THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER The Pulitzer Prize-winning Booker-longlisted bestselling
author returns to her beloved heroine Lucy Barton in a luminous novel about love loss and the
family secrets that can erupt and bewilder us at any point in life Lucy Barton is a successful
writer living in New York navigating the second half of her life as a recent widow and parent
to two adult daughters. A surprise encounter leads her to reconnect with William her first
husband - and longtime on-again-off-again friend and confidante. Recalling their college years
the birth of their daughters the painful dissolution of their marriage and the lives they
built with other people Strout weaves a portrait stunning in its subtlety of a tender
complex decades-long partnership. Oh William! captures the joy and sorrow of watching children
grow up and start families of their own of discovering family secrets late in life that
alter everything we think we know about those closest to us and the way people live and love
against all odds. At the heart of this story is the unforgettable indomitable voice of Lucy
Barton who once again offers a profound lasting reflection on the mystery of existence. 'This
is the way of life ' Lucy says. 'The many things we do not know until it is too
late.''Elizabeth Strout is one of my very favourite writers so the fact that Oh William! may
well be my favorite of her books is a mathematical equation for joy. The depth complexity and
love contained in these pages is a miraculous achievement' Ann Patchett 'A superbly gifted
storyteller and a craftswoman in a league of her own' Hilary Mantel 'A terrific writer' Zadie
Smith'She gets better with each book' Maggie O'Farrell'Miraculous' Guardian 'Brilliant' Sunday
Times 'A majestic book. I do not know any other writer who can portray life in this way' Rachel
Joyce 'I cannot get Lucy Barton out of my head' The Times 'An absolute delight of a book'
Claire Fuller'A wonderful book' Emma Healey
