An OK Read

Oh William by Elizabeth Strout

Lucy Barton is a writer and widowed. Her ex-husband, William, whose third wife has left him, remains a hard man to read. “William”, she confesses, “has always been a mystery to me”. Another mystery is why they have remained good friends after all these years, despite their divorce and subsequent remarryings, they just are. They know they can rely on each other, and at the same time can be brutally honest with each other. So Lucy is both surprised and not surprised when William asks her to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret. At the age of seventy-one William has discovered that he has a half-sister. As he struggles with changes in his life and what this revelation might uncover about his mother’s past he wants Lucy there by his side.

The journey gives each of them opportunities to look back on their lives and ask the question: Why are we drawn to the people we marry, is it ever really possible to truly know anyone? William’s mother, Catherine had been a very large presence in their marriage and had clearly kept secrets. Lucy had kept much of her early life hidden away and her family’s rejection of her marriage to William left a lasting scar. William had kept plenty of secrets during their marriage, including multiple affairs. Above all they learned the sad realisation that often we understand ourselves too late in life, and perhaps never comprehend those close to us.

I know there are many fans of the Lucy Barton stories, perhaps I should have read those first because I found this book club choice a little tedious.

∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x