I have read everything Elizabeth Strout has written, some books twice, and have loved them all. Oh, William! is no exception. The joy I felt when I realized Oh, William! is a continuation of Lucy Barton's story, I can't really express in words, except to say, Oh, Lucy! The insights into the internal world of humans that Strout is able to capture is astonishing. William and Lucy's struggles are my own, and I would argue, everyone's. What do we know of another? And what do we hold on to about another that allows us to be in relationship with them? And what do we do when that myth is shattered? This is what Strout asks and delicately explores in Oh, William! The last words will leave your heart humming in gratitude and wanting more.

Oh William! is Lucy, our narrator's view of her ex-husband, who she's still in love with, It's not a fast-paced romantic comedy, or a thriller, but a slow meander through their relationship. That's not a bad thing, it's a very pleasant read full of interesting vignettes from their life together (I particularly enjoyed the part when they visit the library in Maine to learn more about the German POW camp). I"m not sure I would read it again, but I still enjoyed the characters and their connection. Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC.

I felt like Lucy and I were having a cup of tea together and she was telling me about her life. At times I wanted to shake my head and say, “Oh Lucy!”

I’m not sure who’s the most messed up in their head in Oh William!, William or Lucy. They’ve been together for years in one manner or another and are obsessed with one another, yet neither understands the other. These are two self absorbed — and lonely — individuals. Oh William! is not a ‘happy’ book and is instead rather depressing, but I had an almost uncontrollable compulsion to keep reading. I think I was analyzing them both. The writing is excellent. It’s written from Lucy’s introspective POV and gets right into her head.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Oh, Elizabeth Strout! You do write a lovely story. In this case she pretty much winds up the Lucy Barton history leaving her characters in a warm place in the reader’s heart. I have loved her books and the people in them. Oh, William has not been an exception.

I loved this book. Elizabeth Strout is simply a master at revealing the extraordinary stories of ordinary people.

Oh William!
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Lucy Barton just lost her second husband, David. She left her first husband William, with whom she had two daughters. So, why is she obsessed with William, while mourning David?? This whole book didn’t make any sense to me, all the time she spends with William, including a trip to Maine looking for Wiliam’s half sister, whom he just recently found about. The writing style annoyed me, long, rambling run on sentences without any paragraph separation ( this might have been because this was an unedited copy). Overall, I feel generous giving this book three stars.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.

Two words: Elizabeth Strout. I've read every book she's written.

Billed as Amgash #3, this book reunites with Lucy Barton with her first husband, William--and delves into his/their past. Of families--theirs, his, and hers, and secrets and reflections. There is much on relationships, love, loss, and poverty.

Although divorced from William, they remain connected/friends. Her second husband, David [there is some on their story too], has died and William his having problems in his second marriage [no spoilers from me]. William continues to seek Lucy out from time to time. and so the story evolves.

Lucy is judgmental and as the novel unwinds, we find more of that, and yet, also some restraint on her part. A character study of Lucy and William. that becomes more revealing as the novel progresses.

I loved all the backstories. Her road trip with William. Their family histories--especially Catherine, William's mother. And of Lucy's early life--her parents, siblings, and teacher, Miss Nash.

And, as per usual, Strout's language does not disappoint! Spare and simplistic and yet so revealing. The depth of a single sentence or phrase!

Consider:
"William's face is often closed with an unyielding pleasantness..."
"...their faces seemed shiny with a kind of happiness"
"curtain of my childhood"

I recommend this book.

This is storytelling at its finest as only Elizabeth Strout can do. It’s the story of Lucy and her ex-husband William embarking on a trip to unearth family secrets. It’s really a story of secrets, heartache, marriage and the human heart. I loved it.

I can understand the appeal of Strout's writing--it's not fancy, it's not difficult to understand in terms of its layers and meaning, it's got good pacing--but I didn't love this book, and in fact I found it a little boring. the message, if it has one, seems to be about the resilience and capabilities of women, who handle difficult situations better than the men portrayed. Women are highly competent at everything, Strout seems to proclaim, and shows us exactly how women gain that capability over the course of the novel. As commendable as this is, the novel is flat and dull, and I found myself reading with no sympathy for or interest in any of the characters or their lives.

A popular author in our library, Elizabeth Strout never fails to deliver. Another installment about Lucy Barton and the role her first husband William played in her life.

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
Author Elizabeth Strout captures us with her characters that often leave readers hanging on with questions into the next chapter and sometimes, into the next book. Just as Olive Kitteridge became the most dislikable woman in contemporary literature that you couldn’t help but love, Strout gave her readers Olive, Again and readers shout with joy. Strout first wrote about Lucy Barton whose story {My Name Is Lucy Barton, 2015) was told from her hospital bed where a kind, older doctor treated Lucy’s mysterious illness as her husband William began an affair. The reader developed a definite distaste for William, now the subject of Strout’s newest book and currently Lucy’s ex. Both Lucy and William, as characters begin to unravel from their earlier knitted selves to the weak stitches in their marriage. Greater truths in what were former memories are revealed. Do any of us know how life has twisted us up only to set us down either maimed or slightly bruised, but able to carry on. By creating such characters like Lucy and William (and even Olive or the Burgess brothers from another Strout book) the author holds our attention as she shows us how dismal parenting corrupts our chances to mature as confident, assured adults. Rather like immigrants, both Lucy and William, chart their paths through inhospitable worlds searching for comfort and security with someone, somewhere and we, the readers, find ourselves rooting them on knowing that we share many of the same journeys.

I am a huge fan of this author and this book did not disappoint. The third installment in the Amgash series revisits Lucy Barton and explores just where life has taken her after the death of her second husband.

I love anything written by Elizabeth Strout, and Oh William is no exception. We are reunited with Lucy Barton, as she updates us on her life and the significant role her first husband (William) plays throughout it. I didn’t think it was possible to learn more about Lucy after Anything Is Possible (the second book narrated by her), but Oh WIlliam brings it to another level. I think it would especially appeal to baby boomers, but younger readers can also enjoy and get a lot out of this novel.

Growing up as the child of an English teacher, I was drilled in the rules of how not to write, so reading this book made me cringe almost every paragraph due to the run on sentences. I was going to write this review as one run on sentence, but couldn't face it. In one random sentence alone, I counted the use of the word "and". seven times. I may not have mastered all those rules I learned, but I try not to make the sentences so long that you get irritated like I did with this book.

Ok, pet peeve behind me now, the story dealt with a couple who had been married and divorced, yet remained friends even after they remarried other people. He was on the depressed side since he felt his research did not rise to the level of really accomplishing what he wanted to in life and she was overly invested in herself, as he pointed out to her.

I liked the daughters, didn't care for the husband, who may or may not have been on the spectrum based on his lack of empathy or even interest in what was happening to anyone but himself. The wife came from nothing, actually less than nothing when it came to love, yet rose higher than her siblings as far as having love in her life.

I have loved books by the author, but this was not one of them.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

How can you not love Lucy Barton? What a perfect peek into a life. Plenty of relatable scenes and situations and people, but so lovingly crafted that they're familiar but not boring. I will read whatever Strout produces.

This is a wonderful book! I have read several of Ms. Strout’s books and I love her writing style. Highly recommended for fans of this author, as well as those who will become new fans.

Captivating look at human relationships specifically husbands and wives, ex-wives, siblings, children. As always Elizabeth Strout brazenly but gently reveals the way people communicate or struggle to communicate. I don't know how she does it, but I always find myself immersed in her books and somehow afterwards I feel as if I have been given a knowledge I didn't have before.

Strout returns for the third time to the world of Lucy Barton. She gives enough information to remind readers of Lucy's background which was helpful for me. This book focuses on her relationship with her ex-husband William, now 70 years old. The feel of the book was a soft sadness and as with most of Strout's books there is not much of a plot but it was nice to be back in Lucy's head.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have always enjoyed reading books by Elizabeth Strout. This book is no exception. Great character studies of both William and Lucy. I definitely felt the emotions that the author was conveying and even found myself saying “oh, William.” I think this book is suited more to a mature audience. It is not “fun” nor is it necessarily to be considered a sad story— it’s just life.

I was familiar with Elizabeth Strout’s writing from her book, Olive Kitteridge; Oh William! is the third in the Amgash fiction series. It features Lucy Barton, who is now a surprisingly famous writer. Lucy, however, imagines herself to be invisible, because she came from nothing, as her mother-in-law, Catherine, used to say. It’s true; what’s more, Lucy had very low self-esteem, even as a college student, perhaps even now, as she tells her story.

Lucy is recently widowed. Her late husband, David, was raised a Hasidic Jew and left that community when he was nineteen. Lucy, too, left her family and her way of life behind when she met her first husband William. It is Lucy’s ongoing relationship with William that is the focus of this book, which is a rambling account of their relationship and a commentary on marriage and relationships in general.

Lucy’s first person narrative feels like a heart-to-heart talk over coffee or a glass – or two or three – of white wine. She ponders and reflects about the ups and downs of her marriage and her ongoing friendship with her ex-husband. She speaks of his affairs, of their children, and of his mother, whom she liked and cared for. She describes her feelings of awkwardness and discomfort when travelling to the Caymans for the first time. Even in the present day, William invites her to travel with him. Sometimes their conversations are meaningful; sometimes they are hurtful, but they generally work things out. In the course of many of these discussions, we hear Lucy’s thoughts and picture her rolling her eyes, “Oh, William!”

When William reveals a secret about his family, and invites Lucy to accompany him to investigate his secret past, Lucy agrees. The revelations surprise both of them, and not necessarily in a positive way, at least not initially. But will it affect their relationship to one another and to their adult daughters in the end?

I found Stroud’s writing style in this novel to be very casual and comfortable; at the same time, I found it amusing in a way; the speaking mannerisms of Lucy did not strike me as someone who is a published author! But I found her to be quite endearing. She has much to teach us about relationships and about ourselves. I did not mind having missed the first two books in the series, as she gives enough background to make the reader feel acquainted with her. Overall, I was struck by Lucy’s honesty about her feelings and her life, and I was impressed by the endurance of her relationship with the twice remarried William, despite all their misunderstandings.

I wish to thank NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for providing me with this ARC e-book in return for my honest review. My opinions are my own.

4 stars