Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

July 31, 2022

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

March 2020 - Lucy Barton is living her normal life in New York, meeting friends for dinner, visiting her daughters in Brooklyn, working on her next book tour. Out of the blue, her ex-husband William telephones her and tells her to pack a bag, they are going to stay in Maine for while to escape the COVID pandemic. Lucy hasn't been keeping up with the news and isn't aware of the seriousness of the pandemic, but she agrees to go with him anyway, thinking that it will just be for a week or two.

They end up being stuck together for almost a year as the world goes to hell, until they are able to get the COVID vaccine. At first Lucy hates Maine, she and William manage to reconnect as a couple, even as their daughters' lives and marriage crash and burn, and then as their daughters rebuild their lives and become less dependent on Lucy. Gradually Lucy meets people in Maine and after a year, she is able to return to a new version of her life.

Lucy really irritated me at first - she complains about everything, hates everything. Partially I'm just envious. William arranges everything for them and takes care of Lucy - every trip I've ever taken either alone or with family, I am always responsible for everything. Lucy packs the wrong clothes to take for late winter in Maine, and William orders a coat, jeans, sweaters and sneakers from L. L. Bean. Later, because she's freezing in the winter, he gets two down comforters for her.

Coast of Maine

But as the book went on, I really enjoyed it. This is the fourth book with these characters, and I love the fact that they are senior citizens who have interesting lives, a lot better than their daughters and sons-in-law. I have read most of Elizabeth Strout's books and she is a fabulous writer. Highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

                                       

            New York City in the middle of the pandemic

This is a picture of my sweet little Asia who died in her sleep one night during April 2020. I also lost a close friend who died from COVID before anyone really knew what it was.