Oh William! Review

The Pulitzer Prize-winning, #1 New York Timesbestselling author traces the enduring bond between a divorced couple in a poignant novel about love, loss, and the family secrets that can erupt and bewilder us at any point in life.

Through her careful words and reverberating silences (The New York Times), Elizabeth Strout has long captured readers' hearts with her spare, exquisite insights on family, relationships, and loss. And never has her perfect attunement to the human condition (Hilary Mantel) been so evident as in these pages, as Strout's iconic heroine Lucy Barton, of My Name Is Lucy Barton, recounts her complex, tender relationship with William, her first husband--and longtime, on-again-off-again friend and confidant. Recalling their college years, through the birth of their daughters, the painful dissolution of their marriage, and the lives they built with other people, Strout weaves a portrait, stunning in its subtlety, of a decades-long partnership.

A masterful exploration of human empathy, Oh William! captures the joy and pain of watching children grow up and start families of their own; of discovering family secrets, late in life, that rearrange everything we think we know about those closest to us; and the way people live and love, despite the variety of obstacles we face in doing so. And at the heart of this story is the unforgettable, indomitable voice of Lucy Barton, who once again offers a profound, lasting reflection on the very nature of existence. This is the way of life, Lucy says. The many things we do not know until it is too late.

General Impressions

I first heard about 'Oh William!' in Penguin's Autumn Showcase. This was my first book by Elizabeth Strout, hailed as one of the greatest writers of our time. Never having read anything by her before, I was feeling quite nervous about her writing: that it might be too dense or unrelatable and I might not understand or hate it and miss out on what others had been able to grasp. I have no way of quickly summarising what reading this book felt but I can safely say, my fears were unfounded.

This book is part of a series of sorts, following the same characters through the years, and although I did not know that going in, I don't think my reading experience suffered for it. The author made a really good job not only of recapping the pertinent episodes but the characters themselves, being separated from their younger versions by several decades and experiences, were different people and so the book can be read as a standalone.

I think what stayed with me the most after finishing this first read was that it followed a couple that having lived long, rich, all-encompassing lives are still growing and this is not the final chapter in their story, only a chapter. Yes, they are old but they are not finished works incapable of change, fit only as supporting characters to a younger cast. I'm sure other readers will be able to put it in better words, but what I enjoyed the most about this book was that these two were treated as people instead of just old people.

Some of the other big themes in this book were grief, trauma, healing, love and family. I particularly enjoyed the last two when it came to the singular relationship the two main characters had with each other as a divorced couple who moved on to other romantic relationships without ever breaking the bond their friendship/marriage/companionship had ironed. Of all the versions of themselves they have been, out of everyone in the world, they are the ones that know the other the best. Through comforting and hurtful moments, they always find their way to each other and keep showing up. Romantic love was not portrayed as the only or most important form of intimacy between two people and relationships evolved without becoming lesser

Plot-wise this is very much a road trip story, physically as well as emotionally. It's at times very difficult, maybe even triggering for some readers but the writing just flooooowed and I finished this in less than a day.

Conclusions

Most of all I found this a deeply human book. There's no heroes or villains, and no one is static or perfect: everyone has hurts, flaws and qualities. Some have had better luck than others and at the end of the day the only choice left is to find it in themselves to love and forgive or not.

I finally understand why Elizabeth Strout is spoken about the way she is. I want to read everything she ever wrote and pace myself while I do it so it lasts.

Thank you to Penguin and Viking for this ARC.

Rating: 5/5