Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

a book I thought I wasn't ready to read yet

Aug 07, 2024

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout | Goodreads

It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us.

Elizabeth Strout tells the story of the fear and struggle we all had to face during isolation and the early days of the pandemic. Lucy is an author living alone in Manhattan when the COVID-19 pandemic started. As the world goes into lockdown, her ex-husband William, uproots Lucy's Manhattan life to Maine for her safety. For the next several months, we follow the dynamics of Lucy and William's relationship as they share one roof again and the new people Lucy will meet in a small, coastal town in Maine.

I don’t know if I like this book. It started okay, then as I went on, I'd roll my eyes while reading it because of Lucy’s privileged life during lockdown. She had inconsequential problems when William asked her to move to Maine, like having to miss her hair appointment. Although to be fair, in retrospect, no one really knew the extent of this pandemic and so, of course, our immediate concerns were our upcoming plans. I also didn’t care much about Lucy and her problems. She had a safe place to live in during the lockdown without worrying about money or food but she goes on and on how this pandemic is hard on her. I’m not saying you really have to suffer hard in order to be heard but Lucy came across as “out of touch” compared to the bigger problems that were eventually highlighted during the pandemic, like our fragile healthcare system. However, I do think I probably would have liked her if I read the other Lucy books first. I feel like I would have “grown up” with her and understood where’s she coming from if I had read Lucy when she was younger through the earlier books. Lucy by The Sea is the fourth book in Strout’s Amgash series in which all books can be read as stand alone as well.

I was also not a fan of the writing style. It felt like this book was the author’s own diary during lockdown and just personified it with one of her existing characters. I felt like this was published just to stay current. I also feel like I wasn't ready for this book yet. It is heavy. Lucy shares her thoughts on the Capitol riots, the murder of George Floyd, the 2020 US elections, and anti-vaxxers. Those times were very troubling and I didn’t want to revisit those just yet.

Then it got better!

I devoured the last 100 pages of this book. Strout explores our slow understanding (to me at least) that this pandemic will be indefinite and how it will change our lives. She takes me into a journey of how Lucy went through her days not knowing how she got through those days. I found myself wondering how I went through those days too.

Several times in the book Lucy thinks about her casual friends in Manhattan, like the old lady who likes to sit outside her building, and how were they faring in this pandemic. Is she okay? Is she safe? Is she still alive? Lucy had no way of knowing. It also got me thinking about the random people I encounter in my pre-pandemic day-to-day life. Like the woman who has the same commute as me. Or the security guard that greets me everyday as I enter my building. I also found myself thinking about a friend I lost to COVID. Even though we haven't spoken for the last couple of years, I was so heartbroken when he died. When I learned he passed away, that's when it became all to real to me. In my own copy of this book I had written a few thoughts I had during lockdown that I haven’t unearthed yet. If you’re like me who delays processing major life events, this book helped me start thinking about those past 4 years.

One of the things that redeemed this book to me is a scene where Lucy’s daughters gives her a surprise visit. It was heartwarming and reaffirming of our need for human connection. I also like the bits where Lucy talks about her childhood in poverty. Strout explores the long-lasting effects of our childhood to our present. There's this scene where Lucy talks about never having a salt and pepper shaker in her childhood home and it was not until she went to college that she realized that food could taste good with just salt and pepper. Strout also explores the loneliness we feel as we grow older and coming to terms with an aging body.

I still feel confused how I feel about this book but I am leaning towards good. I also want to read Strout’s Pulitzer winning book, Olive Kitteridge, someday.

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