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fkshg8465's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wasn’t sure if I’d like this book. Reviews were all over the place, and the negative ones were enough reasons that I almost walked away. Those were the same reasons I might’ve hated this book because I’ve hated other books for these reasons (weak-willed women, lack of action or plot). But I considered the really strong reviews on the opposite end of the spectrum, and I’m glad I read it.
Lucy reminds me so much of my mom - self-effacing, resilient, steady, and insisting on being heard on her terms even in a world that does everything it can to minimize and infantilize women. I liked Lucy also because she continued forward despite her past, her husband’s monetary and family origins, her own dysfunctional family, and having to make it on her own within the walls of the patriarchy. She’s quietly persistent, open to the kindnesses of the world, and someone I might like to be friends with. I look forward to the second book in the series.
Lucy reminds me so much of my mom - self-effacing, resilient, steady, and insisting on being heard on her terms even in a world that does everything it can to minimize and infantilize women. I liked Lucy also because she continued forward despite her past, her husband’s monetary and family origins, her own dysfunctional family, and having to make it on her own within the walls of the patriarchy. She’s quietly persistent, open to the kindnesses of the world, and someone I might like to be friends with. I look forward to the second book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
zmeiat's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
If very demure, very mindfull was a book, this would be it. It however was way to demure for my taste, and its a shame. The raw feelings and turbulent relationships were right there, but hidden behind matt glass and feathersoft pillows with no tangable impact.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Classism
ashleyjean6's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is beautifully written; but so sad. A woman writing about her life and looking back at her traumatic childhood (poverty, abuse) and her escape which brought her to a place she feels out of place in. It's a very humbling book, one that makes you feel seen as a human. It's seems simple, but it's really the opposite. It's difficult to explain. But I want to read more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
happyknitter2020's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A sad reflective story of the log life impact of childhood emotional neglect. Felt like Lucy was sat alongside me & was telling me her story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
liltag's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Homophobia
bookcoffeegirl's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Violence
bufalowevr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Medical content and Death of parent
siria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
A spare, melancholy book about the tension between feeling the impulse to precisely observe people and events and the elusive nature of memory; about how much you can feel for those whose lives briefly intersect with yours and whom you never see again, and the terrible push-pull between family members who find one another mutually incomprehensible. My Name is Lucy Barton is about bonds and isolation, explored as the eponymous narrator recounts both a lengthy stint she endured in hospital in New York in the '80s, and her impoverished and abusive childhood in '60s rural Illinois. Elizabeth Strout is very good at showing/not-showing the elisions, the sidlings up to and away from the painful things. As I read I found myself admiring Strout's restraint as a writer. However, although I liked the novel and the unresolved nature of the ending clearly signposts the further books that are to come in this series, I don't find myself pulled to continue reading about Lucy and her family—in a strange way, I think My Name is Lucy Barton told me everything I need to know about them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
karmapen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Vomit, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Easy, quick read at less than 200 pages. I read this in one sitting, and only finished because I have book 2 and have heard it’s better than Lucy Barton, plus as I said it’s a quick read.
Stream of consciousness writing style with chapters jumping from different points of time which could be confusing at times. I’m not a big fan of this writing style because it usually lacks depth and the characters felt one dimensional.
I felt detached to the characters because there’s a lot of telling instead of showing. Maybe it’s because of how short the novel is and it tries to span so much time in so few pages.
The book is an interesting exploration of a childhood lived in extreme poverty, neglect, tense mother-daughter relationships, and loneliness. I did appreciate some quotes that made me think but overall it’s not bad or great, just average and forgettable. I’m hoping other reviewers are right and book 2 (as well as another of Strout’s novels, Olive Kitteridge) is better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Death
Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, Murder, and War