heart and the repetitive mention "the love of her life"❤️

William needs Lucy's help to evaluate his suffering of night terrors (that are much warranted with his past afflictions) and to delve deep into his "haute" mom, Catherine's past. He invites Lucy to venture on a road trip to discover his mother's past and secrets. Many memories of Catherine come to life and the comparisons are visual as Lucy tries to overcome her fear resurfacing of her childhood poverty and how deprivations never leave us.

"It's because it made me think so much about myself- not the world these people had left, that was familiar to me at all, but how they were in the world once they had left."
What a beautiful story of redemption, faithfulness and reflections of these people that represent so many feeling invisible. "You steal peoples' hearts, Lucy."

Thanks so much NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title in exchange for my honest review.

What a sweet and wonderful book from a gifted writer who writes with such amazing flow that the book was finished before I knew it. I was actually on a plane and realized that I was 80% done and thought Oh no, not yet.
This author has the uncanny ability to understand human nature incredibly well. Each character is very well developed which makes the story interesting and believable.

The story is told from Lucy’s point of you. She is a successful writer living in New York City. She doesn’t go into great detail, but she had a very rough childhood and her life got better once she started college. While at college she met her future husband, William. She and William had two daughters and although they are now divorced, they are still very much a part of each other’s lives.

William’s third wife gives him a DNA test for his birthday, and through the test, he realizes he has a sister he never knew about. He asks Lucy to accompany him to Maine to explore and research this family connection.
The interactions they have with each other and what she learns about William and what she learns about herself play out through their trip and through the end of the book.

I don’t believe I’ve ever read anything else by this author, but after reading this novel I can see why she has received so many awards.

I absolutely recommend this book and I look forward to reading more novels from this author.

*A very special thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this ARC.

Wow. "Oh William!" by Elizabeth Strout was a very honest, reflective and engaging examination of life, relationships, forgiveness, poverty and the long term effects of hard childhoods. I thought that this story, with its strong details was fabulous, and insightful. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

If you enjoyed Olive or Olive, Again, then you will certainly enjoy Oh William. Elizabeth Strout has such a way of describing people and their relationships, that you end up feeling as though the characters could be your next-door neighbours. It is such an accurate representation of human interaction that is not intended to be flattering, but is instead the raw truth of human engagement. I especially liked when Lucy and William travelled to Maine. I have been to many of the places mentioned on their little journey, and I always enjoy the familiarity of reading about a place I have been to. I do feel the author painted a rather bleak picture of the State, which is not how I personally see it, but it did lend well to the story. A very solid 4 stars.

You may have met Lucy Barton in Elizabeth Strout’s novel My Name Is Lucy Barton, but it is not necessary before you read Oh, William!, her newest novel about Lucy’s first and ex-husband. In her usual quirky way, the author brings authenticity to a situation that seems totally unreal in the relationship Lucy has maintained with this first husband through their marriages, divorces, deaths, and affairs with other people. The fact that Lucy, like Elizabeth, is an author of well-received books comes up in surprising incidents along the way and might make the reader wonder if there are some autobiographical tidbits hidden in the story.

When William uncovers a secret in his own family, he asks Lucy to accompany him to investigate and put some sense into his past. Lucy’s reflections all along the way about her own background, the commonalities with her former mother-in-law and her roots, and relationships with the two daughters she shares with William add depth to the actual events in the novel. William is often unpredictable even to Lucy who knows him well. Frequently, he retreats into a world of his own. Hence, her perpetual comment, “Oh, William!”

Elizabeth Strout took a trip to the area in Maine where the German POW camps were located and did research on the area and its history. That research gives authenticity to her story. The book just might bring a few reflections for the reader along with an enjoyment of a tale well told.

I love Elizabeth Strout’s writing and I so enjoyed her recent novel Oh William!. Lucy Barton narrates the story, telling of William’s family and his experience as she views it. I honestly did not pick this one up for a while as it sounded fairly dull, but Elizabeth Strout’s writing is so beautiful, so vivid. She has the ability to capture character in such a way that you find yourself shaking your head saying, “Yes, that is exactly how that is”. She is one of those rare writers who makes the ordinary extraordinary. When you read her books you feel better about life.

Thank you for my Net Galley copy.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Oh William by Elizabeth Strout.

Here's the deal, I love Elizabeth Strout! But I didn't love this one. To be fair, part of my problem is that she continues the same story, but it's a story that I read a thousand books ago, so I can't remember it. But also, I just wasn't as captivated by this.

Lucy Barton is reminiscing about her first husband William, whom she had a few children with. But unlike many divorces, Lucy has still maintained a friendly and sometimes even loving relationship with William, which she pontificates of in this book.

It's a beautiful idea, but one that I just couldn't sink into. I had a hard time remembering certain characters, even within this one book, and it felt a bit scattered. But it's okay Strout, we're still good :)

It was hard to get in to this book without having read the first two in the series. The book consists of the rambling thoughts of Lucy as she spends time with her ex husband exploring parts of the past he just found out existed. If I had read the stories before, and was more invested in Lucy and her life I would have enjoyed the story more.

With Kimberly Farr's exquisite narration, this is possibly the best audiobook of the year. I was given a NetGalley version to read as well, but am so happy I went for the audiobook instead. The book is sort of like the reading of a diary with emotions up and emotions down. I swear Ms Farr shed some tears during the difficult parts. It felt like she was talking directly to me and she was just amazing.

“People are lonely, is my point here. Many people can’t say to those they know well what it is they feel they might want to say.”

My favorite thing about Elizabeth Strout's writing is her characters. They're fallible, relatable, and utterly human, and the characters in this one were no exception. Strout speaks to what it's like to be human in this difficult and complicated world, which makes for a satisfying and emotional reading experience. Now 63, we experience Lucy reflecting back on her life, especially her marriage to William. If you haven't read the other Lucy Barton books, start there and work your way to this one. It's worth it.

Strout engages the readers heart and emotions with her flawed characters. I love Lucy’s wisdom and she is one of my favorite characters.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.