“There was a time, and it was many years ago now,” Elizabeth Strout’s slim and spectacular novel begins, “when I had to stay in a hospital for almost nine weeks.” And it feels like she is going to tell us a story, the old-fashioned, uncomplicated kind. But only for a little while.
My Name Is Lucy Barton: From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge
A simple plot about a complex relationship between mother and daughter. Authentic and excruciating at times; emotional but not sentimental.
I read this short quiet novel in one sitting (about 2 hours) which I think is probably the best way to read it if you can. I found this book really stuck with me for weeks afterwards.
Elizabeth Strout has been widely praised for her descriptive characterisation. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her beloved novel Olive Kitteridge in 2009.
“Lonely was the first flavor I had tasted in my life, and it was always there, hidden inside the crevices of my mouth, reminding me.”
“But the books brought me things. This is my point. They made me feel less alone.”
READ NOW: My Name Is Lucy Barton
PUBLISHED: 2016
GENRE: Literary
PAGES: 208
AWARDS: Long listed for Man Booker 2016. Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction 2017. Author is Pulitzer Prize Fiction Winner 2009.
ALSO BY THIS AUTHOR: Olive Kitteridge