Lucy by the Sea

A Novel

By: Elizabeth Strout

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of My Name is Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge comes a “poised and moving” (Vogue) novel about a divorced couple stuck together during lockdown—and the love, loss, despair, and hope that animate us even as the world seems to be falling apart.

“Strout’s understanding of the human condition is capacious.”—NPR

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, Oprah Daily, Entertainment Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Time, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, PopSugar, She Reads

With her trademark spare, crystalline prose—a voice infused with “intimate, fragile, desperate humanness” (The Washington Post)—Elizabeth Strout turns her exquisitely tuned eye to the inner workings of the human heart, following the indomitable heroine of My Name Is Lucy Barton through the early days of the pandemic.

As a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and on-again, off-again friend, William. For the next several months, it’s just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea.

Rich with empathy and emotion, Lucy by the Sea vividly captures the fear and struggles that come with isolation, as well as the hope, peace, and possibilities that those long, quiet days can inspire. At the heart of this story are the deep human connections that unite us even when we’re apart—the pain of a beloved daughter’s suffering, the emptiness that comes from the death of a loved one, the promise of a new friendship, and the comfort of an old, enduring love.

Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize

Slow burning and thoughtful

This book surprised the heck out of me! I didn’t want to like it, or hear anything more about “the pandemic” but started it because it was this month’s pick for the book club I’m in.

It drew me in slowly and quietly and I ended up devouring it in a day and wanting to drive somewhere to live on a craggy coastline for awhile. I just couldn’t put it down. Sweet and poignant and so fitting for the times we are in.
Narration was excellent once I sped it up a bit to 1.2

I agree with her sister, she really is selfish and whiny

I’ve read all of the Lucy Barton books and this is the one that I like the least. I know I am never very pleased in the beginning because she always starts out complaining and whining over things and never being very satisfied or happy about anything but then gets a little more generous and open minded as the story progresses but it wasn’t until the very end of the story that she took a little bit broader view and was a little bit more generous and kind hearted.. I just found her to be immature And boring.

How quickly we forget

Just a few years have gone by and yet our “world”
Has changed beyond our imagination. Strout captures our view with a precision that brings clarity to the experience

I Love Lucy (again)

This was such a wonderful listen. Lucy is a wonderfully full and complex character that is so easy to love. Kimberly Farr’s narration is superb. The story, which takes place during the pandemic, “hit home” for me several times as Lucy and William persevere in semi-isolation. Highly recommend!

Another excellent novel

Another excellent novel by Elizabeth Strout. It is beautifully written. Her take on family and relationships is always so true and moving.