My Name is Lucy Barton Summary, it is a 2016 New York Times bestselling novel and the fifth novel by the American writer Elizabeth Strout. The book was first published in the United States on January 12, 2016 through Random House. The book details the complicated relationship between the titular Lucy Barton and her mother.
In July 2016, My Name is Lucy Barton novel was longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize. The book was also shortlisted for the 2018 International Dublin Literary Award. The novel was also adapted for the theatre by Rona Munro as a one-woman show, with an acclaimed 2018 London production starting Laura Linney which transferred to New York in January 2020.
My Name is Lucy Barton Summary |
My Name is Lucy Barton Summary
Lucy Barton is recovering from a seemingly simple operation, however, due to a slow recovery is forced to stay in the hospital a tad longer than previously expected. Her mother comes to visit and through conversations with her and a recollection of her past she starts to reflect on her childhood and its affects on her present life.
In “My Name is Lucy Barton” the reader gets a glimpse into the past and gains insight into the complicated relationship between a mother and her daughter. After not talking to her mother for years, she is finally reunited when her mother visits her in the hospital.
The exploration through their relationship lends unexpected vision into all other relationships in Lucy’s life; her relationship with her husband, daughters, neighbors and family friends. Through this telling narrative one can gather the notion of a past’s affects on their present and their telling of “their” story.
“My Name is Lucy Barton” is the thought-provoking tale of a woman discovering herself, her mother, her husband, her children, and the world around her.
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Questions about My Name is Lucy Barton Plot
Is My Name Is Lucy Barton based on a true story? The novel is written as a fictional memoir told from the perspective of Lucy Barton. Since Lucy herself is a writer, she is conscious of and comments on her own literary strategies and techniques for retelling her past.
What is the connection between Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton? Lucy Barton is Strout's other recurrent female character of mature years and bears some similarities to Olive Kitteridge. Like Olive, she has lost two husbands. Like Olive, her pain runs in deep veins right back to her childhood.
Is My Name Is Lucy Barton a good book? “My Name Is Lucy Barton” is smart and cagey in every way. It is both a book of withholdings and a book of great openness and wisdom.
Should you read My Name Is Lucy Barton before Anything is Possible? Meg Lelvis No, it's not necessary to read Lucy Barton first. I read it over a year before this one, and forgot some details. You discover more depth of Lucy's background, but you get the main idea here.
Which book follows My Name Is Lucy Barton? Following My Name Is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible tells the story of Lucy returning to her hometown of rural Amgash, Illinois.
When was My Name Is Lucy Barton published? My Name is Lucy Barton is a 2016 New York Times bestselling novel and the fifth novel by the American writer Elizabeth Strout. The book was first published in the United States on January 12, 2016 through Random House.