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Elizabeth Strout

Oh William!: From the author of My Name is Lucy Barton Hardcover – 19 October 2021

by Elizabeth Strout (Author)

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An exquisite new novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Number One New York Times bestselling author of My Name is Lucy Barton

Lucy Barton is a successful writer living in New York, navigating the second half of her life as a recent widow and parent to two adult daughters. A surprise encounter leads her to reconnect with William, her first husband - and longtime, on-again-off-again friend and confidante. Recalling their college years, the birth of their daughters, the painful dissolution of their marriage, and the lives they built with other people, Strout weaves a portrait, stunning in its subtlety, of a decades-long partnership.

Oh William! is a luminous novel about the myriad mysteries that make up a marriage, about discovering family secrets, late in life, that rearrange everything we think we know about those closest to us, and the way people continue to live and love, against all odds. At the heart of this story is the unforgettable, indomitable voice of Lucy Barton, who once again offers a profound, lasting reflection on the mystery of existence. 'This is the way of life,' Lucy says. 'The many things we do not know until it is too late.'

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Viking
Publication date

19 October 2021
Dimensions

13.8 x 2.3 x 20.4 cm
ISBN-10

0241508177
ISBN-13

978-0241508176
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From the Publisher

Product description

Review

One proof of Elizabeth Strout's greatness is the sleight of hand with which she injects sneaky subterranean power into seemingly transparent prose.Strout works in the realm of everyday speech, conjuring repetitions, gaps and awkwardness with plain language and forthright diction, yet at the same time unleashing a tidal urgency that seems to come out of nowhere even as it operates in plain sight -- Jennifer Egan ― New York Times

Strout is not only mercilessly funny on the page, she's also unerringly precise about the long-term effects of loneliness, parental neglect and betrayal . . . The final scene between William and Lucy has been carouselling in my mind for days now . . . devastating and vital, bleak and tender ― Sunday Times

What sets Strout's work apart is her characterisation . . . Long on empathy while steering clear of sentimentality, her prose bears the minerality of a crisp white wine, with a seeming simplicity that belies its profound power

― FT

A very good novel, deft when it needs to be and ambivalent where certainty would be facile. Its celebration of the ungraspable riddles and sudden judgments of real life becomes compulsive. . . . I cannot get Lucy Barton out of my head ― The Times

[Strout] is a novelist of the inner sensibility, and what makes her so compellingly readableis her rendering of the ebb and flow of emotion and impression, of the stream of consciousness between past and present that makes Lucy cousin to Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway ― Daily Telegraph

Strout is very good at parsing the contradictory elements that make up our relationship with ourselves and the lives we lead, and the extent to which these elements exist in a state of flux. Such a pleasure to read. And so very wise ― Daily Mail

Strout gets you to reassess every relationship you've ever had while you can still do something about it ― Spectator

Elizabeth Strout is one of my very favorite writers, so the fact that Oh William! may well be my favorite of her books is a mathematical equation for joy. The depth, complexity, and love contained in these pages is a miraculous achievement -- Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House

The end lines of this novel from the staggeringly gifted Elizabeth Strout are a revelation - a profound understanding of our relationships, ourselves . . . A luminous novel about love, loss and family secrets; hard to believe a writer can fathom us so well

― Sainsbury's Magazine

A superbly gifted storyteller and a craftswoman in a league of her own -- Hilary Mantel

A terrific writer ― Zadie Smith

She gets better with each book -- Maggie O'Farrell

One of America's finest writers ― Sunday Times

An absolute delight of a book -- Claire Fuller

A wonderful book. It is so clever, the way it's built up in little layers of discovery, and how every tiny thing discovered makes the story truer and more painful -- Emma Healey

I do not know any other writer who can portray life in this way. With such breadth and complexity, such an awareness of the light and the shadow, and in such sublimely clear and simple brushstrokes. Even though the issues that Strout looks at in Oh William! are those many of us know - the growing up of our children, the family secrets that we carry sometimes without knowing what they are, the growing older of love, and just that very simple and most basic question about who we are and what we for - she shines a light on them that is luminous and ultimately forgiving. A majestic book. -- Rachel Joyce

There are shades of Anne Tyler and also John Updike in the stories woven from the impulses and lives of people in America. But what sets Strout apart is the way she describes people's innermost thoughts and the nuances of their feelings...this warm and enjoyable segment of Lucy's life, written by one of our best storytellers ― Evening Standard

They say good things come in threes and although it feels as though this latest novel about Lucy Barton marks the completion of a trilogy, can I put in an early request? For a tetralogy, a pentalogy or whatever comes after that?...The intense pleasure of Strout's writing becomes the simple joy of learning more while - always - understanding less ― Observer

Strout has produced a shimmering meditation on trauma, memory and marriage - and the perverse ways we distract ourselves from painful experiences ― The i

A shimmering triumph of a novel, it muses delicately on love, loss and the mystery of others ― Mail on Sunday

About the Author

Elizabeth Strout is the Pulitzer prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge, as well as The Burgess Boys, Abide With Me,Amy and Isabelle, My Name is Lucy Barton and Olive, Again. She has also been nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize and the Man Booker Prize. She lives between New York and Maine.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking; 1st edition (19 October 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0241508177
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0241508176
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.8 x 2.3 x 20.4 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 42,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,554 in U.S. Literature
- 2,187 in Women's Fiction About Domestic Life
- 5,487 in Contemporary Women's Fiction

Customer Reviews:
5,984 ratings

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Elizabeth Strout

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Elizabeth Strout is the author of the New York Times bestseller Olive Kitteridge, for which she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize; the national bestseller Abide with Me; and Amy and Isabelle, winner of the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize. She has also been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in London. She lives in Maine and New York City.

Customer reviews

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4 star		33%
3 star		18%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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ECamaldulensis

Just wonderful

Reviewed in Australia on 12 April 2022

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Somehow Stroud manages to be a absolutely delightful and simultaneously profound. Her insight into humour nature continues to be so impressive.

Reviewed in Australia on 7 November 2021

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I loved this book as I have loved her others. Her characters are so relatable, I feel like I am a bystander watching it all unfold and occasionally a nod recognition from some part of my life, maybe something that has just occurred to me. I was sad when I finished it .

Reviewed in Australia on 18 November 2021

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Although the main character was not really my type, this is an interesting, well-written book.

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Claudia Templeton

Beautiful story and great writing.

Reviewed in Australia on 26 October 2021

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Elizabeth Strout can really write and her stories are incredibly sensitive and kind. What a feat to do all that and make it interesting as well. No words.

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‘Oh William, I thought. Oh William!’

Reviewed in Australia on 4 November 2021

I am intrigued. After reading ‘Oh William!’ I realised that I should have started at the beginning, by reading ‘My name is Lucy Barton’ and then ‘Anything is Possible’. I feel like I know Lucy Barton, after reading ‘Oh William!’ but I want to know her better: all those references to her earlier story have me intrigued. Oh yes, it is possible to read ‘Oh William!’ as a standalone: it is a story about family and about secrets, largely self-contained. But I have a feeling that my appreciation of this novel will be deepened once I have had an opportunity to read the earlier novels in the series.

Lucy Barton is now 63 years old, and recently widowed. David Abramson, her late husband, is a man with whom she felt comfortable. They understood each other, they supported each other. The William of the title is Lucy’s first husband, the father of their now adult daughters, Chrissy and Becka. William is now 71, and despite their marriage breakdown and subsequent marriages, Lucy and William have remained friends. And so, it is to Lucy that William turns when he wants help with unravelling a family secret.

Lucy and William embark on a journey, into a past that William was unaware of and into a shared past which has Lucy sharing her insights and reflections. I enjoyed this novel.

Recommended.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Helpful

A lovely conversational book

Reviewed in Australia on 7 November 2021

I hadn't realised that this was the third book in a series, but felt it was still quite good as a stand alone novel. Having said that,I am now keen to read the first to books in the 'Amgash' series.
In this story Lucy Barton is now in her early sixties and her ex-husband William has turned seventy. They are still good friends and the story is like one running narrative of Lucy's past and present relationship with William.
It feels almost like reading a diary, with Lucy's unfiltered view on people and her own feelings just spilling out onto the page.
The story is sad, happy, nostalgic and often quite humorous. I really enjoyed it, although I feel it will not be a book that is to everyone's taste.

Helpful

Subtle, delicate, complex

Reviewed in Australia on 1 November 2021

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In this next instalment of the Lucy Barton story Strout does her usual thing of seeming to write about quotidian life in all its ordinariness but in doing so, extracts complexities of the human psyche in their known and unknown mysteriousness. As Lucy says at the end, who can say what people have within them and why we turn out as we do? In the end, all that’s left to us is to see the dearness in all the souls around us even when we can see faults of character.
In this one, first husband William discovers he has an older half sister and he and Lucy go on a quest to find this woman. In doing so, they need to heavily revise what they know of William’s mother. By the end of the novel Lucy’s feeling about William undergoes a radical shift as well. Lucy faces the complexities of herself too, finding not everything inside her admirable, but considering her unfortunate background she’s done very well to give and receive love, to live a life true to herself with such courage.
Strout writes Lucy as unpretentiously honest, observant and insightful about nuances of expression and mood, as if she is beguiled with ever changing discoveries of what’s inside those around her, including her two adult daughters. The only thing that occasionally grates is the repetition of “What I mean is …” but we understand why she does it. She’s trying to be clear.

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Top reviews from other countries

Chrissy Frost

An unfinished marriage

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 October 2021

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Newly widowed Lucy Barton, a successful writer now in her sixties, has retained an amicable relationship with her first husband -the father of her two daughters. This complex relationship stands at the heart of the novel - a story of regret, reflection and the revelation of some surprising family secrets. This is a short novel and a quick read that will, nonetheless, give you plenty to think about when you have finished it. Elegant, nuanced, deceptively layered.

5 people found this helpful

Karolina Knapton

A most beautiful book from a most wonderful writer.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 November 2021

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I came to Strout's writing with My Name is Lucy Barton - a profoundly moving novel, every sentence formed so beautifully as Oh William is too.
I never skip one line in Strout's work, her gentle, honest and nuanced writing is too precious to miss one word.
I can't think of any other writer who describes so authentically the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of personalities and relationships.

3 people found this helpful

Savannahlady

Another wonderful novel from the Lucy Barton collection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2021

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I just love Elizabeth Strout’s books. She has an inimitable style which is often like listening to someone in conversation or talking to themselves. She describes and reflects so well the complexities that ordinary people can have in their lives and how they decide to deal with them. An American friend introduced me to Olive Kitteridge several years ago - what a character! From that I went onto read all the others and, as someone who reads hundreds of books each year, I have to say I enjoy Elizabeth’s the most. There is just such an engaging essence to all that she writes and her characters are fascinating, yet quite down to earth as well. And Oh William ! is no exception - marvellous stuff!

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Oh dear! Dreary, boring but at least it is short

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2022

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My apologies to my book group. I chose this on the basis of its international best seller billing but it really disappointed. Emperor's new clothes? The prose style is painful to read being the reminiscing of one person, the plot ticks along so slowly it is hard to remain interested and the conclusion came so suddenly I was left wondering what had happened. The answer - nothing much. The one positive for my book group is that although it is relatively expensive to buy, it is quite short!

2 people found this helpful

countrygirl

Wonderfully honest and perceptive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 November 2021

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I loved this short book reflecting two long lives and the relationships that were important to William and Lucy. I loved the understanding and the humanity and the forgiveness and with it, the acceptance of sadness, damage and neglect. The author said it was intended for those who needed it and for me, it held a mirror to my own life and marriage. It’s a wise and wholly satisfying book.

One person found this helpful

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