Review: ‘Lucy By The Sea’ by Elizabeth Strout
“Lucy By The Sea” by Elizabeth Strout is the story of a divorced couple, Lucy and William, who goes to Maine from New York City at the start of the pandemic. William insists they leave New York, and Lucy doesn’t understand. He wants their two daughters to leave also, but one wants to remain in New York with her husband. Men don’t shake hands, and people on elevators look at their shoes and wear masks. The reality of this novel is startling. It’s cold in Maine, and Lucy is always cold. They do a puzzle of Van Gogh and watch the news on t.v. A writer Lucy knew dies from the virus, and doctors will not see patients in offices.
Their daughter Becka now works from home, and their other daughter Chrissy from her husband’s parents’ home. William gives Lucy little gifts, such as a sleep mask and they sit in folding chairs and watch a glorious sunset. They talk about people they have known, and it’s easy to talk to one another. Lucy begins to like the ocean and goes for walks with a friend, Bob Burgess. He talks about his poverty as a child, and his brother, a lawyer, who defended a man he knew was guilty.
William tells Lucy he had cancer and didn’t tell anyone. The surgeon had to cut the nerves, and now he often pees in his pants. Lucy comforts him. Lucy learns a lot from Will and admires him now. They explore a lot of Maine and meet new people and remember former friends. At the cemeteries, they see tombstones from 1918 and 1919, when people died of the flu. Now they’re living through an epidemic again. Becka gets the virus from her husband Trey, and William calls her. Trey gets better, and Becka puts their apartment on the market and goes to live with Chrissy and Michael. Chrissy loses her baby after going for a run. The doctor said it was okay to keep exercising. Lucy and William sit silently together, quietly mourning.
When both girls get the virus, Becka cares for them, and Lucy is proud of them. William goes to see his sister, brings burnt brownies, and Lucy calls Bob Burgess. They go for a walk, and they talk about everything, including God and love. When William gets home, he keeps saying how happy he is to have seen his sister. They had a lot in common, including their father, who was German. Lucy thinks her mind is going as when she goes into a room; she forgets why she went in there. She thinks the country is on the verge of civil war.
Will wonders how long the country will survive under democracy now. Lucy cries and cries and tells Will to hold her closer and closer. He says if he’s any closer, he’ll be behind her. He feels guilty because he took money from his father, which his grandfather had made by building submarines. He vows to give the money to the university to study potato parasites and climate change. He feels happy about this decision.
Will presents Lucy with a small room, her own studio. She’s never had her own studio and is thrilled. Bob hires three men to remove everything from her New York apartment to bring to Maine or to sell. She starts to write a new book about two men, “Arms and Legs” In October, the foliage is beautiful, and Lucy and Will buy this house, “They have to die somewhere,” he says.
Her brother dies after going to his sister’s for Thanksgiving. Becka goes to Yale law school, and Lucy takes a trip to the city, which is mostly closed with empty train stations and shops and homeless people.
Lucy has made friends in Maine and has made her own choices. William makes her feel special, and this is important. Will is happy with his research on potatoes and climate change. Will they stay together? Will their daughters find happiness too? Does the pandemic change their lives? How might it be? Find out in this tender, realistic story on the new fiction shelf of your local library.