Oh, William! By Elizabeth Strout

 I confess that this is merely my third Elizabeth Strout book, but I will certainly go back and read the rest of them. The lack of knowledge about Lucy Barton did not hamper me, though, since the author included all the information I needed to thoroughly enjoy this story. Stories, really.

Elizabeth Strout has a splendidly strong voice. In 𝐎𝐡, 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦!, the narrator is Lucy Barton, a writer who is telling us about her  ex-husband, William Gerhardt. Of course, to tell us about William is to tell us about the people in William's life, including herself and especially his mother, Catherine Cole. 

In the beginning, I did not like William at all. He seemed cold, distant, and self-absorbed. It did make me wonder, at first, why Lucy was still so friendly with him, but then, I thought, they did have two daughters together. 

However, it's more than that. When a couple of startling things happen to William, and Lucy heeds his call for help, she begins to deeply ponder what it is about William that attracted her, all those years ago. Then, they take a trip to research a revelation about William's family, and it becomes clear that his mother had a past that neither of them would've imagined or believed. It turns out, the person they knew as Catherine Cole was much more complex than the woman they thought they'd known. 

William is also a complex character, very flawed and damaged, but, it turns out, not unlikeable. Lucy is able to pinpoint what it was that attracted her, and concludes that she sized him up incorrectly, too. 

𝑇𝒉𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝒉𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒: 𝑡𝒉𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑡𝒉𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒.

Lucy is aware that she does not know herself, either. For instance, all her life,  Lucy felt the sensation of being both invisible and having a spotlight on her head, proclaiming that she knew nothing.  Many people will identify with that! I am in awe of how profound her thoughts are, and how easily she seems to express them. 

If it's impossible, or unimaginable, to proclaim what we are feeling to others, then everyone on this planet is feeling a sense of loneliness and a lack of awareness about themselves and others. That sounds like a morose theme, and yet, I found this novel to be hopeful. Perhaps that's because I sense a new beginning for Lucy Barton. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for providing me with the chance to read this lovely book!