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My Name Is Lucy Barton

by Elizabeth Strout

★★★★☆ 3.60 (191 980 ratings)
2016 · 208 pages · ~3h 28m read · Fiction

While recovering from a routine surgery in a New York hospital, Lucy Barton is visited by her estranged mother. Their five-day reunion, filled with tentative conversations and long silences, unearths memories of Lucy's impoverished childhood in rural Illinois. Strout's sparse, luminous prose delves into the complexities of the mother-daughter bond and the scars of the past. It is a profound meditation on loneliness, the power of storytelling, and the subtle ways we seek validation and love from those who raised us.

A well-known book with a dedicated readership.

Atmosphere: Real WorldVibe: TenderPacing: Relaxing
familypsychologicalfriendship

Notable Quotes

"It interests me how we find ways to feel superior to another person, another group of people. It happens everywhere, and all the time. Whatever we call it, I think it’s the lowest part of who we are, this need to find someone else to put down."
"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."
"You will have only one story,” she had said. “You’ll write your one story many ways. Don’t ever worry about story. You have only one."

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