Book Review: “Oh William!” by Elizabeth Strout
Be the main character of your story
Title: Oh William. Published: 2021. Genre: Contemporary Fiction. Publisher: Random House. Pages: 240.
Although it is not uncommon to come across a book with a senior protagonist, authors more often prefer to place a younger character at the center of their story. Elizabeth Strout is one of those writers who chooses to build her narrative around people aged 60 and older. And she does it splendidly. We are all, probably, very fond of her Olive Kitteridge, which won her the Pulitzer Prize. Now, we have the honor to meet another of her heroines — Lucy Barton.
Lucy has recently lost her second husband, the love of her life, the friend she was looking for, the partner that she had finally found. So now she is trying to figure out new ways of living, all along. Well, of course, she is not ALL alone; Lucy’s got two wonderful daughters, some loyal friends, some former colleagues. But she still feels a bit sad, and for a good reason.
Also, she has a former husband, the one she married really young, the one who is the father of her two daughters, the one she divorced, and she has no regrets about it. But still, he is really dear to Lucy — that one-of-a-kind William. He is the person who always attracts adventures, even now that he is older, more tired, and less mobile. And if you, or rather Lucy, happen to be around, she will obviously be hauled into these adventures. At the dusk of his life, for example, William found out that he had a stepsister he never knew about.
And this is how it all starts. William still possesses weird powers over Lucy. She is like a satellite that is dragged into the orbit of a planet called William. Wherever he goes, she is destined to follow. This time, they are going on the search for his lost sister.
However, this book is not about William or his family secrets. It is about Lucy and her own mental search for herself. While he drives, she takes a good look at her past — troubled childhood, tangled marriage with William, happy relationships with the second husband — and vividly sees the things she hasn’t seen before. She notices how egocentric William is, and that pushes her to realize the traits of her own personality she never knew. All conversations revolve around William and his troubles, but they lead her to learn more about the main character, whose name is, of course, Lucy Barton.
Elizabeth Strout is really good at jumping from dialogues to the inner monologues of her heroine. The conversations between her and other people in the books flow smoothly into Lucy’s thoughts. This way, the reader gets the full picture of who Lucy is — for other people and for herself. The latter changes over time. The book is pretty short, so it took a master to show such monumental transformation over such a short period.
The message of the book is really clear to me — it is never too late to start getting to know yourself. It is also never too late to become someone you really like. It just sometimes takes an annoying ex-husband to do it. But, hey, all means are great if they work, right?
