In OH WILLIAM! Elizabeth Strout once again calls upon Lucy Barton to narrate astory. William is Lucy’s ex-husband. They have remained on good terms and occasionally meet to discuss their adult daughters. Now on his third marriage William has come to rely on Lucy to be his sounding board. William discovers some interesting news about his past that his late mother never shared with him. When William asks Lucy to accompany him to uncover the mystery she reluctantly agrees to join him.
I enjoyed OH WILLIAM!. Since I am a fan of Elizabeth Strout’s novels the characters were already known to me. I don’t think you have to read her previous books to enjoy OH WILLIAM!. It can be read as a stand alone since there is a sufficient amount of the backstory provided. While OH WILLIAM! isn’t my favourite of Elizabeth Strout’s novels, it still is a well written character driven novel.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced digital edition of this book.

Amazing writing as always by Elizabeth Strout. She writes about unexceptional people’s lives in a fascinating way.

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout is the third in the Amgash series, but was fine as a standalone read. I did not read the first two, but plenty of backstories and character development was included that made me feel like I did not miss out on too much. While I found the book to be okay and pretty good at times, it definitely was not a favorite and at times I felt it dragged. It is the story of Lucy, whose husband has just passed away, teaming up with her first husband William to embark on an adventure.

If you have read My Name is Lucy Barton, you will want to read Oh William! Taking place several years after the first book, Lucy is recently widowed from her second husband, William has remarried and fathered another daughter. But their relationship/friendship has continued over the years. All the wonderful things about Lucy Barton in the first book are still there. She's just a quirky, but now she has become even more introspective.

I admit I started this book and stopped a few months ago. I found it a bit tedious since it had been so long since I had first read Lucy. I reread My Name is Lucy Barton and then picked up Oh William! again. Read as a continuation of the first book, it all makes more since and completes the story. This one is a closer look inside their marriage and what happened after -- after their divorce, after their remarriages, after the deaths of their mothers. If you're a Strout fan, you will need to read this book!! As with her previous works, though, if you're looking for something with an engrossing plot, this is NOT that book. It's a quiet look at life with lots of flashbacks and stories of the past.

I haven’t read the book before this, but I was able to catch up and still read this one. I really enjoyed this! This was a super quick read, and I loved the format of this book. This isn’t my typical read, but I throughly enjoyed it.

Elizabeth Strout has always been hit or miss for me. Oh William! is definitely a hit. I loved this book so much from the character driven plot to the fun times that Lucy and William have on their travels.

Strout always does a great job at getting to the heart of the matter while philosophizing and making the reader think about their life, their existence, and their morality. Oh William! is no different, but this time, Strout gives us a fun journey between ex-spouses filled with sorrow, laughter, and moments that are unforgettable.

I love the premise of this book. It makes for such an interesting read and the author did such a good job. The story was so well-written and I loved the dimensions to the different characters.

I binged read the other books in this series so that I could be caught up in order to read this book since I received a copy on NetGalley. While I enjoyed the other books in the series and hearing how Lucy Barton grew up and where she came from, I unfortunately just felt “meh” about this book. I didn’t really enjoy Lucy or William throughout this entire book.

Lucy and William go on a road trip together to find William’s sister. On the trip they’re reminiscing about their failed marriage, memories and the good and the bad times they’ve shared. They also take a lot of subtle jabs at each other. Throughout the book I just kept thinking “Wow William really is just insufferable in all his marriages?” Then Lucy would also be really self absorbed in situations and it would also be cringeworthy.

Overall the book was EXTREMELY well written and I will absolutely read more books by this author I just don’t think I was the target audience for this book. Again, there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with it, I just didn’t really like either of the main characters in this book despite liking Lucy in the previous books.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
Elizabeth Strout has done it again. Her third "Lucy Barton" novel takes place after Lucy's second husband has died and she received a call from her first husband William, He's found out about a relative he never knew existed and wants Lucy to go with him to meet the person. The book is written from Lucy's point of view exclusively and the plain language makes it an easy read. It really felt like catching up with old friends.

I usually like stories that have a plot that moves forward in the telling. This short story is told in a circular, conversational manner and I loved it. It is a sweet story of a woman looking back on her life and gaining new insights into her relationships, people, the world and most importantly herself. Some of the themes are love, effects of family of origin, divorce, grief and resilience. This is a great read! #OhWilliam #netgalley #goodreads

I consider this title a sequel . It was somewhat interesting but definitely just a low key, introspective book. There is soul searching to determine what went wrong with William's marriages as told by his first (of three) wives.
A friendship ensues between the exes . This friendship goes beyond civility for the "sake of the children." William is fortunate to have a sounding board for his foibles. However, he generally does little to contribute to the relationship.

No one writes dialogue like Elizabeth Strout! I love her books for their apparent simplicity when so much is happening and so much is conveyed by "simple" sentences. She is a master, and this was entirely enjoyable.

Elizabeth Strout delivers again with Lucy Barton. A lovely novel about relationships. Beautifully writte.

Short emotionally resonant novel about Lucy Barton’s relationship with her ex-husband William. The idea that in the end we know and understand so little about ourselves and others was eloquently expressed. Deceptively simple story with so much to say about life and loss. Outstanding!

I loved getting to know Lucy through what felt like a really long inner monologue. It is written how someone speaks, with pauses and ramblings, so real and relatable.
Her ex-husband William is still a huge part of her life because they have children together and because they remained friends after their divorce.

I really don’t like William. I see that he basically always gets his way, is so whiny, and kind of just an ass.

I also love that Lucy has a more tame epiphany of my own sentiments and starts to realize that William isn’t the amazing person she thought he was. He’s just a person, flawed and all. Yet she’s able to still show him grace, which makes her a bigger person than most I think.
Lovely, human story and I fully intend on reading the first book about Lucy.

Thank you so much to Random House for my review copy, this in no way affected my opinion.

Lucy Barton is back. This story (one of three written by Elizabeth Strout) is about Lucy's relationship with her ex-husband, his family's secret, her upbringing, and her feelings about all of the above.

Gosh. Strout, imho, can do no wrong when it comes to creating the voice of Lucy who somehow lifts you up even when it's a sad topic. She's like your favorite aunt that you wish you could see more of. Oh Elizabeth! Please keep writing about Lucy. We love this character because we can see ourselves in her. She's one of us.

Special thanks to Random House for an advanced reader copy of the ebook via NetGalley. I read this in November and forgot to write a review. So, if you haven't read it, what are you waiting for?!?!

Another fantastic chapter of Lucy Barton's life, this time looking at her relationships with her first husband, William, and her daughters. The audiobook was perfection and the insights into how relationships change over the years were really spot on.

I hated, okay strongly disliked, and was mostly bored by My Name is Lucy Barton. So why did I expect Oh William! to be any different? I certainly was hoping this book would make me understand the first, and provide insight to the good reviews, because obviously I didn't understand the assignment the first go around. I'm a masochist I guess, because I still don't understand. It's not an enjoyable read.

Lucy is simply not a joyful person. She didn't enjoy being married to William, but she drops everything to help him figure out his family secrets and issues. All it does is bring up old gripes about the now ended marriage. I should stop while I'm ahead and not read sequels to terrible books.

In closing, if you loved My Name is Lucy Barton, please carry on with this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for a review.

I received a galley copy of Elizabeth Strout’s “Oh William!” and enjoyed the story from start to finish. I previously read the other two “Amgash” stories by Strout (“My Name is Lucy Barton” and “Anything is Possible”) and was not disappointed by this third novel in the series.

Strout’s skill lies in her ability to make a compelling story out of the mundane and the everyday experiences of characters who are unexceptional. There’s a beauty in the way that Strout describes human relationships and shows their quirks in compelling yet realistic ways. “Oh William” is a love story. Not a classic love story, but a complex story of love and care that stands out among the typical unrealistic depictions of love in contemporary novels.

My wife turned me on to Strout’s works and I’m eternally grateful. Her novels are not the ones that I would typically select for myself, but it only took reading her once to understand and appreciate the uniqueness of her work. “Oh William” is among Strout’s best books and I couldn’t put it down once I started.

Oh William! by Elizabeth Stout is the third book in a trilogy. However, it worked fine as a stand-alone since I haven’t read the previous books. The main character is a 64 year old woman named Lucy Barton, who is a novelist. She’s been divorced from William, a college professor, for many years but they maintain a close relationship even though both have since remarried. They have two adult children and they all live in NYC. The authors writing style is a bit different but make it a very easy read as it’s as if you’re having a conversation with Lucy.
At several points throughout the book I wasn’t sure how I felt or if I liked it. It’s just different. Not in a bad way though. The main characters seem a little odd and hard for me to connect with. Maybe because I’ve never experienced the same things? That said, they are very well developed and it was actually hard not to keep reading along. It pulled me in anyway. For that I do recommend this. It’s worth the time and it’s a quick read. Thank you to net galley and the publisher for an ARC of this in exchange for my honest opinion.