Oh, William!

Oh, William! (Book 3 is the Amgash Series ) by Elizabeth Strout 256 pages

I have to admit that I’m a little late to the party; I’ve never read any of Pulitzer Prize winner’s Elizabeth Strout. And I’m a little late by reading Book 3 in a series, but that doesn’t matter. I didn’t feel list or confused by reading this novel. Strout did an amazing job in filling in the blanks for new readers.

I knew that Strout had written a book about the protagonist, Lucy Barton, but I didn’t know anything abou it.  But that didn’t stop me from enjoying this slim volume that packs a punch.

In this novel, Lucy is now in her sixties. There are two narratives happening simultaneously. First is Lucy’s trip dowm memory lane, ruminating on her life, her career, her daughters and escpecially her childhood. Her husband, David, has died, but she remains in close contact with her daughters’ father, her first husband, William. They still call each other by the pet names they used from their marriage.

William is married, happily I’m not so sure, with a daughter is approximately ten years old. HE is turning seventy, and seems lost in the world. When he stumbles on life-changing family secret, he seems to feel even more lost. I get the idea that William has always been a rather sad person, and this secret only exacerbates those feelings.

When William invites, pleads is  more like it, for Lucy to accompany him on a fact-finding mission to unlock the long-ago.

The story is told in caveats so readers can see both sides of the situation. However, what I didn’t like about the novel is the overuse of some statements. For example, she may say “This is what I meant…” or “This is what I meant to say…” several times in the same paragraph. That style would interrupt the story’s tension for me. Therefore, “Oh, William” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.