I have read and loved, all of Elizabeth Strout’s books. She maintains her high level of achievement in her newest novel, Lucy by the Sea. There is so much packed into this quiet 292 page book. I quelled my tendency to race through it so I could savor every word. Lucy by the Sea continues the memoirs of Lucy Barton and as always it focuses on characters. Set against the background of the COVID pandemic and the Trump-era presidency, including the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, Lucy shares her outer life and her inner thoughts with the reader. Strout, whom I consider to be one of our national treasures, describes her her run to Maine with her ex-husband William, for protection from the virus, her tendency to ‘look down’ during news of the pandemic’s spread and the domestic insurrection, and demonstrates how she is handling her grief from the death of her second husband David two years prior to her move to Maine. We readers also observe the control William has over Lucy as well as her other weaknesses and strengths. I loved this novel and recommend it to readers who are not seeking a book that features plot over characters.

Oh, Lucy Barton. How I've missed you! When Elizabeth Strout writes of you, I can't help but feel as though she is you and as if, she is speaking directly to me and we are having a conversation.

Everything about this book is so real, so palpable, and so present. That may, of course, be, because it takes place during the start of the pandemic and beyond and shows how Lucy deals with it, her family, and the world around her. It is brave and honest, just like Lucy.

I love Lucy Barton and adored seeing her character grow and change throughout. (I love Bob Burgess more (shhh!) and was happy to see him featured in this novel a bit).

Thank you to Random House via NetGalley for the arc of this novel.

Elizabeth Strout does it again! We are reunited with Lucy Barton in this story. We meet up with Lucy, one of my favorite book characters of all time, during the Covid pandemic. For the most part, I’ve not enjoyed pandemic books. It’s too soon! However, Strout beautifully tells the tale of Lucy and family as well as some known characters from previous books set in Crosby, Maine. Lucy and William reunite once again. They flew to Maine as the pandemic hits. With familiar characters and always interesting stories,, this is the most delightful book. Strout is a master storyteller!! Loved, loved this book so much!
***huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Elizabeth Strout has done it again.. That is, she’s read my mind and captured my thoughts in her writing. In Lucy by the Sea, COVID is coming on strong in New York, and Lucy’s ex-husband, William, has whisked her off from her Manhattan apartment to a house on the coast of Maine to ride out the lockdown. Williams’s concern for Lucy’s and his age related vulnerability and his apparent planning and control of the situation are convincing enough that Lucy acquiesces. Her sadness and frustration at not being available for her daughters, who are undergoing their own issues, is palpable. I have read several books recently where the characters are dealing with the pandemic, but this is the first time I have experienced my thoughts and feelings from a character. i.e. regarding lockdown, William says, “I am in mourning for my life”. .
I enjoy the way Elizabeth Strout writes like she’s sitting talking with you. “So that happened”. I feels like I could be having a conversation with a friend over coffee.
While Lucy by the Sea works fine as a stand alone, in my opinion the reading is enhanced if Oh William is read first. And because Lucy has so many references and conversations with her deceased mother, including “the nice mother I made up”, My Name is Lucy Barton” is a nice start to this trilogy. Elizabeth Strout is at the top of my favorite author list, and Lucy By the Sea just may be my favorite of her books…then again I loved Olive Kirreridge, and Amy and Isabelle, etc., etc…….
Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to experience this wonderful book.
#NetGalley #LucybytheSea

I think that I am starting to lose interest and patience with Lucy, William and other characters that Strout keeps writing about. Lucy by the Sea is interesting in that it takes place during COVID-19, so in that way it is completely relatable. It definitely touches on hot topics going on recently. But as I said, I am just losing interest with the characters. I think people who have not read her previous books with these characters will have questions, too. Personally, I am done with this group. If Strout creates original characters, I will go back to reading her work.

Thanks to Net Galley, the author and the publisher for a free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Another wonderful book from Elizabeth Strout. This adventure has William taking Lucy out of New York City to Maine to shelter in place for the COVID pandemic. Along the way we encounter not only the pandemic an its affects on Lucy's families and others, we also here about George Floyd, Trumpism and the January 6 insurrection. Since Olive Again, Strout has been a real comfort to me during the Trump years. She just makes a connection with me that allows me to pull my head out of the disaffection with right wing America and the anti-scientific ideas and racism that go with it. In some ways this seems to be her most time specific book, clearly covering from the beginning of the pandemic to past the Jan.6 insurrection. It is a wonderful book. Highly recommended.

One of the things I like about Elizabeth Strout’s books is that they *could* happen in real life. I can easily see that being the case in Lucy by the Sea. Lucy and William are hunkered down in far off Maine (from NYC) because of the Covid pandemic, and they begin to see themselves in a different light. They’d been married to each other before, then were divorced and went on to marry someone else. (In the years following, Lucy’s husband whom she loved faithfully died, and William’s wife left him.) While spending days on end together, they begin to love each other again in a crazy yet apprehensive way. The book is written from Lucy’s PoV and is very much like a diary. Lucy reminisces often when something new triggers an old memory. Their daughters and a few new friends are brought into the story which adds additional interest. This is not an action-packed story by any stretch and sometimes it’s a bit of a downer, but I enjoyed it immensely. As usual, a good ending wraps it up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this enjoyable read.

You may or may not like or sympathize with Lucy Barton and William Gerhardt, her first husband. You may not respect their own relationship or their relationships with their daughters. You may not admire how they’ve lived their lives, together and apart. You may find them boring, with little whiz and no bang. But when reading <i>Lucy by the Sea</i> you may find yourself, as I did, fully <i>believing</i> in them, not as characters, but as real people who Elizabeth Strout captures and invests with life. <i>Lucy by the Sea</i> feels less like a novel, and Lucy, William, their daughters, friends, and other family members feel less like fictional characters, than Elizabeth Strout’s recounting of actual people struggling through their lives in the early, confusing, ignorant days of the COVID lockdown. Strout is an absolute master — probably <i>the</i> current American master — at enlivening the page with people who you know, who live down the street from you, and who you may look forward to seeing or may try to avoid.

Yes, <i>Lucy by the Sea</i> is another pandemic novel, one of many excellent pandemic novels published in the past two years. But dismissing <i>Lucy by the Sea</i> as a pandemic novel or even classifying it as a pandemic novel does it injustice. COVID is a backdrop here, an important backdrop to be sure, but somehow in <i>Lucy by the Sea</i> COVID thankfully feels almost incidental to the lives of these very real people.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with access to <I>Lucy by the Sea</I>.

Five full stars, a fine novel

First, I have read many of Elizabeth Strout’s books and have enjoyed them. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader’s copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is like a journal of Lucy Barton’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the events each of us experienced during this time is portrayed. It includes the virus, waiting in grocery lines social distancing, fear of exposure, masks, folks not taking the virus seriously, not seeing family, not hugging loved ones, unable to do normal activities due to the stress, sadness, loneliness, government intervention, finding God, death and dying, grief, coping, George Floyd, and the Capital attack. Lucy frequently reminisces about her past during isolation. For me living through COVID, this all hits home! Almost too much. Lucy’s sense of humor comes out at times and her philosophical insight is trickled throughout. Such as, everyone needs to feel important; when a person is having an affair, their spouse becomes demonized; and we are doing what we can to get through. I had two favorites. First, “everyone thinks like themselves.” Second, “If I hold you any closer, I’ll be behind you.”

The book follows the same style as previous Lucy Barton books. The difference is the time and setting (New York) are during an extremely difficult time for many of us. It was almost too soon to read this for me. If you can endure a recap of the past two years, read it. However, I think it will be a five-star book if we wait until COVID is very far in the rear-view mirror.

Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Pub. Date: Sept. 20, 2022

This is Strout’s third “Lucy” novel. If not familiar with the Lucy tales, you can read this as a standalone book. Once again, Lucy shares her experiences and emotions that have shaped her life. This time, her ex-husband William persuades (almost bullies) her into leaving pandemic-stricken New York City for Maine. I'm sure the author wanted to illustrate why so many people were in denial when COVID first became apparently deadly, But, I thought Lucy was written more as a naive, dimwitted person than as someone in denial. It was frustrating since Lucy frequently felt inferior due to her difficult childhood but never acted in such a manner.

Within this plot, Lucy's narration jumps from subject to subject: her growing intimacy with William; his adultery while they were married; the marital and health problems of their two daughters; the unexpected reappearance of William's half-sister; and memories of Lucy's impoverished upbringing, strained relationships with her parents, and her ongoing issues with her sister.

Strout’s voice that was so fresh and specific in “My Name Is Lucy Barton” (2016), already started sounding rather tired in “Oh, William!” (2021), and is close to being stale here. Still, the novel has pleasant moments such
as when one visits with an old friend who has nothing new to say.

For fansofLucy Barton. This is another chapter in the life ofLucy Barton. Beautifully written it examines Lucyasan older woman reflecting on her life and loves while dealing with the pandemic. Lucy and William, her ex-husband are isolating together in Maine. AbeUtiful story of aging, and coming to terms with life.

Once again we visit Lucy and William as they quarantine together in a Maine Cottage as the pandemic begins. The author writes poignantly about these two characters, their past and their families. We even get a a word or two from Olive Kitteridge. I think the author characterizes so well the fears and uncertainty in the troubled times of the past two years.

I enjoyed catching up with Lucy Barton, but this was my least favorite in the Amgash series. It definitely speaks to the way a privileged few were able to live during the first year of the pandemic. I appreciated Lucy's perspective most of the time, but I was really put off by the apologies and excuses made for the MAGA crowd. It's 2022 and we can't keep blaming hatefulness on "economic anxiety." The book didn't need that and would've been stronger without it.

Many Thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for inviting me to read and review an ARC of Elizabeth Strout’s newest novel, Lucy By the Sea. In exchange I offer my unbiased opinion.

My deepest appreciation for this wonderful gift of story. I have read and loved every novel written by Elizabeth Strout and this book was no different. If you haven’t already read her previous books, YOU MUST!!!!! What I enjoy most about Strout’s work is the sense of familiarity. She writes characters, who feel like family and she returns to them often in her stories.

This quiet, introspective, beautiful novel follows Lucy Barton, her ex husband William Gerhardt and their two daughters as they navigate the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. I’ve read a few books that cover this time but none come close to encapsulating those early days of uncertainty and the unknown. There were so many gorgeous passages that I had to set the book down and let the words ruminate.

If you are seeking a heavy plot driven story this won’t be the right book, but if you want a story that settles in your heart and captures your soul, I implore you to pick up a copy September 20, 2022.

Oh, Random House, Oh Elizabeth Strout, Oh NetGalley, thank you all for the early copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This appears to be the third book in the Lucy Barton series, (My Name is Lucy Barton, Oh, William and now Lucy by the Sea). Each of these is a stand-alone novel and can be read in any order, though I have read them in the order they were published. I was a fan of Strout's, having loved her previous books particularly the two Olive Kitteridge novels.

This is one of the few contemporary novels (I know of) which addresses the negative feelings of liberals towards Trump (unmentioned by name) supporters, anti-vaxers and non-mask wearers in a neutral or even sympathetic light. ( In the course of the book, Lucy writes a short story about a cop who breaks a young boy's neck and the takes care of him ever after. It's so pro-police that she is afraid to publish it.) She is open to hearing viewpoints different from her own.

Lucy is about to go on an international book tour, when William, her ex-husband, convinces her to join him in Crosby, Maine (Olive's hometown, and she is briefly mentioned here.) He is a scientist and fears what he sees as an approaching pandemic danger and convinces Lucy to come with him.

I devoured this book, enjoying Strout's character's examination of her surroundings, people, nature and her own
interior musings. I love that she has two mothers: her real dysfunctional one and the "nice" mother that she has invented for herself. This quiet but affecting book tells how Lucy and William re-connect, how she finds an unlikely but sensitive friend in a neighbor, and how she finally lets go of her grown daughters.

A clear insightful description of living in the Covid-19 lockdown and dealing with her own demons like panic attacks and grief over her dead husband, Lucy enters your mind and heart, and you see life through her eyes.
What more can one ask of an author?

An interesting look at life during the Vovid pandemic when two people who were married and once in love have decided to quarantine in a house in Maine together. I devouredoat of the novel in one sitting. So well-written and thought provoking.

Well, Elizabeth Strout does it again! Another compelling, beautifully and brilliantly sparse novel set inside Lucy Barton's head. With familiar characters and incredibly wise and poignant sentences about humans, the pandemic and the world we inhabit, this novel captivated me from its very first pages. Wonderful read- I devoured it!

Once again this author delivers wisdom and insight…and the delivery feels like having a heart-to-heart talk with an old friend, over a cup of coffee.

It takes a most gifted writer to make readers care about unlikeable characters. Elizabeth Strout is that writer in the character of Lucy Barton, and I believe this is Strout’s best novel yet. In the end, only someone lacking in any empathy could dislike a character who has exposed her deepest vulnerabilities. While quarantined with her ex-husband in Maine during the Covid, Lucy’s thoughts lead to a self-examination of her own life. There is so much emotional honesty revealed in story as Lucy considers the places of remorse, regret, and transformations over her 70 years as a parent, spouse, and writer. I need to disclose that the publisher gave me a free copy of the ARC through NetGalley. This is an honest, unbiased review. I can’t be bothered to read a book for review purposes if I discern early on that I don’t like it.

Fans of Elizabeth Strout and her wonderfully rendered characters Lucy, and her ex husband William will be chomping at the bit to get their hands on this when it hits stores September 22nd. Picking up shortly after ‘Oh William!’ ends, Strout, like Louise Erhlich among others, throws her characters in the deep uncharted waters of the pandemic.

“Like many others, I did not see it coming. But William is a scientist, and he saw it coming; he saw it sooner than I did, is what I mean. “

In a way Lucy’s story becomes so many of our stories as the news unfolded, jobs were walked away from, and towns and cities were shuddered. With her quiet simplicity Strout continues to so accurately mine the deepest parts of her characters hearts and minds while tapping so effectively into ours. There is absolutely an emotional component that is built in when you’re writing about something that we are all still living in without a clear end in sight. It’s much like taking off in an airplane bracing for the rocky turbulence when the pilot cautions there will be some ‘weather ahead’
If I’ve begged off digging too far into the story it’s simply because I feel like it’s best to know as little as possible going in much like Lucy did.
I will say that fans familiar with Strout’s other works will be treated to a collection of cameos that pop up throughout the story which was cool. I absolutely loved this one and expect it to be a serious contender for my best of the year list. Thanks to penguin random house for the advance copy.