Ah, William

The writer Lucy Barton has long been divorced from her first husband William, with whom she spent many years in marriage and raised two daughters. But when Lucy's second husband dies and William's wife leaves him, they seek support from each other and together go to Maine in search of William's sister, whose existence he had until recently not suspected. The events of the present intertwine in Lucy's story with memories of the past: childhood in a poor provincial town, life with William in New York, vacations taken with his mother. William has always been a mystery to Lucy, and as she contemplates who he is, she also reflects on grief, loneliness, family ties, and love. Strout's understated, concise prose holds remarkable charm. Irony, light humor, warmth, compassion, psychological depth – all of this makes Elizabeth Strout's new book a true literary phenomenon.