Oh William!
{{short description|2021 novel by Elizabeth Strout}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
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| pub_date = October 19, 2021
| media_type = Print, e-book, audiobook
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| awards =
| isbn = 9780812989434
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| publisher = Random House
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| preceded_by = My Name Is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible
| followed_by = Lucy by the Sea
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| wikisource =
| notes =
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| published = 2021
| name = Oh William!
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| image = Oh William! Book cover.jpg
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| caption = First edition
| author = Elizabeth Strout
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| set_in = New York City
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series = Lucy Barton
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}}
Oh William! is a novel by American writer Elizabeth Strout, published on October 19, 2021, by Random House. The novel focusses on a now successful, middle-age writer, Lucy Barton, whose earlier life was at the center of Strout's novels My Name Is Lucy Barton (2016) and Anything Is Possible (2017). It deals in particular with her relationship to her ex-husband, William, with whom she has two adult daughters. While he is now in his third marriage, Lucy has been recently widowed after a happy second marriage. The novel also explores Williams's family history and reveals unexpected details about his now deceased mother and father.{{Cite news|last=Thomas-Corr|first=Johanna|title=Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout review — the brilliant new novel by the author of Olive Kitteridge|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/oh-william-by-elizabeth-strout-review-the-brilliant-new-novel-by-the-author-of-olive-kitteridge-pwnjgxgrh|access-date=2021-12-27|issn=0140-0460}} The story of how these findings impact their later lives will be continued in the fourth novel in the series, Lucy by the Sea (2022).
The book was a New York Times and IndieBound best seller.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-19|title=Oh William!|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/elizabeth-strout/oh-william/|access-date=2021-12-26|website=Kirkus Reviews}} It was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize{{cite news|last=Shaffi|first=Sarah|date= 2022-07-26|title=Booker prize longlist of 13 writers aged 20 to 87 announced|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jul/26/booker-prize-longlist-of-13-writers-aged-20-to-87-announced|access-date= 2022-07-26}}{{Cite web |title=Garner, Bulawayo and Strout on Booker shortlist |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/garner-bulawayo-and-strout-on-booker-shortlist |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=The Bookseller |language=En}} which was announced on September 6, 2022.{{Cite web |title=Oh William! {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/oh-william |access-date=2022-10-16 |website=thebookerprizes.com |language=en}}
Reception
Oh William! was a New York Times and IndieBound best seller and received positive reviews from various outlets. According to Book Marks, the book received "rave" reviews based on thirty-three critics: twenty-five "rave" reviews and eight "positive" reviews.{{cite web|title=Oh William!|url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/oh-william/|work=Book Marks|access-date=August 30, 2022}} In the January/February 2022 issue of Bookmarks, the book was scored four out of five. The magazine's critical summary reads: "Readers will embrace a return to Strout's deeply familiar characters: "We know we're in good hands" (NPR)".{{Cite web |title=Oh William!|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Oh+William!.-a0706701558|access-date=14 January 2023 |website=Bookmarks}}{{Cite web |title=Oh William!|url=https://lsc-pagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=764789|access-date=14 January 2023 |website=Bookmarks |date=Nov–Dec 2022|page=32}}{{Cite web |date=2023-10-04 |title=Oh William!|url=https://www.bibliosurf.com/Oh-William.html|access-date=2023-10-04 |website=Bibliosurf |language=fr}}
Booklist provided Oh William! a starred review and called it "a masterful, wise, moving, and ultimately uplifting meditation on human existence."{{Cite web|last=Prindiville|first=Mary Ellen|date=August 2021|title=Oh William!|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Oh-William-/pid=9747208|access-date=2021-12-26|website=Booklist}} Publishers Weekly also provided a starred review.{{Cite web|title=Fiction Book Review: Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout. Random House, $27 (256p) ISBN 978-0-8129-8943-4|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8129-8943-4|access-date=2021-12-27|website=PublishersWeekly.com|language=en}}
Pankaj Mishra of The New York Review of Books complimented Strout's prose, stating her "unshowy, sparing of metaphor ... vivid with both necessary and contingent detail, matches her democracy of subject and theme, and seems agile enough to describe any human situation."{{Cite news|last=Mishra|first=Pankaj|date=November 4, 2021|title=Writing the Other America|language=en|work=The New York Times Book Review|url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2021/11/04/elizabeth-strout-oh-william-writing-america/|access-date=2021-12-27|issn=0028-7504}} The Los Angeles Times mirrored the sentiment, stating, "Strout doesn’t dress language up in a tuxedo when a wool sweater will suffice. Other novelists must berate themselves when they see what Strout pulls off without any tacky pyrotechnics. Straightforward goes down so easy and feels so refreshing."{{Cite web|last=Kelly|first=Hillary|date=2021-10-19|title=Review: How Elizabeth Strout's simplicity runs rings around more pyrotechnic novelists|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-10-19/review-only-elizabeth-strout-can-make-quiet-magic-out-of-operatic-plots-and-exclamation-points|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}
Speaking of Strout's strengths in creating natural dialogue, The New York Times Book Review
The Financial Times noted that "What sets Strout’s work apart is her characterisation."{{Cite news|last=Levitin|first=Mia|date=2021-10-08|title=Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout — mysteries of marriage|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3f858c7a-3d92-44e0-a992-d081b4cc439c|access-date=2021-12-27}} Library Journal expanded on the sentiment, stating that Strout's characters are "so developed, so human and flawed, that readers might feel frustrated with them, as one would with a friend or family member."{{Cite web|last=Hoffert|first=Barbara|date=2021-09-24|title=Oh William!|url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/oh-william-2129255|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Library Journal}} The Spectator continues, stating that Strout's use of "you" throughout the story asks the reader "to reassess every single relationship they’ve ever had: with their partner, their parents, their children and themselves, while they can still do something about it."{{Cite web|last=Mesure|first=Susie|date=2021-10-16|title=Reassess every relationship you've ever had before it's too late|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/reassess-every-relationship-you-ve-ever-had-before-it-s-too-late|access-date=2021-12-27|website=The Spectator Australia|language=en-US}}
The Wall Street Journal claimed that "Elizabeth’s Strout’s Lucy Barton novels, of which Oh William! is the latest, have become essential to the contemporary canon."{{Cite news|last=Sacks|first=Sam|date=2021-10-22|title=Fiction: Elizabeth Strout's 'Oh William!'|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/fiction-book-review-elizabeth-strout-oh-william-asali-solomon-susan-daitch-11634910425|access-date=2021-12-27|issn=0099-9660}}
Oh WIlliam! also received positive reviews from The Boston Globe,{{Cite web|last=Medwed|first=Mameve|date= 2021-10-14|title=Tracing a post-divorce road trip in 'Oh William!' |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/10/14/arts/tracing-post-divorce-road-trip-oh-william/|access-date=2021-12-27|website=The Boston Globe|language=en-US}} NPR,{{Cite news|last=McAlpin|first=Heller|date=2021-10-19|title=Lucy Barton returns — and reconnects with an old love — in 'Oh William!'|language=en|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/19/1047132621/elizabeth-strout-oh-william-review|access-date=2021-12-27}} The Washington Post,{{Cite news|last=Frank|first=Joan|date=2021-10-19|title=Review {{!}} Elizabeth Strout's 'Oh William!' is yet another dazzler|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/elizabeth-strout-oh-william/2021/10/19/fff4396c-305b-11ec-93e2-dba2c2c11851_story.html|access-date=2021-12-27|issn=0190-8286}} The Sunday Times, The Guardian,{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Laura|date=2021-10-20|title=Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout review – the return of Lucy Barton|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/20/oh-william-by-elizabeth-strout-review-the-return-of-lucy-barton|access-date=2021-12-27|website=the Guardian|language=en}} The Irish Times,{{Cite news|last=MacMahon|first=Kathleen|title=Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout: a profoundly moving experience|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/oh-william-by-elizabeth-strout-a-profoundly-moving-experience-1.4695359|access-date=2021-12-27|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}} The Scotsman,{{Cite web|last=Massie|first=Allan|date=2021-10-27|title=Book review: Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout|url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/book-review-oh-william-by-elizabeth-strout-3433187|access-date=2021-12-27|website=The Scotsman|language=en}} I News,{{Cite web|date=2021-10-21|title=Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout is the best Lucy Barton book yet|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/books/oh-william-elizabeth-strout-book-review-dazzling-best-lucy-barton-book-yet-1261028|access-date=2021-12-27|website=I News|language=en}} Associated Press,{{Cite web|last=Levin|first=Ann|date=2021-10-18|title=Review: Elizabeth Strout writes a 'Lucy Barton' sequel|url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-book-reviews-elizabeth-strout-cc7cd42aded875348b876c202f5bca39|access-date=2021-12-27|website=AP NEWS|language=en}} and The Times Literary Supplement.{{Cite web|last=Silcox|first=Beejay|date= 2021-10-29|title=Elizabeth Strout's under-celebrated boldness|url=https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/oh-william-elizabeth-strout-book-review-beejay-silcox/|access-date=2021-12-27|website=The Times Literary Supplement|language=en-GB}}
Contrary to the above, Connie Ogle of The Star Tribune noted that "While it's always a pleasure to read Strout's restrained but lovely prose and skillful character sketches, Oh William! lacks the urgency and affecting, understated power of the original novel."{{Cite web|last=Ogle|first=Connie|date=2021-10-15|title=REVIEW: "Oh William!" by Elizabeth Strout|url=https://www.startribune.com/review-oh-william-by-elizabeth-strout/600106856/|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Star Tribune}} The San Francisco Chronicle's Alexis Burling echoed the sentiment, stating that the book is a "welcome return to form (if you liked 2016’s somewhat claustrophobic My Name Is Lucy Barton and are able to gloss over Strout’s habit of rehashing some of the old plotlines in this one, that is)."{{Cite web|last=Burling|first=Alexis|date= 2021-10-18|title=Review: Elizabeth Strout's 'Oh William!' is a poignant master class on aging and vulnerability|url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/review-elizabeth-strouts-oh-william-is-a-poignant-master-class-on-aging-and-vulnerability|access-date=2021-12-27|website=San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide|language=en-US}}
Maureen Corrigan,{{Cite news|last=Corrigan|first=Maureen|date=2021-12-13|title=Literary fiction dominates Maureen Corrigan's 2021 Best Books list|language=en|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/12/13/1060830513/maureen-corrigans-2021-best-books-list|access-date=2021-12-27}} The New York Times Book Review,{{Cite news|date=2021-11-30|title=The 10 Best Books of 2021|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/books/review/best-books-2021.html|access-date=2021-12-27|issn=0362-4331}} The Washington Post,{{Cite news|date=2021-11-18|title=Review {{!}} 50 notable works of fiction|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/11/18/2021-books-fiction/|access-date=2021-12-27|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en}} TIME,{{Cite magazine|title='Oh William!' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2021|url=https://time.com/collection/100-must-read-books-2021/6120595/oh-william/|access-date=2021-12-27|magazine=Time|language=en}} BBC,{{Cite web|last1=Laurence|first1=Rebecca|last2=Baker|first2=Lindsay|date=2021-12-22|title=The best books of the year 2021|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210409-the-best-books-of-2021-so-far|access-date=2021-12-27|website=BBC|language=en}} and Vulture{{Cite web|last=Kelly|first=Hillary|date=2021-12-15|title=The Best Books of 2021|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-books-of-2021.html|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Vulture|language=en-us}} named it one of the best books of the year.
Oh William! was also a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction (2021).{{Cite web|title=Oh William!|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56294820-oh-william?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=sksuYKAOzE&rank=1|access-date=2021-12-26|website=Goodreads}} The novel was named on the longlist and shortlist for the 2022 Booker Prize (Strout having been previously nominated for the Booker Prize in 2016 with My Name Is Lucy Barton).{{cite magazine|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/booker-prize-longlist-dominated-by-indies-as-judges-pick-youngest-and-oldest-ever-nominees|title=Booker Prize longlist dominated by indies as judges pick youngest and oldest ever nominees|first=Sian|last=Bayley|magazine=The Bookseller|date= 2022-07-26|access-date= 2022-08-01}}