This is a short, almost poetic, workbarely more than 200 pagesbut strout covers a lot of ground, from the perspective of a woman whos reflecting back on the time she spent in a nyc hospital in the 1980s. The book details the complicated relationship between the titular lucy barton and her mother. What role does the gossip lucy and her mother share play in the book. Knitting this powerful narrative together is the brilliant storytelling voice of lucy herself. There is not a scintilla of sentimentality in this exquisite novel. A writer reeling from a traumatic childhood, she emerged in elizabeth strouts booker prizenominated 2016 novel my name is. The eponymous narrator looks back to the mid1980s, when she goes into the hospital for an appendix removal and succumbs to a mysterious fever that keeps her there for nine weeks. This book feels almost like the reader is being told a onceuponatime recounting of lucys life and relationships, in a personal, intimate conversation with her.
The title character of my name is lucy barton, rona munros crystalline stage adaptation of elizabeth strouts 2016 novel, is hardly a woman of mystery. Now, in my name is lucy barton, this extraordinary writer shows how a simple hospital visit becomes a portal to the most tender relationship of all the one between mother and daughter. Praise for my name is lucy barton a quiet, sublimely merciful contemporary novel about love, yearning, and resilience in a family damaged beyond words. With lucy barton, strout reminds us of the power of our storiesand our ability to transcend our troubled narratives. In my name is lucy barton, one of americas finest writers shows how a simple hospital visit illuminates the most tender relationship of all the one between mother and daughter. A new book by pulitzer prize winner elizabeth strout is cause for celebration. I like writers who try to tell you something truthful, comments the eponymous narrator of my name is lucy barton. Elizabeth strout, the author of olive kitteridge, has written a short and brilliant novel that explores an idea central to much great art. My name is lucy barton is a title that announces itself with call me ishmael forthrightness. It was first published in the united states on january 12, 2016 through random house. Top pick for book clubs elizabeth strout delivers a poignant look at the complexities of parental ties and the need for human connection in my name is lucy barton.
The wall street journal impressionistic and haunting. Jun 23, 2018 laura linney as lucy barton in my name is lucy barton, directed by richard eyre, bridge theatre, london, 2018 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. My name is lucy barton by elizabeth strout, 9780241248782, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In fewer than 200 intense, dense pages, she considers class prejudice, the shame that poverty brings, the aids epidemic, and the healing powersand the limitsof art. My name is lucy barton audiobook by elizabeth strout. My name is lucy barton nyc discount theatre tickets. My name is lucy barton by pulitzer prize winner elizabeth strout is a novel to be read slowly and savored for its richness of story. Do you think that was a gesture of love on his part. While i hope for all my books to provide the reader with a kind of intimate experience this one seems particularly available for.
My name is lucy bartonlike all of strouts fictionis more complex than it first appears, and all the more emotionally persuasive for it. My name is lucy barton, longlisted for the man booker prize. My name is lucy barton by elizabeth strout, paperback. Elizabeth strouts new novel is a deft, unflinching and beautiful weave. Elizabeth strouts my name is lucy barton the new york times. My name is lucy barton by elizabeth strout alibris. Reading my name is lucy barton, i was frequently put in mind of hemingways famous injunction to write the truest sentence that you know. My name is lucy barton is a short, simple, and quiet story that took me away from the noise and to that quiet place that i love. The pulitzer prizewinning author of olive kitteridge says she was a bad lawyer before turning her energies to writing.
Feb 04, 2016 buy my name is lucy barton 01 by strout, elizabeth isbn. It is both a book of withholdings and a book of great openness and wisdom. From pulitzer prizewinning author elizabeth strout. My name is lucy barton book princeton public library. My name is lucy barton is a book that is breathtakingly beautiful in its style and simplicity. Just me, my tea and the beautiful powerful words of this magnificent story. They bring back the abuse lucy suffered at the hands of. Linney plays lucy barton, a woman who wakes after an operation to find much to her surprise her mother at the foot of her bed. As in olive kittredge 2008, strout peels back layers of denial and selfprotective brusqueness to reveal the love that lucys mother feels but cannot express. Awardwinning actress laura linney returns to broadway in a haunting new solo play, my name is lucy barton, adapted by rona munro from the bestselling novel by pulitzer prize winner elizabeth strout. Some of the memories are looked viewed from the present, but most go back nine years, to the time when lucy, seriously ill, was hospitalized, and her mother, who she hadnt seen or.
Lucy recalls that her earliest memories of her parents are. As if to reinforce this connection between illness and isolation, infection and disease pervade strouts prose. The narrator of strouts powerful and melancholy new novel, my name is lucy barton, might be a distant relation of olives, though she is raised in poverty outside the small town of amgash, ill. Lucy left behind a difficult past in smalltown illinois to become a writer in new york city. Her family is impoverished and lives in an isolated area, making it almost impossible for lucy and her older siblings to make friends. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. My name is lucy barton is a 2016 new york times bestselling novel and the fifth novel by the american writer elizabeth strout. Lucys husband asked her mother to visit her in the hospital, and paid for her trip.
I read my name is lucy barton by elizabeth strout in 2016 when it first came out. Lucy barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Jan 15, 2020 the title character of my name is lucy barton, rona munros crystalline stage adaptation of elizabeth strouts 2016 novel, is hardly a woman of mystery. My name is lucy barton a rags to riches story of sorts, beginning with childhood psychological abuse, physical abuse, parental abandonment, being shamed and bullied to two marriages, two daughters and a divorce. Simplicity and restraint make lucy barton shine elizabeth strouts new novel, about an estranged mother and daughter reconnecting during the daughters illness, is. The tender scenes revealing the longunspoken love between lucy and. She is confined, for most of the book s action, to a hospital bed. In elizabeth strouts my name is lucy barton, a simple hospital visit is a portal to the most tender relationship between mother and daughter. It is lucys gentle honesty, complex relationship with her husband, and nuanced response to her mothers shortcomings that make this novel so subtly powerful. In my name is lucy barton, one of americas finest writers shows how a simple hospital visit illuminates the most tender relationship of allthe one between mother and daughter. My name is lucy barton was a different kind of book for me, and writing it surprised me. Buy my name is lucy barton by elizabeth strout online at alibris. And elizabeth strouts haunting new novel is, in fact, a kind of book withina book, framed as a memoir or possibly an autobiographical novel. My name is lucy barton a novel by elizabeth strout my name is lucy barton random house 2016 by the 2009 pulitzer prize winning author elizabeth strout, is a touching and troubling story concerning a young married woman, lucy barton, who lives in new york in the 1980s with her.
While i hope for all my books to provide the reader with a kind of intimate experience this one seems particularly available for that, i think. The burgess boys, named one of the best books of the year by the washington post and npr. Buy my name is lucy barton 01 by strout, elizabeth isbn. Jan 10, 2016 the narrator of strouts powerful and melancholy new novel, my name is lucy barton, might be a distant relation of olives, though she is raised in poverty outside the small town of. Jan 05, 2016 as in olive kittredge 2008, strout peels back layers of denial and selfprotective brusqueness to reveal the love that lucys mother feels but cannot express. A character in my name is lucy barton says i like writers who try to tell you something truthful, and elizabeth strout has done just that. My name is lucy barton is smart and cagey in every way. Lucy lies in a new york city hospital suffering from an undiagnosed illness when her mother unexpectedly arrives from rural illinois, where lucy grew up. The book does feel a bit abbreviated, but thats only because the characters and ideas are so compelling we want to hear more from. Lucy lies in a new york city hospital suffering from an undiagnosed illness when her mother unexpectedly arrives from rural illinois, where.
Do you think lucy blames her mother for the more painful parts of her childhood. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading my name is lucy barton. Its rare that a book hits the hearts bullseye like this. The story is told in a series of flashbacks, beginning with lucy s time in the hospital when she was younger. Shes the author of several novels, including, the memory of love, and the memoir, the devil that danced on the water. Elizabeth strout has been doing just that in one elegant, penetrating. Lucy barton, now a successful novelist, looks back on her life, most notably a childhood lived in poverty and her relationship with her emotionally distant mother.
My name is lucy barton is presented episodically, as a series of events and memories from lucys past. Jan, 2016 simplicity and restraint make lucy barton shine elizabeth strouts new novel, about an estranged mother and daughter reconnecting during the daughters illness, is a marvel of quiet simplicity. Jan 04, 2016 my name is lucy barton is smart and cagey in every way. Instead, in its careful words and vibrating silences, my name is lucy barton offers us a rare wealth of emotion, from darkest suffering toi was so happy. I sped right through it, as it is a short book that draws you into the story of lucy, her childhood and adult life. Buy my name is lucy barton by strout, elizabeth isbn. Her mother comes to visit and through conversations with her and a recollection of her past she starts to. The story is told in a series of flashbacks, beginning with lucys time in the hospital when she was younger. The simple and quiet books are starting to become a favourite of mine. The boston globe it is lucys gentle honesty, complex relationship with her husband, and nuanced response to her mothers shortcomings that make this novel so subtly powerful. Her mother, to whom she hasnt spoken for many years, comes to see her. Its impossible not to feel some sympathy for the narrator of elizabeth strouts new novel my name is lucy barton.
My name is lucy barton, by elizabeth strout, is written as a fictional memoir of a famous author. And yet by the time you finish reading my name is lucy barton, you feel. My name is lucy barton book johnson county library. My name is lucy barton by elizabeth strout, 9780241248782. Were considering expanding this synopsis into a fulllength study guide to deepen your comprehension of the book and why its important. Feb 02, 2016 my name is lucy barton confirms strout as a powerful storyteller immersed in the nuances of human relationships, weaving family tapestries with compassion, wisdom and insight. Her bestselling novels, including olive kitteridge and the burgess boys, have illuminated our most tender relationships. I recently reread it because i read strouts new book, anything is possible and lucy barton reappears in this book. My name is lucy barton random house 2016 by the 2009 pulitzer prize winning author elizabeth strout, is a touching and troubling story concerning a young married woman, lucy barton, who lives in new york in the 1980s with her husband and two daughters. My name is lucy barton, by elizabeth strout sfgate. In her spare and mesmerizing novel my name is lucy barton, elizabeth strout elegantly probes the chasm between what is said and what is felt as a daughter and her undemonstrative mother shyly reconnect.
This summary of my name is lucy barton includes a complete plot overview spoilers included. The narrator of strouts powerful and melancholy new novel, my name is lucy barton, might be a distant relation of olives, though she is raised in poverty outside the small town of. Her latest novel, my name is lucy barton, is about an aspiring writer. Jan 07, 2016 i like writers who try to tell you something truthful, comments the eponymous narrator of my name is lucy barton. My name is lucy barton confirms strout as a powerful storyteller immersed in the nuances of human relationships, weaving family tapestries with compassion, wisdom and insight. A quiet novel turned into a forceful performance the new. It is also frightening in all that is left unsaid about lucys abjectly impoverished childhood.
Theres the fatigued, jumpy writer, sarah payneher surname a metaphorical nod to her daily suffering as she too is someone who finds the demands of ordinary daily interaction with others a struggle. Jan, 2016 the pulitzer prizewinning author of olive kitteridge says she was a bad lawyer before turning her energies to writing. Elizabeth strouts my name is lucy barton the new york. Linney as lucy barton in my name is lucy barton, bridge theatre, london, 2018.
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