My Name is Lucy Barton

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout    191 pages

This book begins with Lucy Barton, who is in the hospital, slowly recovering from what should have been a simple operation.   Her mother, to whom she hasn't spoken to in years, comes to see her, and winds up staying with her, in the hospital, for several days.   As the two of them talk, Lucy remembers her childhood, and feels a re-connection to her mother.   As the two of them talk, Lucy reflects on her troubled family, as well as her marriage and how she became a writer.

I found this to be an interesting, thoughtful book.   The language is sometimes pretty spare, but still evocative.   Lucy's relationship with her mother is pretty tenuous, so at first, it seems a little odd that her mother would come to visit her in the hospital, and then wind up staying for a few days.  But, as the two of them talk, and you get Lucy's perspective on her childhood, it seems to make sense (at least, as far as her relationship with her mother and her family is concerned).   Lucy's observations about her life were what struck me most.  At times, I found I'd pause and reflect on what I had just read, not just in perspective to the story I was reading, but generally, in relation to my own experiences.

Lucy's an interesting character.  We only get her perspectives; this is her story, so we don't know what her mother's feelings are, or whether Lucy's perceptions of her family, or her husband, are accurate.  But, this is an introspective story, where you are immersed in what Lucy is thinking about. I got a clear picture of her just from some of her observations, or reflections.    Example:  "And he looked at me then, and with real kindness on his face, and I see now that he recognized what I did not: that in spite of my plenitude, I was lonely.  Lonely was the first flavor I had tasted in my life, and it was always there, hidden inside the crevices of my mouth, reminding me."  (p. 41-2).

Reading this book was a little like reading some kinds of poetry.  I would read through some passages, and then reflect, and then keep going, but then go back over some of it in my mind, later.