I’ve followed Elizabeth Strout since her first Olive Kitteridge novel in 2008.  Oh, William, is her latest offering,  published in 2021, and she’s got another book coming out later this year called “Lucy by the Sea.”  Friends have told me this is definitely worthwhile so I’d better catch up.  

Oh, William 
By Elizabeth Strout
2021 / 
Read by Kimberly Farley – 7 h.
Rating: 8 / general fiction 

Oh William again deals with Lucy Barton who was introduced in 2016 with My Name is Lucy Barton. In the prior book we get the very difficult tale of Lucy and her mother and then in Anything is Possible there’s a reunion of siblings.  So this is the third book about Lucy and her life.  Lucy has not had a happy life. 

This time Lucy’s parents have passed away and Lucy is newly widowed by her beloved 2nd husband’s death.  Her first husband is William who is still alive and was living with Estelle, his 2nd wife, but she leaves him.  Lucy’s daughters are grown and one has her own children. Lucy dearly loved her recently deceased husband, but she’s mourning her prior life with William who is alive.  There were serious problems in the marriage and they had troubles in their lives and he’s now remarried but it seems to me that Lucy is basically mourning him anyway.  

 This is pretty standard Strout – it’s a slow and easy, insightful into real life situations.  She reminds me of Anne Tyler except that I frequently find Strout really sad.