Amazon.com.au:Customer reviews: My Name Is Lucy Barton

Top positive review

A good read

Reviewed in Australia on 15 June 2020

I love all of her books, however this one I found a little less interesting than the 'Olive' books. But that is only my personal thoughts. Still beautifully written and enjoyable.

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Sally Forest

Inner Pain

Reviewed in Australia on 4 April 2017

I wonder if every woman would feel the agony of loss and sense of personal failure that is revealed by the narrator, Lucy Barton. There is no story as such; events in her life are mainly only hinted at or mentioned incidentally. Lucy Barton explores her memories of growing up, tries to confirm them or learn more from others, and tries to determine what damage she has suffered. Increasingly aware of her own dysfunction, she realises how much she has hurt her daughters by her actions.

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From Australia

Linda

A good read

Reviewed in Australia on 15 June 2020

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I love all of her books, however this one I found a little less interesting than the 'Olive' books. But that is only my personal thoughts. Still beautifully written and enjoyable.

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Elizabeth O'Hare

Four Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 13 April 2016

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Very interesting and thought provoking

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‘There was a time, and it was many years ago now, ...

Reviewed in Australia on 24 June 2022

... when I had to stay in a hospital for almost nine weeks.’

After I read ‘Oh William!’ some time ago, I had to go back to the beginning, to learn more about Lucy Barton. It is a short novel, but I read it slowly, trying to absorb Lucy’s world and context. So here in the 1980s is Lucy, in hospital in New York City. Complications after surgery have enforced a nine-week hospitalisation on Lucy, a time when her body is restricted but her mind is not.

Lucy’s mother visits, spends five days with Lucy in her hospital room. Lucy has not spoken with her mother for many years. Lucy thinks she has left behind her impoverished childhood in Amgash, Illinois, but the past can never really be escaped, can it? So, what do Lucy and her mother do, during this period of togetherness? Do they talk about the past? Do they resolve any of the issues Lucy has carried with her? Right now, Lucy is at a crossroads. She has escaped Amgash for New York, she is pursuing her dream to be a writer. Although Lucy’s marriage is faltering, she loves her two daughters. But the past is there, her mother’s presence both a comfort and a constant reminder of discomfort.

I finished this novel full of admiration for the way in which Ms Strout builds Lucy’s contemplative world and invites the reader to think (alongside Lucy) about ambition, loneliness, and relationships.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

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J. Ang

Family Tied

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2018

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This deeply personal novel, like Strout’s Pulitzer winner, “Olive Kitteridge”, is a composite rendering of perspectives that give us a multi-layered and nuanced presentation of the character, all the seeming contradictions and pieces that seem not to fit and yet all the more authentic and true of human personalities.

While narrated solely through Lucy Barton’s voice, unlike the multiple voices in “OK”, Lucy’s voice is uncertain, prone to revision and wavering, as she looks back on her long hospital stay as a young wife and mother. Her mother’s visit triggers stark memories of her impoverished (and possibly abusive) childhood and informs her ambivalent relationship with her mother, as she sees both of them through others’ eyes.

Written like a confessional or a memoir, the novel is made up of moments, side stories, recounted conversations, ponderings, stitched together. Lucy tells of her struggles as a fledgling writer, and her determination to write what is real, following the advice of a writer that “if you find yourself protecting anyone as you write this piece, remember this: You’re not doing it right”. What comes through in Lucy’s own narrative about her family is her inability at times to do just that as she reports on her parents’ neglect and abuse, but which is mingled with apology and excuses made in their behalf as she also tries to show the tender side to them, which gives her whole writing exercise a metafictive slant, revealing much about Lucy Barton herself. She reminds the reader at several points in the story that this is not a story about her marriage and yet it seeps through, over and over again, as it is part of her story and cannot be left out.

A quietly moving novel, that draws the reader in to all the hopes, fears and dreams of a character in all her vulnerability and brokenness, as she finds a way to grab onto herself and define who she is.

17 people found this helpful

Ann Gleeson

Descriptive but difficult to grasp the point

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2021

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This book was a sensitive description of a difficult childhood and the relationship of a daughter with her mother. However it was difficult to see the story line and I was quite glad to finish it. I had very much enjoyed Olive Kitteredge by the same author.

One person found this helpful

David

Great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 November 2018

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This book is written from the perspective of the narrator who was raised in the deep Midwest of the U.S. and through her independence of thought succeeds in becoming a writer living in New York City. There is no real story line but rather a series of thoughts or summaries of conversations over the course of her life. It is insightful and thought provoking and provides a quick and interesting read. I loved the style the author uses - its very much like a memoir.

One person found this helpful

ladyvic

Family relationships are never easy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 September 2020

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Found this book hard to put down once I'd started it, it's not a particularly gripping story but I found myself invested in the main character right from the off and wanted to know more about her life. For anyone who feels out of place in the world - this book will resonate

Edlines

Deep, thought proving

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2021

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I enjoyed the writing style which I thought suited the story line so well despite not using a great deal of dialogue, worked well. It may not have done in less skilled hands.

VTR

Subtle, with sparse, heartfelt description

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 May 2021

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A very economical book that, through its deceptive simplicity, maps out its characters extraordinarily well. I will definitely try more from this author.

Ms. J. C. Gilbert

Easy read with an individual's psychology behind the words.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 December 2017

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An excellent easy read with accessible language but with deeper reflections into relationships and their significance through early life and into adult hood. A story of reflections on a theme with a slightly sombre note. There isn't much humour in this story but highly recommendable.

2 people found this helpful

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