His Review:Ĭan a loveless abusive childhood lay the cobblestones of life’s road in such a way that nothing changes for the individual? Elizabeth Strout’s character Lucy seems to have developed her character with this pattern in mind. At the heart of this story are the deep human connections that unite us even when we’re apart-the pain of a beloved daughter’s suffering, the emptiness that comes from the death of a loved one, the promise of a new friendship, and the comfort of an old, enduring love. Rich with empathy and emotion, Lucy by the Sea vividly captures the fear and struggles that come with isolation, as well as the hope, peace, and possibilities that those long, quiet days can inspire. For the next several months, it’s just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea. With her trademark spare, crystalline prose-a voice infused with “intimate, fragile, desperate humanness” (The Washington Post)-Elizabeth Strout turns her exquisitely tuned eye to the inner workings of the human heart, following the indomitable heroine of My Name Is Lucy Barton through the early days of the pandemic.Īs a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and on-again, off-again friend, William.

In Contemporary Literature Fiction Book Blurb:

Elizabeth strout new book 2022