Lucy by the Sea is another installment in the Lucy books and Strout does not disappoint. Her writing is subtle and clean and easy to read. This story interestingly, takes place almost exclusively in Lucy's head. The dialogue is so natural it feels like the reader is chatting with an old friend,

We find Lucy once again in the company of her ex husband William and this time its the start of the pandemic. He talks her out of leaving NYC and the story takes place as the two of them enter into Covid lockdown together.

This is a very quiet, easy enjoyable story. Strout is a master storyteller and this book does not disappoint fans.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC which I was provided in exchange for an honest review.

In her latest book, Strout confronts Covid and does it with sensitivity and creativity. A natural for a bookclub selection.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout.

If Strout wrote it, I'm reading it, those is the rules.

What's funny is looking back on my reviews of the first three of this series, my reviews are incredibly mixed! But whatever hang ups I had on the previous books have all been forgiven and forgotten because of this beautiful flower arrangement of a book.

Lucy is in her later years living alone in NY when the pandemic hits. After the insistence of her ex-husband William, she finds herself staying with him in a small Maine town, right by the water. There she learns a whole new way of living, while struggling to maintain a relationship with her daughters, her new neighbors, William, and herself.

I don't want to say much more about this except that it was SO relatable. Reading about the pandemic when we're still in the fresh aftermath feels especially poignant right now. Add a hearty dose of love, humanity, fear, guilt, and sacrifice, and baby, we got us a stew going!

A mixed bag. Strout, is, of course, brilliant and her first Lucy Barton book a masterpiece. Lucy now, years later, has begun to seem somewhat self-indulgent and repetitive. And the structure here seems too loose and flabby. And yet, shafts of perception pierce the gloom, notably the late one when Lucy’s sense of William’s unreliability is underscored. Not her best book, but still pretty fine.

This book is perfect for our Covid lockdown year. Lucy Barton lives in Manhattan and makes a decision to abandon her life there and move to a small house on the coast of Maine. Her ex-husband accompanies her on this journey away from the city and into the country. The descriptive passages in this book are lovely as we accompany Lucy on her daily walks. She befriends a neighbor along the way and we see some positive changes in her as she lives her days reading books and enjoying her view of the riley ocean right out of her window.

Elizabeth Strout continues Lucy's story in the present day. Interesting to read a fiction book about the COVID pandemic! I always enjoy learning about Lucy's inner thoughts. Fun to read!

Oh my goodness, I did not think Elizabeth Strout could surpass her previous books! This could be a stand alone work, but the richness of being familiar with Lucy Barton and her family made for a spectacular read. I have sometimes shied away from novels set during the pandemic. But seeing the past few years through Lucy’s eyes made me laugh and weep, and reinforced the joy of reading as a balm for weary hearts.

I read this in one day because it’s such an easy style of writing. Lucy’s thoughts all flow into one another. I didn’t know this story would take place during the pandemic and almost quit it as soon as I started. I stuck with it, though, because I enjoyed Oh, William! so much. I wanted to see how Lucy would navigate this time in her life. Strout does such a super job with characterizations. I wonder if I’d like Lucy in real life. I think I would even if she’s sad sometimes and a bit dim about the world.

I was provided this book by Random House Publishing Group through NetGalley.

This is the first book that I read that is placed in the COVID 19 time period. I loved that it followed a main character that I already knew through that time period and included characters from Elizabeth Strout's other books. I found the book to be engaging and poignant. The range of events and raw and varying emotions expressed in the book seemed vert realistic and relatable. The book brought up interesting themes related to family and free will. I am very grateful to Net Galley and Penguin Randomhouse for the ARC.

Elizabeth Strout is a gem! I am in awe of how good a writer she is, and how keen her observation skills are. This story begins at the beginning of the pandemic, and features Lucy and William; Strout often features many of the same characters from previous novels, and it feels like visiting with old friends.
Although I recommend reading the author’s previous novels for the characters’ backstories, this book can easily be read as a stand-alone.
Highly recommended!

Lucy by the Sea
By Elizabeth Strout

This is the ongoing saga of Lucy Barton (which began with "My Name is Lucy Barton" and continued through "Oh, William!") and her clan – ex-husband William; deceased husband David; daughters Chrissy and Becca; and assorted other characters. Not being a big fan of Strout's work, I will say that I think this book, taking place during the covid pandemic, is the best of the three.

While Strout's books are nominally standalone, they are dependent upon sections of backstory to bring the reader up to speed. These sections seem to repeat in each book. Additionally the author feels the need to bring in characters from other books like Olive Kitteridge. I'm not sure why; references to Olive really do not enhance this story.

The author, through Lucy, presents many different thoughts and ideas about what is wrong with our society and what we might do to improve the situation. Unfortunately Lucy becomes muddled as the book goes on, seemingly unsure of what she thinks and feels and not knowing who, besides herself, she can trust. Thus many situations are left unresolved.

It is obvious by the abrupt ending that there will be another installment of the Lucy Barton chronicle. I was disappointed at how little was resolved in this one. It could have been a better book.

Very timely and very Lucy. I liked this book far more than expected. Handled the recent challenges of the world well, her relationship with William and her girls felt real. Lucy's feelings for other characters made me giggle a bit and her thoughts of her mom/relationship/childhood broke my heart. This is a must read book for fans of Lucy and her life.

I love Elizabeth Strout and her interest in ordinary people. I am an ordinary person, as is just about everyone I know. Yet in her beautiful mind and writing the ordinary is extraordinary, fascinating, worth exploring. To me this is the epitome of being a humanist and a humanistic author of fiction, and I am here for it!

This novel concerns the pandemic and I have read many reviews that are critical because of this subject matter. So maybe if you don't want to read about covid skip this one. This was not a problem for me and I consider this one of Strout's better novels. YMMV.

Another installment in the life of Lucy Barton. Lucy and her family are living their separate lives in New York on the eve of the pandemic. As March, 2020 begins, William, a scientist, convinces Lucy to go to Maine where they move into a house by the sea. Although divorced, they find their way back to a different kind of couple-ship, and work together to make it through the weird times, and parent their grown daughters as well as William's younger daughter from afar. This is a thoughtful story that addresses the weird time, as well as navigating life and love in one's later years.

Lucy by the Sea is perhaps Elizabeth Strout's best Lucy Barton book in that not only does it continue to develop her relationship with "Oh, William" and her daughters, but the reader is caught up by Lucy's original naiveness which mimics much of the public's reaction to the virus vs. those who were instantly overzealous in responding, the lock down and its various impact on people, and the inner workings of Lucy's mind and how those thoughts color her interaction with others and her own emotional behavior. Strout uses descriptions of Maine and things and people in and around a house that is rented sight unseen both to describe the terrain, but also to reflect Lucy's evolution. My only complaint was that I started the book too late in the evening because I couldn't put it down until I finished it in the early hours of the morning. Note: I received an advance copy of this from Net Galley, but the review is my own.

I go back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for this one. The writing style was difficult for me - it was so straightforward and the sentences were so short and concise. But at the same time, there was a rhythm to the way the story was read.
Lucy by the Sea takes place during the first year of the Pandemic when nothing felt right or normal and everyone was a bit depressed and unsure of what was going to happen next. I could feel that from Lucy. Countless times Lucy tells us what she remembers or what she remembers feeling which felt normal but also annoying at the same time. Was that intended?
It's hard for me to recommend this book to someone unless they're specifically asking for a book about the Pandemic. I don't think we're far enough away from it to want to look back and remember or experience what others were going through. At least I'm not there yet.

Looking back over the other books Strout has written, I realized I've given most of them 3 stars, and I'm not sure why this one rates 4 stars from me. Her casual, oh-by-the-way writing style is the same, and I remember that annoyed me in some of her past books. But for some reason, it really worked for me in this one. Lucy is widowed and living alone when the pandemic hits, and her former husband William calls to tell her to pack a bag - he's taking her with him to Maine so they can stay safe. Like many of us, she thought the pandemic would only last a few weeks, and as their isolation continues she finds herself going over the events in her past and wondering how the future will play out. She also begins to make friends in her small town, and when she eventually returns to NY for a visit, she finds the city much changed. I really enjoyed Strout's way of bringing past family events into current conversations between Lucy and William (and their daughters). It had been quite some time since I'd read the other Lucy books, but I found it didn't hinder my enjoyment of this one.

There is something so wonderful about Elizabeth Strout’s writing. It is basic, no frills, but so authentic. I always feel like I’m just listening to an old friend describe her life.
The story starts just as Covid hits NYC. Lucy’s first husband, William, convinces her to leave NYC for Crosby, Maine. There, what she initially thinks will be a few week stay turns into a much longer time period. This was a vivid reminder of the initial months of the pandemic, of that sense of otherness, that dreamlike (or should is say nightmare-like) as we all grappled with the new reality. Her life in Maine reminded me so much of our life during the pandemic.
Lucy and William have a complicated past, which comes out as they once again live together. But yet, they are able to move beyond their prior difficulties. This book also perfectly captures how a parent always worries about a child. The book is filled with these little perfect scenes of understanding.
So much of the book takes place in Lucy’s head. She grapples with memories of her late husband, her parents, of all the decisions she made in her life.
Most of the characters in this book have appeared in her past books. It could be read as a stand-alone but I don’t recommend it as there are spoilers about previous books in this one.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

Well, I have read all of the Lucy books, (My Name Is Lucy Barton is in my top five books ever read) and almost everything else by Strout, and I must say, I was surprised at how deeply this moved me as a novel. After Oh William!, I was very curious to see if this would be another rehash of the same material or what. Don't get me wrong; Oh, William was good, just not great, and left me wanting in a few areas, plus I didn't think she reworked the material properly, so it didn't seem like a cut and paste job at the time. It was not enough just to be fleshing out William's character and his relationships. There was also a bleed through of voice from Olive Kitteridge to Lucy Barton, which seemed a bit as if Strout had lost control of Lucy's voice. There were only two instances of that that I found in this novel, one early on and one about three quarters of the way through. As this is an early review, I will not quote, but may revisit this review after the book is published. As such, it was not a problem, and I held firm to the Lucy I envisaged. I am sure to reread this novel, as I found it very thought provoking, and resonating on many levels.

Strout covers many areas thoughtfully, husbands, death, ex-husbands and lovers, siblings, known and unknown, and parent/child relationships - let alone the pandemic (so well done!) and its influences on our relationships., American politics, depression, recession, unemployment, class divides and anger everywhere; Strout gives us insight into the workings of all these things, without creating answers to tide us over. So much of her work is deceptively simple. I don't mean that as if she is trying to keep us from knowing the complexity of these issues. It's just that Lucy is able to capture some of the conversation and thoughts we may very well have around these things as they happen to us, and her world seems very much ours, even if we are not as privileged as she is (And yes, she is privileged, in spite of her horrific childhood). It is a rare thing to see empathy cross the boundaries that she does, yet, of course, there is further to go. But for her tremendous effort (maybe Lucy is only motivated to tell her own story, but somehow, I doubt that Strout is), that seems to bridge divides through Lucy's enthusiasm and humility , although she may be wrapped up in herself,
and Strout creates a compelling story once again. Lucy is told in the various books that she is brave, which she doesn't necessarily think she is. I would guess that Strout has heard that, too, but for different reasons. I do not necessarily think her brave, but I think she is trying to be by keeping things simple and clear in her work.

A wonderful book, and I look forward to the next Strout novel; many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy by the sea was so good! It was definitely one that when you start make sure you have plenty of time to read and not be interrupted! It’s a great one!