My Name is Lucy Barton

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, 193 pages 

As the title suggests, this book is from Lucy's perspective. She is looking back on her life. She focuses on a time in her life when she had to stay in the hospital for an extended period of time because of complications from surgery.

Her mother comes to visit. Through conversations with her mother and reminiscences we learn about her childhood, her distant relationship with her parents and siblings, and how she became a writer.

Growing up, her family was very poor. Her parents loved her but they abused her when she was young. In some ways it was a hard book to read. Strout is fantastic at saying a lot with a little. Overall, I was very pleased with the book.