LUCY BY THE SEA
by Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout’s gorgeous new novel Lucy by the Sea brings back her iconic characters Lucy Barton and her ex-husband William who we first met in My Name Is Lucy Barton and then saw again in Oh, William! (read review here) Lucy and William have been amicably divorced for a while and as Lucy by the Sea begins, William, who is a biologist, convinces Lucy to leave her New York City apartment and join him at a rented Victorian house in a small town in Maine. He is convinced that a pandemic is bearing down on them and although Lucy doesn’t really understand what that means, she agrees to go. What follows is an amazing story not only about the pandemic and how it affects Lucy and William (and all of us), but also a beautifully poignant love story.
Reading the book, I found myself consistently amazed at how realistic and perceptive Strout’s descriptions are of Lucy’s evolving understanding of the pandemic. She recounts the baffling adjustment each of us had to make as we became used to wearing masks, using hand sanitizer and buying groceries. She includes as a sub-plot the negative reactions William and Lucy received in the state of Maine because of their New York license plates. As I progressed through the book, each of those early pandemic feelings came rushing back to me.
Strout also writes masterfully about the relationships within a family. Her scenes where Lucy and William interact with their two adult daughters are filled with raw emotion and love. She captures perfectly a mother’s struggle to support her daughters without judging or interfering.
Strout’s writing is exquisite in her portrayal of the love between Lucy and William, both of whom are close to seventy and thinking of their mortality. Despite William’s various infidelities during their marriage; despite both of them having gone on to marry other people; despite everything, Lucy and William share a genuine bond. In her maturity, Lucy comes to realize that love can look very different towards the end of life. Lucy by the Sea is a real stunner. Put it at the top of your “to-be-read” pile of books! (Liz)
