DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I loved this book, the characters, everything. What a great story, but the characters were the treasures for me.

I was so happy to be back with Lucy Barton, this time getting to know her ex husband, William, and his history as well as their replationship.

Elizabeth Stewart is one of the greatest writers of our time, and keeps that title with this book. Character-driven books are my thing-there’s no big plot that happens during this book, but so much more. Lucy is just an average person. William is just an average person. But Stewart is able to dive deep into their thoughts and memories, creating vivid, multidimensional characters and providing thought provoking insights into all relationships.

If you’re looking for a page turner with a big plot twist, skip this book. If you’re looking for a fascinating deep dive into people’s lives, relationships, and the human condition, this book is for you.

Wow did I dislike this book. The writing is excellent but the content and flow just really bored me. I didn’t find any of the characters redeemable and definitely not William although certainly with the infidelity that’s the point in his case. I didn’t know when I read this that it’s actually a follow up and perhaps that was the problem from the start, maybe if I had known the characters before I would find some merit in writing about them now.

“Oh William “ is the second in a trilogy but can be read as a stand alone. I have heard a lot about Elizabeth Stout and thought I would try this one. I am glad I did and will be reading her others. I need to read My name is Lucy Barton as I am sure it will fill in the gaps that I don’t know.. The way she introduces her characters and their thoughts captures real emotions. Her loneliness is so relatable and her self discovery along with Williams is clearly descriptive of the dealings and secrets we all have in life.
Lucy is a widow but was divorced from William. They have stayed friends and William also remarried. The story tells of how we struggle through life to come to make sense of relationships and our own thoughts.
I enjoyed the book although at times I found it slow reading. I would recommend it and I will be reading both the first and third book.

Very much enjoyed--an honest look at relationships, and Elizabeth Strout's writing is great, as always.

I hesitate to give anything written by Elizabeth Strout only four stars. That being said, I certainly did enjoy this book. At times it was a bit wordy, and I probably would’ve liked a bit more plot and character development. That being said she is still one of my all-time favorite authors.

I found that the story was all over the place. The premise was not clear and the characters were never really developed.

Great read by a beloved author. She digs into the lives of her characters with empathy and a level of deepness that make you fall in love with them

This wasn’t my favorite of Elizabeth Strout’s books. The story meandered more than I remembered, and caused me to lose sight of the point many times. I did like the reflective nature of many of the thoughts Lucy has about life and marriage and grief - this is what Strout is best at, I think, and what keeps drawing me to her novels. However, I found myself constantly frustrated by Lucy and William’s relationship, primarily by how irritating and insensitive William is constantly, and Lucy keeps giving him passes. And maybe that’s just how they are, but it did not make for an enjoyable read for me, on the whole.

Everything Elizabeth Strout writes is gorgeous, and Oh William! is no exception. Strout finds such beauty and understanding in the day-t0-day minutia of life that she doesn't have to rely on crazy antics or characters to keep her stories going. Instead, they quietly fill the pages, and your mind, and leave you feeling like you just had a heart to heart with your best friend.

I can't recommend this book-or this author-enough.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

What took me so long to read this book? I thought it was delightful witty, heartwarming and a little sad. I loved the relationship between Lucy and her ex husband William. I too found myself saying “Oh, William “. This was a great break from the grizzly murder mystery books I’ve been reading.

ARC from Random House via Netgally.

I nearly wept at the end of this, the end of the Amgash Illinois series about Lucy Barton's people and community. The grief of letting her go, not having one more book, one more iteration of the story, perspective of another interestingly twisted mind (twisted in the best sense). This, the author's last book in the series, felt like a hymn to the complications (read blessings) of relationships. As light and dark-sided as they may be, there is a blessing there, a silver lining to acknowledge and recognize if one wants to reap the full benefit. And it is admitted and understood that there are many who do not want to so reap.

Marriage. What a sore subject for some of us. I couldn't imagine the comfort a book such as this with all its different marital Considerations leaving me soothed, wistful for my own experiences, and reassured that all is well after all is said and done. How does she do that? She enters the Consideration, downward tilting, toward the dark and difficult, the awkward and personal, and from there she factually presents and narrates, and while not even attempting to resolve (how does one really resolve unresolved pasts?), she pulls the reader along in a comrade-like way, an ascent one can feel both emerge into fresh air, fresh from the Consideration unscathed, but certainly thoughtful.

This was a most satisfying read. If you loved Lucy Barton is my Name, and then Anything is Possible, I suspect you are more than ready for this one. . . .

A Sincere Thank You to Elizabeth Strout, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review. #OhWilliam #NetGalley

I always have a harder time getting into 'stream of consciousness' narration, and this was no exception. And, I still have the same complaint as "My Name Is Lucy Barton" in that I still don't feel like I know Lucy all that well - and considering she's the narrator of her own story, she holds a surprising amount of detail back from the reader. Lucy just always strikes me as a quiet reserved person who doesn't really want to share her story, but somehow has found herself doing so anyway. A bit of an odd way to present a character study, in my opinion. But this one held my fascination more than the original because William's story was so compelling!

I had a hard time getting into this story, I kept starting and stopping. Ultimately I didn’t love the book and I did finish it, although I did little skimming to get through it. I did not read the previous books so perhaps that is what I couldn’t really connect with the characters. I know the author is quite talented and I am sure the miss here is on me. I do appreciate the opportunity to reach the ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is my first book by Elizabeth Stout. I picked this up months ago and set it aside as I wasn't able to get into it 100%. I wasn't very invested in the characters. It just fell flat for me. To be honest, when I picked it up again, I skimmed the last half just to finish. I know others really enjoyed this book, it just wasn't for me.

I didn't realize this was the third book in a series and maybe that would have affected my reading of it. While I enjoyed the relationship between Lucy and her ex-husband William maybe I was missing something about the backstory. I liked that complicated relationship they shared and how after so many years, they still were able to be respectful and understanding of each other.

This book was unfortunately such a miss for me. Throughout the entire novel I couldn’t get past the fact that the MC is a writer, writing about her husband, and using so many repetitive phrases for over explaining and uncertainty. What I mean is, what I’m saying is that, etc. Over and over. I understand the MC’s own lack of certainty but she wouldn’t write like that! The plot is nearly nonexistent and just dull.

I should've looked at my previous reviews prior to reading this book. When it comes to reading the books by the gifted author Elizabeth Strout, sometimes I feel like I am missing something. I loved Olive Kitteridge, but I didn't love My Name is Lucy Barton, and I didn't love this book. It has been raved about by critics, so clearly I just don't always click with the author's writing. It's not you, it's me.

The ecopy I received had only the first two chapters, so while I love Elizabeth Strout's work and thought this book was off to a good start, I am not able to provide a full review of it, unfortunately. I am a fan of the other books in the Lucy Barton universe though.