My name is Lucy Barton. Finished 2-25-17, rating 3.75/5, fiction, pub. 2016
Unabridged audio read by Kimberly Farr
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. from Goodreads
I was going to wait to write about this one until after our book club meeting, but since it’s been postponed until June I think I’ll go ahead before I forget about it completely. I listened to this short book and it was okay. The writing was great and the mother-daughter relationship at the center was complex and interesting. The mother was infuriating and I was hoping that Lucy would stand up to her, but as is the case in most parental relationships, they are fraught with landmines that one or both parties would just like to avoid. This made Lucy a weaker character that she might have been if the story had been told just from the point of view of her escaping her poverty-stricken childhood.
It did feel disjointed, jumping from here to there, with nothing much going on, but then by the end all of the little paths merged into something quite complete. I did like it, but I’m not sure I’ll be reading more from the author.
Stacy's Books 
I see mixed reviews about this author’s work so I’ve avoided it. I think it might be too “smart” for me.
Nah, I don’t think it’s too smart for you. 🙂
I agree with Leslie 🙂
This is exactly how I felt about this book. I sort of liked it but I couldn’t really get into it. In the end it was just blah for me.
Oh good! I like more action 🙂
This is one I have been really wanting to read for some time now. I’m sorry it wasn’t better for you, Stacy.
It’s short and I did end up liking it so it wasn’t a complete loss. Maybe after we discuss it at book club I’ll like it better, haha.
Sorry this one didn’t wow you Stacy, I really liked it a lot.
I ended up liking it by the end but it took me so long to get there.
This author has been hit or miss for me as well. I did like this book better than the previous one.
That probably means I shouldn’t bother with more 🙂