Oh William! : a novel / Elizabeth Strout.
Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout explores the mysteries of marriage and the secrets we keep, as a former couple reckons with where they've come from--and what they've left behind. "Elizabeth Strout is one of my very favorite writers, so the fact that Oh William! may well be my favorite of her books is a mathematical equation for joy. The depth, complexity, and love contained in these pages is a miraculous achievement."--Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch HouseI would like to say a few things about my first husband, William. Lucy Barton is a writer, but her ex-husband, William, remains a hard man to read. William, she confesses, has always been a mystery to me. Another mystery is why the two have remained connected after all these years. They just are. So Lucy is both surprised and not surprised when William asks her to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret--one of those secrets that rearrange everything we think we know about the people closest to us. What happens next is nothing less than another example of what Hilary Mantel has called Elizabeth Strout's "perfect attunement to the human condition." There are fears and insecurities, simple joys and acts of tenderness, and revelations about affairs and other spouses, parents and their children. On every page of this exquisite novel we learn more about the quiet forces that hold us together--even after we've grown apart. At the heart of this story is the indomitable voice of Lucy Barton, who offers a profound, lasting reflection on the very nature of existence. "This is the way of life," Lucy says: "the many things we do not know until it is too late."
Record details
- ISBN: 9780593416129
- ISBN: 9780593416136
- ISBN: 0593416120
- ISBN: 0593416139
- Physical Description: 1 online resource (1 sound file (07 hr., 05 min., 33 sec.)) : digital
- Edition: Unabridged.
- Publisher: [New York] : Random House Audio, 2021.
Content descriptions
Participant or Performer Note: | Read by Kimberly Farr. |
Source of Description Note: | Online resource; title from title details screen (OverDrive, viewed October 22, 2021). |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Authors > Fiction. Family secrets > Fiction. Families > Fiction. |
Genre: | Downloadable audio books. Domestic fiction. Audiobooks. |
Other Formats and Editions
Electronic resources
- Baker & Taylor
"Strout's iconic heroine Lucy Barton recounts her complex, tender relationship with William, her first husband--and longtime, on-again-off-again friend and confidante"-- - Findaway World Llc
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST ⢠The Pulitzer Prizeâwinning author of Olive Kitteridge and My Name is Lucy Barton explores the mysteries of marriage and the secrets we keep, as a former couple reckons with where theyâve come fromâand what theyâve left behind.
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ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Maureen Corrigan, NPRâs Fresh Air
âElizabeth Strout is one of my very favorite writers, so the fact that Oh William! may well be my favorite of her books is a mathematical equation for joy. The depth, complexity, and love contained in these pages is a miraculous achievement.ââAnn Patchett, author of The Dutch House
I would like to say a few things about my first husband, William.Â
Lucy Barton is a writer, but her ex-husband, William, remains a hard man to read. William, she confesses, has always been a mystery to me. Another mystery is why the two have remained connected after all these years. They just are.Â
So Lucy is both surprised and not surprised when William asks her to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secretâone of those secrets that rearrange everything we think we know about the people closest to us. There are fears and insecurities, simple joys and acts of tenderness, and revelations about affairs and other spouses, parents and their children. On every page of this exquisite novel we learn more about the quiet forces that hold us togetherâeven after weâve grown apart.Â
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A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Time, Vulture, She Reads