’I would like to say a few things about my first husband, William’

This story continues sharing the life of Lucy, who those of us who read Strout’s Anything is Possible and My Name is Lucy Barton already have been introduced to, and begins shortly after her husband David’s death.

She realizes that in her grief for the loss of her second husband, David, she finds herself reliving the grief of losing William, although that loss was through divorce. Although they have remained friendly, their relationship grows closer as he begins to confide in her his fears about his life, his mother, his current - third - wife, along with the night terrors he’s begun having as he is rapidly approaching 70.

This is a reflection on a life, or two lives, really. Lucy’s reflections on William, and on her own life, as well, although their children and parents and siblings are tangentially referenced, as well. His heartbreaks. Her heartbreaks. It is also a reflection on time, and the old adage of time healing all wounds, even though it may leave scars, even those connect to not only bitter, but occasionally better, memories.

Strout has a gift for sharing those human emotions we don’t often share, in a way which can be easily related to. Strout allowing us to be able to relate to them always brings these characters to life in a way few other authors have done. Their loneliness isn’t just a prop to move along the story, it is strongly felt. All their emotions from sadness, regret, disappointment, sorrow, love, and anger are relatable, and so we relate, connect to them as people, instead of just characters on a page, and through that, Strout brings them alive.

These last years have been difficult ones for all, and all levels of complex human emotions have been at the forefront in the news and in our minds. I love Strout’s dedication, which is to her husband as well as ’to anyone who needs it...’ We all need this, a reminder of what it means to be human, to be kind, and to offer forgiveness.


Pub Date: 19 Oct 2021


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Random House / Random House

When you have your safe person, you remain with them always. Strout writes of William and Lucy’s relationship as if she’s sitting having coffee and conversation. The writing seems effortless and the plot unfolds as it should- it’s a nice feeling, this familiarity with Strout’s voice. A bit different as far as novels go, but it’s a comfortable and enjoyable read.

Oh William!
By Elizabeth Strout

soulful Writing and A Poignant Story
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

Lucy Barton, a 63-year-old widow, recounts her complex twenty-year relationship with William Gerhardt, her 71-year-old first husband. From college to the birth of their two daughters to his affairs and the dissolution of their marriage. Lucy offers reflections of marriage, eternal bonds, family secrets, and how well we know, really know one another.

Lucy and William are still close, despite having been divorced for years, and both had remarried. They even still call each other by their nicknames, Button and Pillie. When things get tough, they know they can count on each other. When Estelle, Willian’s third wife, left him, the first call he made was to Lucy, and when David, Lucy’s second husband, passed away, William was there to help her with the paperwork.

Now Willian asks Lucy to accompany him to Maine. He has just learned that his mother, whom he called Catherine, has kept a secret from him. He wants to go to Maine to find out if it’s true, and he needs Lucy to go with him.


REVIEW
Elizabeth Strout writes in-depth about human experiences, feelings, and imperfections. OH WILLIAM! is a poignant story, and Strout’s writing is soulful and moving.

Her character development is so emotionally rich that she makes it possible for readers to feel what it’s like to be another person. The characters, Lucy and William, are the story. They propel the narrative, are well-drawn, and are richly flawed.

Strout’s writing is seamless and smartly structured. It seems as if we are sitting beside Lucy on the couch, in her simple New York City apartment, glancing out the window at her view of the Empire State Building, while she tells us about William. As happens with an informal conversation, Lucy sometimes digresses into side stories that all merge into William and Lucy’s background,

Phrases like “That is all I am able to say about that...” or “Let me mention just a few more things… or “let me just say one more thing about…” recognizes the reader’s role and brings us into the story.

Surprisingly, my favorite part of the book is when Lucy shares her feelings of being invisible. She expressed difficulties in even explaining what she means by saying that, except to say “I feel invisible in the world.” How many of us feel the same way? This feeling certainly resonated with me.

Strout, who grew up in Maine and New Hampshire, won the Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge in 2009. Her recent novels include Olive, Again (2019) and My Name is Lucy Barton (2016).

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Random House
Published October 19, 2021
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel Oh William! is full of what we love about Strout – stories of imperfect people managing life in imperfect ways.

Strout’s readers will be familiar with Oh William!‘s narrator – Lucy Barton – from earlier work. In this novel, Barton remains close to her first husband William, though in the many years since they’ve divorced, she’s married and buried a second husband. Sharing two daughters seems reason enough to occasionally meet for coffee or even casually slip into old affectionate pseudonyms for each other from their married days. And while she’s friendly with William’s latest (third) wife, Lucy senses something isn’t quite right there.

So, when William calls her and asks if she’ll go with him to explore a recently discovered family mystery, she’s isn’t completely surprised that he asked her.

Together, Lucy and William set off to explore William’s roots. What they discover complicates what they know of William’s mother, and perhaps gives clarity to Lucy’s own troubled relationship with her former mother-in-law.

Confession: I wasn’t a fan of My Name Is Lucy Barton – the novel that introduces this main character. It has been long enough since I read it that I don’t remember quite why. Maybe is was because of my strong affection for Strout’s other work that I just didn’t feel like it lived up to is predecessors?

That said, I’d LOVE to discuss this book with others. Lucy is an interesting character, and I hope this isn’t a spoiler to say that she seems to have a blind spot around how people continually take advantage of her. As we look for growth in our main characters, I wonder if there is evidence of that changing in her. And, I do plan to go back and reread My Name Is Lucy Barton to see if perhaps my experience with this work might change my opinion.

While I’m not ready to put Oh William! on the same plane as Olive Kitteridge or Olive, Again, Oh William! is a wonderful story of friendship redeemed from a life once shared and how sometimes processing our past brings us to a new way forward.

The amazing Ms. Strout has brought us back to Lucy. Reading a book by this author is like having someone talking to you about their life. There aren’t a bunch of descriptions to clutter the simple, and beautiful conversation.

Lucy tells us about her first husband, William, in this story. Their relationship is what it is. They take each other as they are. Friends, parents, and secret keepers. We see the story of how they met and how and why they divorced. There is no drama in the telling of infidelity. Again, it is what it is. And that empathy towards each other is what is so beautiful. There is no judgment. Just support given and received.

Secrets long kept come to light and I loved how these two handled them. Lucy learns quite a bit about herself as well. And how others view her. And she accepts this and adjusts. Again, no drama, no extra stuffing, just a crystal clear voice of calm.

I connected at once with her almost stream-of-consciousness style of writing. It was so easy to slip into her world. A story of life, love, and a lot of empathy.

NetGalley/ October 19th, 2021 by Random House

Third book is a series, but I think it can be read as a standalone. With that said, I am so glad that Lucy is back! Her character is so loveable and I just wished I knew her in person. This book was so delightful to read.

So full of surprises, Oh William is a story about Lucy's amicable relationship with her ex-husband, William. Such a fun, light, and quick read. I was really absorbed by their story and history. Story was well-developed and easy to follow. I'm kind of sad I'm done with the book! Definitely recommending!

Lucy grew up in a loveless home and in poverty. She won a scholarship to a university and met William. They married and had 2 daughters. When the girls were grown, Lucy walked away from the marriage though she and William remained in touch throughout their lives. The novel is told as memories and reflections of situations in her past. She discovers that we are are mysterious and we know very little about each other, including ourselves. This is a fast reading novel filled with interesting insights.

I have always been conflicted about Elizabeth Strout, an author I felt like I should like more than I did, being of the Ann Patchett, Sue Miller, etc. vein. Olive Kittredge, even having won the Pulitzer - didn't land with me at all. Anything Is Possible was a better match, though not super memorable - but Oh William! is the one. I questioned whether having skipped My Name Is Lucy Barton would make the experience of Oh William! less enjoyable, but found it to be a strong standalone, and by far the most enjoyable Strout work to date. A contemplative, yet full of surprises, novel based on Lucy's ongoing friendship with her ex-husband William, it was a quick read that I could not wait to get back to. I will have to revisit this review with more fully-formed thoughts, struggling to put into words exactly why I loved it, beyond its poignancy yet also full of hope. One line seemed to sum up well: "This is the way of life; the many things we do not know until it's too late."

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book featuring Lucy and her ex William. This book is the third in a series and I wished I knew that as I think it would have made this book more enjoyable. I am going to read those and come back to this book and see how I like it a second time around.

”We are all mysteries, is what I mean. This may be the only thing in the world I know to be true.”

I was entirely unfamiliar with Elizabeth Strout’s work when the publisher of Oh William! offered me an opportunity to read and review a copy. In fact, I went into this book completely blind, knowing absolutely nothing about its premise, its characters, or the prior works in this series.

”On some very fundamental level, I feel invisible in the world.”

I will admit that I half-expected Oh William! to be just another mundane relational drama that attempts (but falls hopelessly short of) any actual depth or meaning. I’m so glad to have been so wrong!

”People are lonely, is my point here. Many people can’t say to those they know well what it is they feel they might want to say.”

At just over 250 pages, this sweet little book reads as fast as a short story, but it packs a punch. In it, the recently-widowed Lucy Barton offers a first-person, stream-of-consciousness narration as she processes the loss of her second husband and a reconnection with her first husband, interspersed with personal recollections from throughout her life.

”William is the only person I ever felt safe with. He is the only home I ever had.”

Thematically, Oh William! is a literary symphony, touching on every issue from aging to loneliness to loss to shame. Elizabeth Strout deftly weaves in and out of discussions surrounding mental health and childhood neglect and mother-daughter relationships and divorce, her commentary so nuanced and subtle that you almost wonder if it was ever really there, save for the lasting impression it leaves behind.

”I am not invisible no matter how deeply I feel that I am.”

Lucy’s narrative voice is unique, moving, and profound, and ultimately left me wanting to return to the beginning of her series to get to know her and her family from the very start!


”There has never been anyone in the world like you… You steal people’s hearts, Lucy.”

——

A huge thank you to Elizabeth Strout, Random House, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great book! It explores the relationship between Lucy Barton and her ex-husband, as they enter the later years of their lives. Although now divorced, they have maintained a connection, of varying intensity, over the years. When William learns of a surprising family secret, he reached out to Lucy to accompany him on a trip to get to the bottom of it. Through the course of these interactions, Lucy shares her reflections on her marriage to William, her relationship with his mother and their children, her marriage to her second husband, and others in their lives, offering insights into the nature of love, family, growing up, and growing apart.

Highly recommended!

I so look forward to reading anything new by Elizabeth Strout and Oh William! did not disappoint. It feels like a book about nothing and everything, all at the same time. We revisit the character of Lucy Barton, at the age of 63, and the book is told from her perspective. Lucy is reflecting on her life and her marriages, her triumphs and her failures. I love the relationship between Lucy and her daughters and this book gives such a realistic look at what happens to our relationships as we age as well as the longterm effects our childhood experiences have on our life. "We are all mysteries," according to Lucy. We know more about her at the end than we did at the beginning, but I still want to know more. I adore this character and highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC.

I have enjoyed Elizabeth Strout's novels from Pulitzer Prize winning Olive Kitteridge to My Name is Lucy Barton. The POV and actual "voice" of Lucy tends to be both introspective - often with run-on thoughts, sentences and flashbacks. This style takes some pages to get re-acclimated to so the reader eventually almost feels s/he is inside Lucy's head along with her. This novel is in essence Lucy's deep dive into her first marriage to William, their relationships with their daughters, and Lucy's and William's respective family histories. Much of the story is also devoted to their relationships with their respective mothers, and Lucy's relationship with William's mother, Catherine Cole as well As layers are peeled back on the secret past of William's mother, it will change both William and Lucy's perspective on their history and their marriage. For me, William is not portrayed as a very likable character and as a result, this novel moved slower than the prior novels in this series. Still, there are many deep topics related to marriage, family secrets, and the challenges that our own family histories bring to our future partnerships and as such, this will be another great book club read. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

So disappointed. I had such high expectations for this book. I’m a big Elizabeth Strout fan. Her writings tend to be stream of consciousness stories, moving seamlessly from one idea to the next. Instead of a run on sentence, it’s a run on one sided conversation. It was so depressing. I understand this book is the last part of a series however I don't feel that makes a difference in my review. It was a long negative journal entry about insecure self involved people who occasionally see other peoples POV.

I highly recommend reading the first book in this series, My Name Is Lucy Barton, before reading Oh William!

William Gerhardt was Lucy Barton’s first husband. His father died when William was only 14 years old. His mother, Catherine, was a very present person in Lucy and William’s marriage. When she died, Lucy changed her last name back to Barton. Within a few years, she left William because of his numerous affairs. They have remained friends over the years.

The story starts when William is 71 years old. He is married to his much younger third wife, with whom he has a ten-year-old daughter. Lucy’s second husband, who was her soulmate, has recently died. William goes through two crises. One involving his wife and the second regarding startling news he learns about his late mother. He calls upon Lucy to help him deal with both of the situations.

Listening to Lucy Barton talk is like listening to a very chatty old friend who loves to tell stories. She is very introspective and digs deep into her thoughts. Sometimes, it is like she has ADHD because she will randomly go off on a strange tangent. She often repeats herself. But Lucy always manages to get back to the point. I think the point of Oh William! is to first examine marital relationships. What do we bring in to them, what do we add to them, and are they worth maintaining? The second point is to ask the question, do we ever really know someone, including our own selves, more than just a tiny bit?

Thank you to Michael H at Random House for my NetGalley widget!

Do we ever really know anyone? Do we even know ourselves as well as we think we do?

Elizabeth Strout has a keen understanding of the human condition. I’ve said more than once that she can write about the ordinary in a most extraordinary way, and she respects her readers enough to never overexplain, which makes for an enriching reading experience.

This is a short book but it demands to be read slowly and savored to pick up the nuances, as often there is more to be read between the lines than what is actually being said. It's one of those quiet books that grows on you with reflection.

Lucy Barton of Anything is Possible and My Name is Lucy Barton is now in her 60s and a widow. She and William, her first husband and the father of her children, have been divorced for years but remain friendly. William is going through a rough spot as he discovers the truth about his family history that has left him wondering if he ever truly knew his mother at all.

Lucy talks to us as if we were sitting down and having a chat. She had an impoverished childhood filled with things so horrendous that she can’t even speak of them, but is now a successful, celebrated author.

William is often cold and distant, and was an unfaithful husband to his wives. As Lucy helps William through his current crisis, we are privy to her most private and introspective thoughts as she works out the mystery of who she is and her relationships with others.

This a profound reflection on the human condition and relationships between spouses, parents and children. “Oh, William” can be “Oh, anybody”, for don’t we all have those secret places within us full of doubts, struggles, and weaknesses?

“This is the way of life,” Lucy says: “the many things we do not know until it is too late.”

Olive Kitteridge first stole my heart, but Lucy is in the running as my favorite Strout character. Lucy makes me want to be a better person who can see the human weaknesses behind the façade, to show grace and understanding to others because we do not know their personal struggles and demons.

Review – Oh William! By Elizabeth Strout Reviewer – Shirley Weidner 10-3-2021

Lucy Barton is the protagonist who is writing the story of her ex-husband, William. Love is a
complicated thing! Lucy has remarried and was very in love with her second husband who has passed.
It is a short book, but full of depth. She and William are still friends. There are so many layers to a
marriage and why it works or doesn’t. Many beautiful and tormented feelings are mulled around in
Lucy’s mind. Definitely worth a read and creates compelling reflections to your own life situation.
Why we love, who we love and the intricate factors that make success, unhappiness, and confusion
interwoven with family and friends.

I was given this book for free and this is my review.

Another twisted tale of intrigue and mystery involving Lucy Barton. All of her books are character driven, and at the heart of the story there is family drama.
I am not aware of any other author whose tales of woe, deliver a poignant message of the human condition. She draws you in immediately, "let me tell you about my husband William."
As a reader you immediately know, it is going to be a wild and crazy ride, so hold on.
We return to the same characters over and over till we, as readers get it right. They are fallible, lonely people searching for the correct answer in a dysfunctional world.
Mystery and mayhem delivered in literary prose.
I look forward to my next adventure with Ms. Strout,

Oh William!, the new novel by author Elizabeth Strout, is the culmination of a three novel exploration of the affects of child abuse. As with the other two books, these topics are brought up subtly. There's as much conveyed with what's not being said as there is written on the page. I enjoyed this series of books so much for it's characters, storytelling, and insights. Oh William! is a worthy conclusion to this series.

What I Liked:

Progression of the Series:

This is the third novel in the series where the author explores the effects of childhood trauma. The first book, My Name is Lucy Barton, shows how Lucy glossed over the many terrible things her parents did to her and her siblings. We see how Lucy's mother simultaneously attempts to make amends while also minimizing what happened (a classic gaslighting technique!). The second book, Anything is Possible, is a series of short stories about many of the peripheral characters from Lucy's small town. We see that everyone has various hidden traumas and secrets. And it shows, in particular, how Lucy's siblings were affected by their child abuse. The third novel, Oh, William, demonstrates how what happens in childhood lingers for most of our lives. All of Lucy's relationships are affected by her difficult youth.

Characters:

We are reintroduce to Lucy, her two daughters, William, Lucy's ex-husband, and William's mother. Lucy and William are not well into old-age, and her daughters are in their thirties.

Lucy has just lost her husband of many years, David. She still doesn't really blame her parents for her horrific childhood. I think she puts most of the blame squarely on their poverty. I do think that, as an adult, one can see the contributing factors (such as stress over money, and earlier trauma) that boil over into child-abuse. It's not that Lucy gives her parents a pass on what happened. It's that she doesn't hold any anger over them.

I liked how we get to see Lucy and William's daughters, Becka and Chrissy as adults. They are barely mentioned in the first two books. But here we see how the their parent's lives have an effect on them. Although Lucy has attempted to shelter her daughters from the worst of her ex's affairs, the girls have always sensed that infidelity was the cause of their parents divorce. For the most part, Becka and Chrissy are doing well. But I could also see that they lost a lot of respect for William as he goes through yet another divorce. How will this affect their own marriages?

William has had a series of failed relationships following his divorce from Lucy. He makes a lot of excuses for his behavior. But he doesn't acknowledge how his relationship with his mother may be at the root of his issues. Catherine, William's mother has been dead several years in the timeline of this novel. And William is just now facing the fact that Catherine (his mother) was not so perfect, after all.

William learns some startling facts about Catherine after someone gives him a membership to an ancestry website. These revelations could explain why his mother "had the blues" in his childhood. Her depression resulted in Catherine maintaining a distance from William that deeply affected him. It just goes to show that our parents are human. They often have faults and issues we are unaware of.

Storytelling:

This novel has a really creative approach to show how Lucy and William's divorce has impacted their daughter's lives. As William looks into his family history, he asks Lucy to lend him her support. This leads to a road trip where Lucy and William reflect on their marriage, and think about their own childhoods. Everything that affects them is layered one on top of the other. You can see a linear progression from both of their childhood issues to why their marriage ended in divorce. Then this brings them to the present day, where they can both see how their actions have contributed to their daughter's insecurities. I liked that they both did not assess blame on themselves for their daughter's issues. It is what it is. But they do acknowledge that they contributed to it.

Trigger Warning for Childhood Abuse

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

I love Elizabeth Strout’s writing. Happily, her newest book, Oh William!, is out this month. It continues Lucy Barton’s story, but the books stand alone. You don’t have to have read My Name is Lucy Barton to appreciate Oh William!, but that earlier novel is so lovely it’s well worth reading.

The novel is written in first person POV in a conversational tone. Lucy’s second husband has just died and she is grieving deeply, but that’s not what she wants to talk about. She wants to tell us what is happening with her first husband, William. He’s turning seventy and, despite good health and an ability to continue working as a professor, he’s starting to feel his age and is going through some difficulties.

First, he has begun waking at night with vague terrors, the most common of which is that his deceased mother has come to tell him something.

Second, his wife (his third) leaves him abruptly. He never saw it coming.

And third, while tracing his roots on a genealogy website, he discovers that he has a half-sister. His mother had a daughter before leaving her husband to marry William’s father. She abandoned both her husband and her daughter! William first denies the possibility of this. Then he agonizes over whether or not to try to contact the sister.

Lucy and her ex-husband have a complicated relationship. Despite the pain of their breakup–Lucy left him, in part, because of his rampant infidelity–they have remained close. They are both now also on good terms with their two daughters, though there were certainly rough times in the past. Lucy and William still rely upon one another for support from time to time. They’re older and wiser; however, their personalities have not fundamentally changed. They still know how to push one another’s buttons. And they do. Despite a successful career and a wonderful therapist, Lucy continues to carry the pain of a childhood damaged by poverty, isolation, and abuse. William is aware of her insecurities and is frustrated by them, yet will occasionally stoop to throwing them in her face. They can be wonderfully supportive of one another at some moments, and cruel to one another at others. It is a superbly realistic representation of how relationships can work.

The novel demonstrates the poignancy of aging, the complexities of familial ties, and the fact that no matter how well we know someone we can’t really know them completely. Lucy Barton’s voice draws you in. Elizabeth Strout’s books are highly recommended.