Lucy by the Sea
From the Booker-shortlisted author of Oh William!
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4.1 • 57 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
'A superbly gifted storyteller and a craftswoman in a league of her own' Hilary Mantel
FROM THE BOOKER-SHORTLISTED, PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR
'It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us'
In March 2020 Lucy Barton's ex-husband William pleads with her to leave New York and escape to a coastal house he has rented in Maine. Lucy reluctantly agrees, leaving the washing-up in the sink, expecting to be back in a week or two. Weeks turn into months, and it's just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the sea.
Rich with empathy and a searing clarity, Lucy by the Sea evokes the fragility and uncertainty of the recent past, as well as the possibilities that those long, quiet days can inspire. At the heart of this miraculous novel are the deep human connections that sustain us, even as the world seems to be falling apart.
'A terrific writer' Zadie Smith
'I cannot get Lucy Barton out of my head' The Times
'She gets better with each book' Maggie O'Farrell
Sunday Times bestseller, October 2022
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, 2022
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, 2009
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Strout follows up Oh William! with a captivating entry in the Lucy Barton series. This time, Lucy decamps to rural Maine during the first year of the Covid lockdown. At the pandemic's onset in 2020, Lucy's philandering ex-husband and longtime friend, William, whisks her away from New York City to a rental house in coastal Maine. He may have self-centered ulterior motives beyond his assertion that he's trying to save her life, but they are not readily transparent for most of the narrative. Personal and public events intrude during the lockdown as the pair develop a "strange compatibility" while attempting to comprehend the new normal. Their two daughters each face a crisis in their marriage; William contacts his once unknown half sister, Lois Bubar, and reveals a life-threatening medical condition; and the country roils from George Floyd's murder and the insurrection on January 6. Bleak memories of Lucy's impoverished childhood and of her recently deceased husband surface in shattering flashbacks. Loneliness, grief, longing, and loss pervade intertwined family stories as Lucy and William attempt to create new friendships in an initially hostile town. What emerges is a prime testament to the characters' resilience. With Lucy Barton, Strout continues to draw from a deep well.
