Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2022. This is the third outing for fictional author Lucy Barton, and is in the style of a memoir. Having not read the first two books, I thought this might be a problem, but it did not prove to be so. Indeed, Lucy quite often refers to previous events in her life, and, even though she says she's written about them before, she usually gives a quick precis of that event anyway. So, I didn't feel like I was losing out on anything. In this book, we see Lucy navigating her life following the loss of her beloved second husband, during which she reconnects with her first husband, and father of her two grown up daughters, William. Increasingly, and possibly as a distraction to her own grief, she is sucked into William's latest crisis - his third wife has just left him, and then he discovers that he might have a sibling he was totally unaware of. Lucy supports him in various ways, despite his frequently sharp tongue - which serves as a reminder of why she left him in the first place and how much she misses her late husband. And yet, she keeps going back for more ... with the words "Oh William!" frequently on her lips, both in sympathy and exasperation! The author has an easy style of writing and you understand the characters very quickly. However, I found it hard to empathise with Lucy and William, who came across as a bit self-absorbed ... but then again, aren't we all!! Maybe I am being a bit unfair on that score. A very quick read and as light as a feather, I did enjoy this, but I don't think it is one that will stay with me for very long.
My STAR rating: THREE.
Length: 256 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from the library.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; audio CD; ebook.
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