I read this book in one day, in one sitting. Even with the gaps, the lacking years, the bits and pieces that are missing, it’s a full life of a story. An antithetical to our current need to know everything, to dredge up everything, to consume ourselves with the misery of others. What happened in the truck? Or with her father? Or with snakes? We can drive ourselves crazy with the desire to know everything, or, instead, we can wrap ourselves up with what we have, a story like a blanket: a mother visiting her daughter in the hospital. We aren’t there. This story is for the characters and we are already greedily enough peeking in.
Take all you can from My Name is Lucy Barton. Even in its slightness, whole worlds exist.
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout went on sale January 12, 2016.
I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.