A masterful writer at work - the story is almost a bonus, as this writer weaves such a clever, subtle narrative. The main character, Lucy, is a successful writer in New York with two grown-up daughters. Her second husband has passed and she reconnects, almost unwillingly, with her first husband who needs her support as his life begins to unravel. This is merely a backdrop for the stunning insight into Lucy's character and the forces that have shaped her.

Its an unusual writing style, with no chapters, only paragraphs, all written in the first person. The effect is that you are privy to the characters thoughts - which seamlessly flutter between memories and present day observations. The observations are so casual and authentic that its hard to believe this isn't an autobiography.

The story is beautifully interwoven. We learn that there was a previous novel on the earlier part of her tragic life, but even these references were organically inserted and felt so natural. We are left feeling such admiration for this woman of grit and positivity, who is far from perfect but has lifted herself from poverty. In telling the story of her husband, William, we actually learn more of her story.

Much admiration for this writer, who can buck so many conventions, and create still create an unforgettable, enchanting, subtle novel about the complexity of being human.

Having enjoyed all of this authors other books I was looking forward to reading this one. I was very disappointed. This book is so trite and not a patch on her other books. The storyline is dreary and overwritten. The characters are wooden, and not very believable. I do hope this is just a glitch and her next book will be back to her usual sparkling form.

Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish and could not get enough of.

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller!!
Absolutely loved the characters, the plot, the tension -  impossible to put it down.
Certainly recommended!

Elizabeth Strout is an exceptional writer. I don't know of any other that would describe a human with all their imperfections, fears, doubts and frustrations in such a naturally unforced way. With sometimes overwhelming sincerity and tenderness, she opens her characters to readers (I love first-person narratives!) and gives them freedom of expression, sometimes with a sense of inadequacy, which is why all of us, readers, can see through these thoughts, even if our experiences differ. This is probably what, in my opinion, makes Strout such a special novelist - this woman does not pretend to be anyone, perfectly understands the human condition, and makes her characters real by writing about them in an ordinary/extraordinary way. These are real people and there is no doubt about that. People who question their choices, who try to define their fears, confusion, search, doubt, feel bad, have the courage to talk about the wrongness of their thoughts and seek answers.

As simple as possible: "Oh William!" is the story of Lucy Barton about her first ex-husband, William. Now let's go deeper: "Oh William!" is a story about relationships with other people - those who remain in our lives despite being rejected; those who pass unnoticed; those who should shape our lives, and for some reason they don't; those we know very well (or we think we know very well) and those we know very little about. This is a beautiful story about human and their relationship with the environment - how this relationship affects ourselves, our emotions, our sense of connection and, at the same time, the feeling of loneliness. Our whole life is a network of invisible connections between people - more or less conscious, more or less cared for - a network that begins with ourselves, because it is first and foremost that we must get to know ourselves.

Strout creates subtle yet powerful prose - empathetic and deeply moving. This is probably my favorite Strout and I am planning to return to "My name is Lucy" after many years. I highly recommend!

The third book in the Amgash series sees Lucy Barton reunite with her ex-husband William, as he investigates the case of a half-sister that he never knew he had. Lucy Barton is a very flawed but relatable and wise character. The book oozes empathy and simplicity while celebrating the complexities and joys of human relationships. It’s a simple story with themes of mental health, motherhood and miscarriage decorated with a warm humour and a beautiful, everlasting friendship.

There are very few books on the market in which a mature woman is looking back at her life. Well, I´m glad that Strout has already made her name and her work in such an unpopular area can be published and become well known. Well done, Elizabeth, well done.

What is like to leave a husband after almost 20 years of marriage? Surely it must be a bitter experience, lots of grief, frustration, and disappointment. Wouldn´t you feel lonely? Betrayed? Robbed of the best years of your life?
Sure I would. But in this book, the perspective is full of humor and wit because even pain can be laughed at. If you put your emotions aside, you might actually learn something. A valuable lesson on how to not to lose a sense of belonging and just be happy.
Fantastic book highly recommended to everybody no matter the age.
Published on Goodreads and a few private groups on Facebook in three languages
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4244779169

Elizabeth Strout writes again of Lucy Barton, now 63, reflecting on her relationship with scientist William Gerhardt. Lucy has 2 daughters, Chrissy and Becka. With her understated prose, this novel is powerful, compassionate and exceptionally moving. Shot through with gentle humour and wit it is exquisitely written with humanity and wisdom. I adore the author's authentic depiction of multigenerational characters, family, marriage, parenthood and friendships. She captures joy, frustration, fear and pain, trauma, love, loss, grief, loneliness and the impact of our childhoods, so well.

Lucy and William have a supportive relationship and a strong bond despite their parting of ways and are there for each other. When William makes an unwelcome discovery, Lucy accompanies him to Maine to find out more. Lucy suffers from PTSD acquired as a result of her family and the isolated childhood of extreme poverty in Amgash, Illinois. The author's understanding of long-standing human relationships, family and marriage are the backbones of this brilliant novel. A riveting read that I highly recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my own request from Penguin via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

‘Oh William!’ was a real comforting book. I guess being in my twenties (and I know a lot of people my age for that matter) wouldn’t necessarily go for books where the main characters are more mature. People fear of that generational gap but actually what I learnt from this book is that the way we deal with or feel things be it grief or loneliness is so universal. And it doesn’t matter how much time passes, it doesn’t matter how old you are, the feeling is still similar. This book is so reflective of humanity and life, it’s like a huge breath of fresh air. I loved the honest, matter of fact kind of narrative which oozed warmth and comfort. Reading about Lucy’s reflections on her marriage to William and everything she’s still learning was really solacing. I did realise half way through that this book was part of a trilogy and I had started at the end of the series yet again. But I didn’t feel like I missed out on much. It works pretty well as a standalone.

Elizabeth Strout is one of the world's finest writers and Oh William is just another triumph. It's beautiful, insightful writing about the simplest and most complex of things- family, relationships and humanity. It's a genuine, touching story full of the most memorably imperfect characters - It's a beautiful book and I could not recommend it more highly.

Unhurried and refreshingly unpretentious, Oh William is a study of character and relationships, and how time reshapes the way we perceive one another. It is about maturing through mistakes, separation and reconciliation, and much - much more in-between.
Lucy narrates the story. Her narrative is casual – a cross between a stream of consciousness and a memoir. Her reflections revolve mainly around her first husband and the title character, William, but other characters feature strongly and complement the two main protagonists. As William discovers that he may have an older sister, the truth about his mother, Catherine, slowly emerges. The way the author peels off the layers Catherine has built around herself to create her persona is fascinating.
Oh William isn’t about plot or action; it is about dissecting human nature, analysing how and why certain people leave a stamp on our lives while others pass through barely noticed. The title character isn’t particularly sympathetic, and neither is his mother, but they are very real. Often the book reads as if it wasn’t fiction but something pulled out of reality: unpolished and true, if not slightly chaotic. Just like life.

I hadn't read the previous novels however this worked really well as a standalone.

This is such a poignant piece of work and i'll definitely be going back and reading the others.

I hadn't realised that this was the third book in a series, but felt it was still quite good as a stand alone novel. Having said that,I am now keen to read the first to books in the 'Amgash' series.
In this story Lucy Barton is now in her early sixties and her ex-husband William has turned seventy. They are still good friends and the story is like one running narrative of Lucy's past and present relationship with William.
It feels almost like reading a diary, with Lucy's unfiltered view on people and her own feelings just spilling out onto the page.
The story is sad, happy, nostalgic and often quite humorous. I really enjoyed it, although I feel it will not be a book that is to everyone's taste.
Thank you Penguin General UK and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this digital ARC.

There is something so simple yet so mesmerizing about Elizabeth’s Strout writing. The stories in which not much seems to happen actually convey a wealth of emotion, experience and understanding of the human psyche.

I was looking forward to reading Strout's third book about Lucy Barton. I loved to get to read more about the characters we know so well by now. Her stories are sooo comforting, you know her style of writing so you know what to expect and that never disappoints. Thank you for another fabulous book and for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I fear picking up book three without having read books one or two may have been a mistake - I couldn't quite shake the feeling that I might be missing something in this gentle and meandering, yet somehow also cuttingly acute, prose.
I did love the characters and will definitely be revising the world of Lucy Barton from the start!

What a joy it is to have a new Elizabeth Strout novel! This is the third featuring Lucy Barton.

Lucy Barton is now 63, and grief and ageing are weighing on her mind. Lucy’s beloved second husband has recently died but this story is mainly about her first husband, the eponymous William. Lucy and William have two children together and remain on good terms. He is on his third marriage and in his seventies is continuing his work as a scientist and academic. Still, Lucy thinks she sees a change in him as he becomes preoccupied by his family history.

The story of William’s present crisis is interspersed with Lucy’s reflections on their marriage, her complex relationship with William’s mother, Catherine, and her own traumatic childhood.

Her grief is portrayed by what she doesn’t say. She hints at it, touches on it, then strays away. It is as if by telling William’s story, she is able to explore her own life and losses at one remove.

Oh William! has an unusual structure. Lucy begins by telling the reader, as if in a conversation, that she wants to talk about William. There are no chapters and the broadly chronological account of William’s recent life is interspersed with flashbacks, impressions and random thoughts. It does feel fresh and immediate, as if she is talking to you, forming her opinions in real time, constantly questioning and qualifying her perceptions.

However, she also warns you that as a writer she can’t help but using novelistic touches. So we have Strout, a novelist, skilfully weaving the story of Lucy, a novelist, confiding the story of William. This adds an extra layer of ambiguity to a narrative which already relies on memory, perception and subjective experience.

This is the beauty of Strout’s writing, the subtlety, the compassionate acceptance that people are both cruel and kind, the way their perceptions of themselves and others shift. She has a magical ability to capture all that is moving and profound in apparently ordinary lives, and even in a story of sadness and grief there is something uplifting.

I’m not sure how reading Oh William! would be if you haven’t read the previous books. So much relies on an appreciation of the history of the characters and Lucy’s (Strout’s) voice. If you are new to Elizabeth Strout’s fiction, it might be best to read the two other Amgash books first. As someone already immersed in her world, I loved it.
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I received a copy of Oh William! from the publisher via Netgalley.

A really intriguing read - I loved finding out more about Lucy Barton and her family and the style was really unusual. It didn't grip me in the same way that the first book did but I still enjoyed it.

Oh William by Elizabeth Strout was immediately in my wish list after loving Olive Kitteridge and wanting more of Elizabeth’s writing. She just makes you feel like you’re in the room with the characters and you seem to just get to know them but her true skill has you seeing yourself too. This book about William is, of course, not just about William but also about Lucy. Their relationship with its flaws and unbroken connections highlights the complexities of life and love, all messed up by history and psychology. Elizabeth Stroud is a fantastic author, with beautiful descriptive skills and a talent for helping us understand why people behave in certain ways and are who they are- but as well she ramps that up to help us better understand ourselves too.

Strout's books are such a joy to read. The language is simple and sparse but still manages to fit so much meaning and character in. She's a wonderful writer and this latest book is yet another thing of beauty..

know Elizabeth Strout is a bit of a marmite author but I am one of those people who love her gentle but absorbing observations on the minutiae of life, an enjoyable change of pace from more plot driven novels. Revisiting her characters who you feel you get to know so well always feels like a treat, so I was excited to have the opportunity to get to know Lucy Barton better in Strout’s latest novel #OhWilliam. It is a relatively short book but one I didn’t want to put down.

The eponymous William is Lucy’s first husband and the father of her two grown-up daughters. Now in her sixties, Lucy has recently lost her second husband and finds herself reconnecting with her ex-husband - she agrees to go on a road trip with him as he uncovers some surprising information about his family and it provides the opportunity to reflect on their shared history and family life. it is a sharply observed reflection on the evolution and complexity of relationships and the baggage we inevitably bring. Strout's strength lies in her extraordinary ability to bring characters to life and make the reader feel invested as her characters learn to understand themselves as well as those around them and this book is no exception as we become privy to Lucy’s often unspoken thoughts, always insightful and at times humorous. I loved it and it confirmed that for me Elizabeth Strout can do no wrong.