Member Reviews

Oh William!, the new novel by author Elizabeth Strout, is the culmination of a three novel exploration of the affects of child abuse. As with the other two books, these topics are brought up subtly. There's as much conveyed with what's not being said as there is written on the page. I enjoyed this series of books so much for it's characters, storytelling, and insights. Oh William! is a worthy conclusion to this series.

What I Liked:

Progression of the Series:

This is the third novel in the series where the author explores the effects of childhood trauma. The first book, My Name is Lucy Barton, shows how Lucy glossed over the many terrible things her parents did to her and her siblings. We see how Lucy's mother simultaneously attempts to make amends while also minimizing what happened (a classic gaslighting technique!). The second book, Anything is Possible, is a series of short stories about many of the peripheral characters from Lucy's small town. We see that everyone has various hidden traumas and secrets. And it shows, in particular, how Lucy's siblings were affected by their child abuse. The third novel, Oh, William, demonstrates how what happens in childhood lingers for most of our lives. All of Lucy's relationships are affected by her difficult youth.

Characters:

We are reintroduce to Lucy, her two daughters, William, Lucy's ex-husband, and William's mother. Lucy and William are not well into old-age, and her daughters are in their thirties.

Lucy has just lost her husband of many years, David. She still doesn't really blame her parents for her horrific childhood. I think she puts most of the blame squarely on their poverty. I do think that, as an adult, one can see the contributing factors (such as stress over money, and earlier trauma) that boil over into child-abuse. It's not that Lucy gives her parents a pass on what happened. It's that she doesn't hold any anger over them.

I liked how we get to see Lucy and William's daughters, Becka and Chrissy as adults. They are barely mentioned in the first two books. But here we see how the their parent's lives have an effect on them. Although Lucy has attempted to shelter her daughters from the worst of her ex's affairs, the girls have always sensed that infidelity was the cause of their parents divorce. For the most part, Becka and Chrissy are doing well. But I could also see that they lost a lot of respect for William as he goes through yet another divorce. How will this affect their own marriages?

William has had a series of failed relationships following his divorce from Lucy. He makes a lot of excuses for his behavior. But he doesn't acknowledge how his relationship with his mother may be at the root of his issues. Catherine, William's mother has been dead several years in the timeline of this novel. And William is just now facing the fact that Catherine (his mother) was not so perfect, after all.

William learns some startling facts about Catherine after someone gives him a membership to an ancestry website. These revelations could explain why his mother "had the blues" in his childhood. Her depression resulted in Catherine maintaining a distance from William that deeply affected him. It just goes to show that our parents are human. They often have faults and issues we are unaware of.

Storytelling:

This novel has a really creative approach to show how Lucy and William's divorce has impacted their daughter's lives. As William looks into his family history, he asks Lucy to lend him her support. This leads to a road trip where Lucy and William reflect on their marriage, and think about their own childhoods. Everything that affects them is layered one on top of the other. You can see a linear progression from both of their childhood issues to why their marriage ended in divorce. Then this brings them to the present day, where they can both see how their actions have contributed to their daughter's insecurities. I liked that they both did not assess blame on themselves for their daughter's issues. It is what it is. But they do acknowledge that they contributed to it.

Trigger Warning for Childhood Abuse

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I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

I love Elizabeth Strout’s writing. Happily, her newest book, Oh William!, is out this month. It continues Lucy Barton’s story, but the books stand alone. You don’t have to have read My Name is Lucy Barton to appreciate Oh William!, but that earlier novel is so lovely it’s well worth reading.

The novel is written in first person POV in a conversational tone. Lucy’s second husband has just died and she is grieving deeply, but that’s not what she wants to talk about. She wants to tell us what is happening with her first husband, William. He’s turning seventy and, despite good health and an ability to continue working as a professor, he’s starting to feel his age and is going through some difficulties.

First, he has begun waking at night with vague terrors, the most common of which is that his deceased mother has come to tell him something.

Second, his wife (his third) leaves him abruptly. He never saw it coming.

And third, while tracing his roots on a genealogy website, he discovers that he has a half-sister. His mother had a daughter before leaving her husband to marry William’s father. She abandoned both her husband and her daughter! William first denies the possibility of this. Then he agonizes over whether or not to try to contact the sister.

Lucy and her ex-husband have a complicated relationship. Despite the pain of their breakup–Lucy left him, in part, because of his rampant infidelity–they have remained close. They are both now also on good terms with their two daughters, though there were certainly rough times in the past. Lucy and William still rely upon one another for support from time to time. They’re older and wiser; however, their personalities have not fundamentally changed. They still know how to push one another’s buttons. And they do. Despite a successful career and a wonderful therapist, Lucy continues to carry the pain of a childhood damaged by poverty, isolation, and abuse. William is aware of her insecurities and is frustrated by them, yet will occasionally stoop to throwing them in her face. They can be wonderfully supportive of one another at some moments, and cruel to one another at others. It is a superbly realistic representation of how relationships can work.

The novel demonstrates the poignancy of aging, the complexities of familial ties, and the fact that no matter how well we know someone we can’t really know them completely. Lucy Barton’s voice draws you in. Elizabeth Strout’s books are highly recommended.

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I received this book in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase yours here on October 19, 2021: https://www.amazon.com/Oh-William-Novel-Elizabeth-Strout-ebook/dp/B08PYR4X94/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Oh+William%21+by+Elizabeth+Strout&qid=1633298667&s=digital-text&sr=1-1


This is my very first Elizabeth Strout book, but I am kind of hooked, so you hopefully will see more books that I review in exchange for a book.
OK, so I am in recovery after reading this book. This was the quickest 240 pages that I have read in a very long time. I finished this book in one day and am so perplexed by so much! I have a bookover, so if you see me in Book-a-holics anonymous, please respect my anonymity.
Elizabeth certainly had some complex characters in this book. We have William, Lucy, David, and so many more.
This book was so full of emotion and situations that seem to come full circle, I am not sure where to begin, so I will just start with that this is EXACTLY what this book is about- FEELINGS. Being present, being there for the ones that you love, realizing what love really is and regret for the ones that you treated so badly. This book is full of circles and how in our lives, we go though many cycles and circles. We need to embrace the ones that are here now and appreciate what we have when we have it and not just living for a moment or a blip in time. I fully enjoyed this book and would actually read this again to see what other hidden messages that I missed in this book.

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Oh, William! is the third book in the Amgash series which includes: My Name is Lucy Barton (2016), Anything is Possible (2017). Oh, William! can definitely be read as a standalone because much of the first (2) books is repeated in the form of flashbacks.

This story begins with Lucy 63 and William about to turn 70. Lucy left William after 21 years of marriage and the couple have grown daughters Becka and Chrissy - now in their 30s. Over the years Lucy and William have remained friendly. Now Lucy is a successful author and she has just lost her second husband David. William was a habitual womanizer and as the story begins he is married to his third wife. Estelle is a much younger woman and she and William have a 10 year old daughter together. William is now in crisis mode and seeks Lucy's help and companionship as he worries about being alone and experiencing night terrors. I don't want to say too much and spoil the story for all my Strout fans out there. I was happy to return and read more about Lucy and Wiiliam as seniors.

William who grew up in Newton, MA wealthy, was such an unsympathetic character. I understand why his wives grew tired of him. He comes across as aloof and disengaged. His every issue and concern is about himself and yet he has the nerve to tell Lucy she is "self-absorbed and a "strange one."

Lucy in contrast grew up in Amgash, Il in poverty. A therapist once told her she had full blown PTSD from her abusive childhood mostly at the hands of her cold, uncaring mother. Unlike William, Lucy is overly concerned about how her actions might make others feel. She never felt like she knew William well enough to tell him when she was feeling anxious and he had no patience for her panic attacks. Lucy is overly sensitive and over thinks her every action but, yet she had the courage to leave William and focus on her writing career.

This story is character driven and told mostly through flashbacks where Strout fans will get a brief refresher on the earlier series books. There is a lot of introspection and some thought provoking moments but, also some funny stream of consciousness writing as well. I'm happy I read all (3) books and, yes, I loved this one. There is a reason Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer for Fiction in 2009. She is so talented and is definitely a favorite author of mine.

Thanks go to Random House for allowing me access to an early release eGalley.

Rating - 4.5/5 stars

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Oh William! was not my first book by Elizabeth Strout. I was surprised by how many of her books I’ve read. I think there is something about her writing style that just draws me in. It’s kind of like conversing or corresponding with an old friend. For me, she doesn’t have an eloquent or lyrical writing style. She writes exactly like someone might talk to themselves. It moves in a linear direction but, it kind of wanders around like my mind seems to do when I’m pondering something. Elizabeth Strout has a style all her own.

This book explores human relationships and how they are all different. Lucy takes a trip with her ex-husband to investigate an old family secret. It’s interesting how the parties involved handle the discovery. Lucy and William’s friendship has stood the test of time which I liked.

There are two other books in this series. My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible. If you’ve read the first two, you’ll want to read this one but, don’t let it stop you from reading this one even if you haven’t read the others.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from #RandomHouse and #Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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3.5 stars. A pleasant read. Lucy has a lovely voice recounting her life with William, her first husband. This novel explores the ways in which we do and do not know each other, and how that has the potential to affect our views of our own existence.

"Through her careful words and reverberating silences (The New York Times), Elizabeth Strout has long captured readers' hearts with her spare, exquisite insights on family, relationships, and loss. And never has her perfect attunement to the human condition (Hilary Mantel) been so evident as in these pages, as Strout's iconic heroine Lucy Barton, of My Name Is Lucy Barton, recounts her complex, tender relationship with William, her first husband--and longtime, on-again-off-again friend and confidant. Recalling their college years, through the birth of their daughters, the painful dissolution of their marriage, and the lives they built with other people, Strout weaves a portrait, stunning in its subtlety, of a decades-long partnership.

A masterful exploration of human empathy, Oh William! captures the joy and pain of watching children grow up and start families of their own; of discovering family secrets, late in life, that rearrange everything we think we know about those closest to us; and the way people live and love, despite the variety of obstacles we face in doing so. And at the heart of this story is the unforgettable, indomitable voice of Lucy Barton, who once again offers a profound, lasting reflection on the very nature of existence. This is the way of life, Lucy says. The many things we do not know until it is too late."

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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4.5

When silence is noise…

Oh, friends, I love this book, I really do…but I love a couple of Strout’s other books more.

We’re talking flavors, here. Strout seems to have two: Minimalist and Natural. I do better with the Natural flavor (ha, because it feels most natural to ME), and it’s livelier and more energetic.

Oh, William has the Minimalist flavor (along with My Name Is Lucy Barton). It has simplistic language, which feels a little self-conscious. It just doesn’t hit the spot. My soul doesn’t feel all pogo-sticky, probably because my soul is naturally all jumpy, and the style of Oh, William is all quiet. Mismatch city (more like mismatch small-town).

I could keep going with the flavors, but I want to get down to business. Even though the book and I are a little mismatched style-wise, we’re matchy-matchy in every other way—which basically means I still loved the book. It gets its super coolness from the way the sparse language puts the story in high relief. What I mean is, because it’s such a quiet book and the language is so simple, the drama underneath pops up big, emotions screaming off the page. The silence creates its own noise. For example, Lucy and William are quiet during a car ride, but there is tension out the ying-yang. That Strout can create such strong undercurrents is the biggest reason the book works so well for me. And it seems effortless.

And here’s another thing: William is pretty boring and passive, but Strout makes him interesting nonetheless. His life seems sort of coated in Valium, it’s so damn quiet, yet I was interested in him—why? Again, this is Strout’s art. Strout takes ordinary people and zeroes in on their little insecurities, their imperfections, their secret habits, and what they’re really thinking (in contrast to what they’re saying), and she makes all of this so vivid and relatable. Strout has an amazing ability to see a person’s insides. And she makes us feel like we know their essence.

One perspective thing was very clever. Strout gets us to love Lucy, and as happens when we listen to a good narrator, we think she is flawless. But William at one point tells her she’s self-absorbed. I stopped in my tracks. Hm….is this true? Can I see that, too? Is William right on? It makes me see Lucy from his perspective all the sudden. And then I laugh because after all, she isn’t real; she’s just a character in a book. Again, this Strout lady is smart!

If you’re looking for plot, there’s not much of one. That’s okay because the book is rich with psychological insight and wisdom. The tone is conversational, which I always love. The story is about Lucy reflecting on her life with her ex-husband, William. They also hang out in the here and now, and all sorts of memories pop up. They are both in their 60s and they both married others after their divorce. She looks at their long-ago marriage and their current relationship, as well as their kids, infidelities, other spouses, and her childhood.

Things this book did to me:

-Gave me insights into myself.
-Sparked memories (both good and bad—eek, stop the bad ones!). Very intense!
-Made me think of the underground feelings and thoughts happening (both mine and others) during conversations.
-Made me look at how having a long history with someone often binds you forever, whether you like it or not.
-Made me realize that even though each of us is unique, we’re often the same in the ways we act and react.
-Made me mull over interesting philosophical and psychological questions. Does a bad mother create a kid with low self-worth? Do we choose, or do things just happen?

Complaint Board (not very strong complaints, I must say):

-The Minimalist flavor. (Already discussed in excruciating detail!)

-Panic attack disappears without a trace. There’s a panic attack that’s here one minute, gone the next. In Anything Is Possible (which I loved), a panic attack is described vividly. It was so palpable. Here, Lucy barely mentions it’s happening; Strout doesn’t describe it or build tension around it.

-Thumbs down for visions! William has some “visions” (Lucy might have had a few, too, but I can’t remember). I don’t like visions! Thank god they’re not all hokey or paranormal or anything, but I still didn’t like them. I love to read about what people are thinking, but I don’t like to hear about their dreams or visions. Cut it out! I think I would have felt better if Strout had called them “imaginings,” but that probably wouldn’t have fixed it, because it’s just semantics.

-William is a big blob. He never grew on me, and it’s hard to know what Lucy saw in him. I guess it’s that “history binds you forever” deal I mentioned.

-Open your mouth, please. I like talkers, and damn, both Lucy and William are pretty much tongue-tied. So even though Strout is a genius when she gets the silence to talk, I think I would have preferred a couple of chatty Cathys who did shut up long enough to allow those poignant silences.

Bottom line: Don’t let the simple language fool you. This book is a superb character study and is chock full of wisdom and psychological insight. The style mismatch was the only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. I recommend this book to lovers of literary fiction. And Strout fans will not be disappointed!

Interesting tidbits about Strout:
-She was first published when she was 45 (I love a late-bloomer story!).
-She spends a lot of time trying to figure out what it would feel like to be another person—that intrigues me. Maybe all writers do this? It sounds like such a good idea, and something really hard to accomplish.
-In the Acknowledgements, she thanked Laura Linney! (WTF?) Would love to hear that story!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

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I have enjoyed Strout’s writing since reading her Pulitzer Prize winner, Olive Kitteridge. The flow of writing is mysterious and at times lyrical; the reader thinks “where is she going with that” and then, boom, there’s the hit. Oh William! continues the story of Lucy Barton, in Lucy’s voice, and her relationship with first husband William but also his mother and their daughters. As well as Lucy’s second husband. Lucy has remained close in an odd way with William and she helps him solve some of the mysteries of his childhood and life.

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Oh William, in his too short khakis!

Lucy Barton returns to tell the tale of her life with her first husband, William and life without William after their divorce. Recently widowed, she has remained steadfast friends with her ex as they have two daughters together. They have supported each other through the various ups and downs of their lives even after remarrying.

William, 71 and sporting a super-stache, is revealed to be quite the ladies man since their marriage. Two other wives, multiple affairs and a family secret that will rattle him to the core. William has always been Lucy's safe place after enduring a harsh childhood. Together, they embark on a journey to unearth the secret his mother kept hidden. A secret only revealed after William takes an ancestry test, and he gets a hit on a relative he didn't know existed.

Oh, William is written as if Lucy is chatting with the reader over morning coffee. This is an incredibly entertaining novel, and I'd very much enjoy being a part of Lucy's gossip girl circle. This novel has a very satisfying ending for the reader.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the complimentary copy of the ebook and PRHA for the audiobook. #OhWilliam #NetGalley

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An introspective novel about Lucy Barton as she looks back on her life and marriage(s). Relatable in some ways especially for women of a certain age. Book clubs would have a lot to discuss, I'm guessing here because I'm not a member of one. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read it.

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I DNF this book pretty early on. I didn’t like the style of writing. I also did not like the storyline or lack thereof.

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3.75 Stars

New to Elizabeth Strout’s work, I must admit her rather chaotic writing style, in this particular work, initially took me by surprise. And there were times I felt as though I were in a retirement community tearoom, eavesdropping on a somewhat mundane conversation.

However, although the story wasn’t mysterious, romantic, suspenseful, or particularly optimistic, it managed to hold my interest. (Admittedly, not an easy task.) Reconnecting with her ex, William, following the death of her second husband, the protagonist, Lucy Barton, acknowledges William's many faults and idiosyncrasies fully for the first time. I'm certain I wasn't the only reader who uttered an Amen when Lucy conceded her crucial flaw lay in her inability to recognize her ex-husband’s many shortcomings in a more timely manner. I also experienced conflicting emotions when William essentially confessed to Lucy that it was her, not his current wife, he felt he could always confide in, and from whom he could seek comfort.

I may not wholeheartedly recommend this particular novel, but had I not read it I wouldn’t have become acquainted with "Olive Kitteridge" and "My Name is Lucy Barton." Character-driven novels are unforgettable when written well, and I look forward to reading and reviewing those Strout Fan Favorites. While readers read to escape, we also take comfort in the knowledge that joy, grief, anger, compassion, and jealousy are all emotions that bind us, and "Oh William!" is chock-full of reminders. Much appreciation to Random House, Elizabeth Strout, and NetGalley for the ARC.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Unfortunately, I could not connect with this latest book by Elizabeth Strout. While I enjoyed her other novels, the narration-style format of Lucy's inner thoughts left me waiting for something to happen. While I was waiting for that something to happen, the story lost me.

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Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Elizabeth Strout for allowing me to read this ARC in return for an honest review.

Lucy and William are friends for life…..falling in love, getting married, raising children, divorcing, and still best friends. What a great story. Lucy, a published author, has recently lost her husband David, her one true love, but her friendship with William is still an important part of her life. Their story will cause the reader to take a good look at the meaningful relationships in their own lives. How wonderful to have a friend who knows the real you, your innermost thoughts and feelings, and not judge you. That is rare. As William said, “You steal people’s hearts, Lucy.” And, she will steal yours!

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This was such a cute book and I very much enjoyed it! I felt connected to our Lucy. I know this is the third book of a series, but it was just fine as a standalone. Lucy goes over her family history so I felt like I knew the most important pieces.

The way Elizabeth Strout writes makes it so easy to relate to and feel like the characters are real people in your life. It was funny, witty, and very real.

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I have read two of Strout's prior novels, Olive Kitteridge and Olive, Again. I loved both of these novels. When I requested Oh William! I was not aware that it was the third novel in a series. I think reading the other two novels would have helped give some context to this book. Overall the story can be read as a standalone, but I had a hard time getting into the story. Perhaps having the back story would have helped. Its not a long book, but it took me much longer to complete than it normally would. I didn't really care for the style of the way the main character Lucy speaks to the reader to tell the story. I think its meant to be as if she is speaking casually to us, but it is distracting from the main point of the story.

I rounded up my 3.5 to 4 stars on this review because of some of the redeeming features of the book. Strout writes very vivid, very believable characters (not always likeable however!). She gets at the heart of relationships with very few words, and that is very impressive.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

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Oh William! is the third book in the Lucy Barton series, and if you enjoyed Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible, you will surely love Oh William! William is Lucy's ex-husband, someone who still needs Lucy even though he has remarried a younger woman with whom he has a daughter. Elizabeth Strout has so clearly drawn William that I feel as if I know him. We travel with William and Lucy as they embark on a journey to understand William's early days. It's a beautiful, poignant, tender novel, full of affection and love. I highly recommend this book to Strout's fans.

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Oh William!
by Elizabeth Strout
Pub Dat: October 19,2021
Random House

The Pulitzer Prize-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author traces the enduring bond between a divorced couple in a poignant novel about love, loss, and the family secrets that can erupt and bewilder us at any point in life.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.
This is the third book in a series. If you have not read the other two you may not be able to relate to the characters. The author does give history as she goes along.
I liked this book. Maybe because she is in her 60's it was easy for me to relate.

4stars

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This is my first Rebecca Strout novel and there is a book about the main character Lucy Barton. This book is Lucy in her 60s with her ex husband. It's a very interesting book as she is grieving the loss of her second husband and William her first husband has just had a divorce.
His former wife had bought him a genelogy test that linked him to a sister which started them on a trip to go find out about his mother's past. Genelogy is fascinating, my uncle and I are very interested in it. It's fun looking back.
Lucy and William had a friendship and co-parented their 2 adult children. But this trip helped them get through a lot of their issues and brought to light some shortcomings they didn't know they had, you know like all trips do to people lol.
The writing style was different than I'm used to. Lucy seemed to be telling this whole story like she was writing in a journal.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐💫

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If you are a fan of Elizabeth Stroud you will love this book as she explores the complexity of life and relationships. Lucy Barton reflects on her former husband and her husband who died as well as some other relatives and sees their lives from a different perspective and understanding that probably only can come from having lived long enough!

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