Pleasant Valley Library Online Book Group discussion

Our book for December is My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. You can reserve your copy from the Mid-Hudson Library System here.

"Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn't spoken for many years, comes to see her. Gentle gossip about people from Lucy's childhood in Amgash, Illinois, seems to reconnect them, but just below the surface lies the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy's life: her escape from her troubled family, her desire to become a writer, her marriage, her love for her two daughters."

Share your thoughts here!

I've started reading the book this week, and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect to find this book interesting, but it's keeping my attention. I really enjoy Elizabeth Strout's writing style. It's very simple but elegant. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm reading a fiction book instead of nonfiction essays. It will be interesting to see how the book ends. Has anyone else been pleasantly surprised (or horribly disappointed)?

Courtney wrote: "I've started reading the book this week, and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect to find this book interesting, but it's keeping my attention. I really enjoy Elizabeth Strout's ..."

I started reading the book a couple months ago and I put it down because it didn't grab me. This time around I'm listening to the audiobook. I really like the narrator and it was keeping my interest in the beginning, but now I'm finding that my mind is wandering more and more as the book progresses. I think the constant jumping around from past, to present, to future is a little much.I do find it intriguing that Lucy is so easily drawn to certain people. There have been several characters she said that she loved and fell in love with. I think her tragic past plays a huge role in her attaching to someone so quickly, but I still don't know the full reasons why.

I'm hoping to start it this weekend.

This was my first read by Elizabeth Stout. I liked it, but I am not sure if I would read another of her books. I did appreciate how she portrayed the depth of forgiveness in all the wrong that had been in her (their) lives.

Lauren wrote: "Courtney wrote: "I've started reading the book this week, and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect to find this book interesting, but it's keeping my attention. I really enjoy El..."

I think I like it because I've been reading a lot of horror/thriller stuff lately and while I love those genres, it's nice to read something a little calmer. I've also haven't been reading the book for very long periods of time; I'll read a few chapters and then come back to it later. I think if I tried to read it all in one go, I would get distracted too. I'm curious about her definition of love. I think she loves different people for different reasons, but like Lauren, I'm not sure exactly why yet.

I finally finished this book (the holidays have been pretty hectic). I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I definitely liked the book, and I think it was worth reading, but I'm not over the moon about it. I feel like this is one of those books where the real story is in the things not said. You have to read between the lines to figure out what has actually happened in Lucy's life. That's kind of what's bothering me because while the story was good, it was very hard to form a connection with Lucy.

I felt as if I was reading a very carefully constructed version of a story that originally had lots of emotion in it, but was written as if it was emotionally censored. I like that style because it forces you to think about the story more, but at the same time, I wish I was able to connect with Lucy.

Basically, I feel exactly like Lucy feels about Sarah Payne's books: "I like the books she wrote. But I can't stop the sense that she stays away from something".