Lucy by the Sea, Elizabeth Strout, author; Kimberly Farr, narrator
When the pandemic hits America, Lucy’s ex-husband William offers her a way out of New York City. The death of her husband David, has left her lost and sad. So when he says pack a bag, I am taking you out of the city, she obeys. He picks her up and takes her to a small town in Maine, away from the hustle and bustle of a city condemned to suffer greatly from the Covid virus. Strout poignantly portrays the effect of the pandemic on both Lucy and those she encounters. Her experience is not that of a Pollyanna, but her way of dealing with it is measured and realistic, although she is afraid. As Lucy and William spend more and more time with each other, they grow in stature in the minds of each other and soon rekindle their affection. Each is able to support and comfort the other when the need arises.
This author has an amazing gift because she seems to address the reader, in her books, as if the reader is a character and a participant, so personal is her approach to the narrative. I felt as if I was the only one she was addressing, and I was able to empathize with Lucy and her children, William and his sister, their friends and their acquaintances, as each tried to make it through the terrible trauma and trials forced upon them and the world by the spreading virus.
Strout writes with such simple and easy to understand language, equally about the most mundane events and the most momentous, always using the appropriate amount of gravity each time, so that the reader is never offended, and is always a part of the conversation. She is the first author to present politics in a more even-handed fashion, that I have come across. She illustrates both sides of the coin, both points of view, so that her approach is not offensive, but it is rational without being tarnished with the usual anger and bias of one political point of view. It does not feel like propaganda, but it feels like an honest appraisal of the current political atmosphere.
In this book, Lucy and William recapture their feelings for each other, grow more tolerant as they realize they are growing old and would like to grow old together. Loneliness and isolation have caused great stress to those with no one to share their fears and their joys. They realize that they are both still very compatible and they recognize the mistakes they made that separated them. There are no fairy tale moments, there are just honest appraisals of their past behavior and honest discussions about the future offered. Both enjoy and support each other, offering comfort and kindness when needed, offering silence when that is more appropriate. They both leave judgment aside.
Lucy, like many who have lived through this pandemic, feels it has made her old. Many of a certain age reading this book, will surely agree. On the other hand, it has also made many realize what is important in life, and it often is not selfishness or greed, but is more about compassion and love for each other. As we have the time to examine our past, we have the luxury also of mending our mistakes.
The author is spot on when she reveals that we are all trapped in our own personal lockdown, since we trap ourselves with our own ideas and emotions. She very poignantly approaches the idea of the loneliness and isolation caused by the pandemic, which was so devastating for those who were sick, as well as those who were well but who were prohibited from comforting their loved ones, who in their last moments of life, had to face their fear and pain alone. Some people neglected their own care, did things they normally wouldn’t as they felt so vulnerable. Often, they sat in judgment of others who didn’t think the same way and didn’t conform.
I loved the fact that Olive Kitteridge made a cameo appearance in this novel. It made me feel even more like I was part of the family, since I knew her well from past novels. The dialogue is so real, and the explanations are so simple and basic, while filled with common sense and compassion, that it is hard to disagree with any of the premises presented, even if you have alternate opinions. For instance, although she thought of George Floyd as innocent and disregarded his criminal past, she seemed even handed in her approach to the subject, neither spouting radical support or radical opposition. Chrissy and Becka, Lucy’s children, marched with the protesters without masks, but she feared for them, and still didn’t go overboard in her description of the event. Her description of the attack on the Capitol was also fair, since she seemed to understand what motivated them, but objected to the more radical participants.
The pandemic drove people to do things and say things they never would have under normal circumstances. The middle of the road disappeared and either end of the extremes of politics grew and the idea of compassion competed with the idea of vengeance, often with vengeance taking center stage. Strout’s description of life during the pandemic is probably one of the most honest and fair portrayals I have read. No one was untouched by the effects of the deadly virus. Everyone knows of someone who died, someone who suffered long Covid or other side effects. Her novel stops short of the continuing boosters, so does not support or condemn the mask wearing or the numerous shots that turned out not to be an actual vaccine.