Oh William!: A Novel

I did not know that this was a continuation of previous novels with the same character, Lucy, when I read the book. Even though she says at certain points, "I told you this before", I just thought it was all of a piece with the stream-of-consciousness, "telling this all to a sympathetic listener" style of the writing, but I will assure other readers - you don't NEED to read the previous books first in order to enjoy this one. However, you might WANT to. As I now want to, even though I read this one first.

The style of writing, the gravitas of what she's telling the reader, the flow of thoughts, and the plot itself are just captivating. The plot is simple - a recently-widowed woman tries to help her first husband through some changes that are emotional for him. But the story is much, much more. It's about who we are and how we became who we are, and about the way we're different for different people, and sometimes even for ourselves. Oh, just read it. You'll be glad.

If you’re reading these four books, this one was my favorite… I immediately bought copies for my friends when I finished it. What an exquisite book! Book 1 was also lovely and book 4 was good enough (made better by 1 and 3).

But I wish I hadn’t read book 2 (Anything is Possible)… it left an ick in my body. Book 2 is the only book of the four where Lucy is barely included, and for me, it didn’t have enough beauty, grace, warmth or connection to make up for the swampy darkness of extreme mental illness.

[spoiler alert]

The creepiest Book 2 chapters were a rapist placing cameras and watching women with his wife and a lunatic trapping an old man in a room and scaring him so bad he had a heart attack.

[end spoiler alert]

Book 3 (Oh William), Book 1 (My Name is Lucy Barton), and Book 4 (Lucy by the Sea) all have pain, but there was enough beauty and tenderness to leave me with a sense of the exquisite wonder of being alive.

Of the four, the only ones I’ll keep and read again are 3 & 1. The four books don’t need to be read in order. For the most impact, I’d read them in this order: 3, 1, 4 (and skip 2).

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout is nominally a short road trip that takes readers on a long journey. Ex-spouses but still good friends, Lucy Barton and William Gerhardt travel to Maine where he hopes to learn more about his late mother’s past. Lucy is grieving the loss of her beloved second husband, while William has had several head-spinning shocks of his own (which I’ll leave for the reader to discover). In their loneliness and sense of dislocation, they join for platonic companionship and comfort, a risky demand at best. Strout excavates the relationship between two people who know each other well, although not as fully as they believe. They fall into old patterns that get disrupted by new discoveries, about each other, and most important, about themselves. While William often remains hidden, guarded with others and not wholly trusted by readers, Lucy is open, honest, and thoroughly likeable. As William says to her, “You are a spirit. There has never been anyone in the world like you. You steal people’s hearts, Lucy.” He speaks the truth. However much William has gotten wrong in his life, in this he is correct. As a fiction writer (see my Amazon author page www.amazon.com/author/asewovenwords), I’m awed by the range of emotions that Strout expresses with the word “Oh.” She uses these two letters to convey deep sympathy, sharp pain, a dull ache, nudging insight, and utter surprise. From the book’s title to its final page, Strout deftly deploys deceptively simple language to bring readers another rich chapter in the life of the resilient Lucy Barton.

I suspect a lot of readers are unaware that writing a sequel--"Oh, William! is a sequel to "My Name Is Lucy Barton"--the novelist cannot assume that the reader has read the prior novel. But, of course, it helps I think. I am a big fan of everything Elizabeth Strout has published including her earlier works. The style of "Oh, William!" remains the same as the pseudo autobiography (which is actually a novel), "My Name Is Lucy Barton." So the reader of that work will easily know the references made to Lucy's horrid life as a child. What this new pseudo autobiography does is expand on Lucy's marriage to William who is now in his early seventies, has been married three times, and has a ten-year-old daughter with his current wife. For those like myself who have been divorced, I found this newest creation very heart-warming and true to the character of wonderful Lucy Barton. Not all of Elizabeth Strout's characters are sweet. Who would want Olive Kitteridge living next door? But in a novel she is distant enough to find great satisfaction in knowing her. Lucy Barton, however, would be a delight living next door. The concept of writing about a former spouse is, I think, rather unique. So in my opinion, this is another "smash hit" by this amazing author.

Heard about this author during the speed round of questions Kelly Corrigan asks on “Tell Me More“. The question the male interviewee was asked “Last book you read that blew you away?” Oh William!

In reviewing Strout’s books decided upon 4 and so far read 3 of them this week! The 4th arrives Saturday or I would have read that today. In order 1) My Name is Lucy Barton; 2) Anything Is Possible; 3) Oh William 4) Lucy By The Sea. My recommendation would be that order, not sure I would have gotten so hooked had I read them in any other order as each one builds the storyline upon the other. Since the 4th is on the way I obviously love the story and this authors work. It resonated with me like no others have. The two “Olive” books are also on the way!

Oh William! is a character study of Lucy Barton, the protagonist from two earlier books, My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible, and her first husband William. The book is a free-ranging menage of random thoughts, memories, and the events of Lucy's life after the death of her second husband David. Ms. Strout writes clearly in Lucy's voice, articulating Lucy's thoughts though I was sometimes annoyed by repetitive phrases. I know people tend to repeat certain expressions, and this is very true of Lucy. Another small niggle was that while I read the first book, I missed the second, and the author often refers back to what she wrote in those books without further explanation. So I didn't always know what she was explaining about her childhood here, but again, just a small annoyance. This book is all about Lucy and William. The plot revolves very loosely around William's discovery of a half-sister he never knew, but the story deals more with their family and the relationships between various members. Ms. Strout doesn't hold back when her characters are being petty or mean, but she also has them display great kindness and love for each other. She covers some of the settings of her other books in Maine, Illinois, and New York City. But they're just a backdrop to the rich tapestry of her characters' lives.

Thoroughly absorbing story. Vividly written such that I felt I really knew and understood the heart and soul of the heroine and what she was feeling. The story explores her life from a little girl right through her first and second marriages and what those connections meant and how they affected her life. Having my own first marriage end in divorce and my second husband similarly passing away, it touched a chord in me. Really thought-provoking.

I've read all of Strout's books, loved a few, found some to be a mimicry of her early work. This one, to me, is mimicry, an attempt to follow the success of her book about Lucy Barton (just like Olive Again tried to ride the success of Olive K). This one is a thin rendering, almost like she's speaking to a therapist. The "..is what I mean" tic becomes mannered, irritating. I found the characters confounding, because they're so thinly presented. William seems to use Lucy but not to love her. He seems selfish. Lucy is flat, reactive. She allows herself to be used, she just goes along. I find it hard to believe that the woman presented here, this limited, one-note person, could be such a success as a writer and teacher. Her passage about teaching students the concept of 'authority' rang untrue for me. How does she know this? How did she come to maturity and wisdom (and authority)? The self she describes doesn't square with her self as narrator, so one-dimensional, reactive and flat. Strout's writing has become filled with mannerisms (and so many semi-colons!). The Oh William! stuff grates. It's like a 200 page collection of habits, which is, I guess, her dependable style. By the end I was unmoved. I would hesitate to buy her next book. Feels like I've read everything she's got to say, and I know exactly how she'll say it.

Y’all, I just didn’t get this book. I’m almost certain my ⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating will be an outlier as most reviewers have gone crazy for this book. But, I’m all about honesty and HONESTLY, it fell flat for me.

The is the third book in a series, but unlike the first two, “Oh, William” exists as a standalone. You don’t need to have read the first two books to understand this one.

THE GOOD: In typical Strout fashion, the writing is uniquely superb. The book is written in a very interesting conversational style that truly exposes the human psyche in a flawed and real way. It’s told in the first person but with a real stream-of-conscious aspect. The writing is brilliant, I will not take that away from the book.

The plot, characters and relationships are fresh and not cliche in the least.

But…

THE NOT SO GOOD The whole story felt like much ado about nothing. I know the point was to focus on small incidents to make up the greater character story, but 🤨. Lucy and William get easily overwrought about things that aren’t necessarily sigh-worthy.

At about 60%, I was mildly interested but wondered if I even wanted to finish. I did not necessarily like Lucy nor care what happened to her. Her character was flat and too contained. I was even less interested in William, as a serial cheater.

The writing style, while realistic, contains some tics that really grated on me. (“…is what I mean” and “oh, William” )

The ending was a total non-event. I’m not sure why this surprised me as most of the book was similarly blah, but I held out hope for a satisfying conclusion.

Audible note: I listened to 1/5 of the book. The narrator was perfect for this book. Her manner of speaking constantly reminded me of the older lady from Titanic (movie).

In sum: if you’re a huge Elizabeth Strout fan, give this one a read. If you’re not, skip it!