Oh william - elizabeth strout

• The book is part of The Booker Prize 2022 Longlist 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.

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 OFarrell One of Americas finest writers - Sunday Times This is meticulously observed writing, full of probing psychological insight.

Lucy Barton is one of literatures immortal characters-brittle, damaged, unravelling, vulnerable and, most of all, ordinary-like us all - Booker Prize Judges.