Published in paperback 2nd March 2017 by Penguin.
From the cover of the book:
An exquisite story of mothers and daughters from the Pulitzer prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge.Lucy is recovering from an operation in a New York hospital when she wakes to find her estranged mother sitting by her bed. They have not seen one another in years.
As they talk Lucy finds herself recalling her troubled rural childhood and how it was she eventually arrived in the big city, got married and had children. But this unexpected visit leaves her doubting the life she's made: wondering what is lost and what has yet to be found.
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Lucy Barton finds herself separated from her husband William, and her two small daughters, after an appendectomy leaves her confined to hospital with a mystery infection. Lonely and desperate to get back home to her family, Lucy looks forward to the daily visits her her kindly doctor, but her anxiety that her daughters are not being cared for properly means she is unable to rest.
Then one day she awakes to find her estranged mother sitting quietly at the foot of her bed. This is a woman who Lucy has not spoken to for years, and yet she is immediately comforted by her presence, finally able to sleep under her watchful gaze. In the days that follow, Lucy and her mother talk in a rambling, inconsequential way about family and acquaintances from the past, without ever addressing the deeply ingrained dysfunction in their family, or the reasons why they have not spoken for years - until her mother once again disappears from her life. These are conversations that cause Lucy to revisit pivotal moments from her childhood, and set her on a tangent of questioning quite how much of a success she has made of her life since leaving behind the poverty of home to go to college and reinvent herself.
My Name is Lucy Barton is one of those books that gets right under your skin. What begins as the story of a young mother confined to her hospital bed, worrying about her husband and children at home, becomes an exploration of the past - and a reflection on where life has brought her.
Lucy's conversations with her mother are strange for two women who have not seen each other for years - a subject that they never actually address. As Lucy begins to remember heartrending episodes from her past, we come to understand why she has become estranged from her own family, but is is not until she also starts to reflect on her life now that we can see how the themes of loneliness, alienation and the desperate need for connection have run through her whole life.
The text is curiously rambling, almost conversational, jumping back and forth in time, sometimes skirting deep issues and mentioning them obliquely, and other times delving into very upsetting moments from Lucy's childhood and teenage years. Although nothing is ever truly resolved between Lucy and her family, because the past is never addressed directly, it is easy to see that Lucy suffers with a crippling dose of PTSD from her experiences, and the impact of her mother's visit on what follows is significant indeed.
This is a book that flows beautifully, and carries mighty emotional heft, despite being under 200 pages. For me, the most poignant thing is Lucy's obvious capacity to love, which never truly seems to be rewarded, but there are so many lovely moments of the kindness of strangers that will warm your heart amongst the heartbreak too. It's touching, tender, heart-rending and wonderful.
Keep your eyes peeled for my review of the brand new sequel to this book, Oh William, coming tomorrow!
My Name is Lucy Barton is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer.
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