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My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel

Read by:
Kimberly Farr
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Ratings
Book
43
Narrator
14
Release Date
January 12, 2016
Duration
4 hours 12 minutes
Summary
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A simple hospital visit becomes a portal to the tender relationship between mother and daughter in this extraordinary novel by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Olive Kitteridge and The Burgess Boys.

Now a Broadway play starring Laura Linney produced by Manhattan Theatre Club and London Theatre Company • LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • The New York Times Book Review • NPR • BookPage • LibraryReads • Minneapolis Star Tribune • St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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 lie 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. Knitting this powerful narrative together is the brilliant storytelling voice of Lucy herself: keenly observant, deeply human, and truly unforgettable.

Praise for My Name Is Lucy Barton

“A quiet, sublimely merciful contemporary novel about love, yearning, and resilience in a family damaged beyond words.”—The Boston Globe

“It is Lucy’s gentle honesty, complex relationship with her husband, and nuanced response to her mother’s shortcomings that make this novel so subtly powerful.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“A short novel about love, particularly the complicated love between mothers and daughters, but also simpler, more sudden bonds . . . It evokes these connections in a style so spare, so pure and so profound the book almost seems to be a kind of scripture or sutra, if a very down-to-earth and unpretentious one.”—Newsday

“Spectacular . . . Smart and cagey in every way. It is both a book of withholdings and a book of great openness and wisdom. . . . [Strout] is in supreme and magnificent command of this novel at all times.”—Lily King, The Washington Post

“An aching, illuminating look at mother-daughter devotion.”—People
Reviews
Profile Avatar Joanne V. Jun 2026

Loved this relatable mother / daughter story!

Profile Avatar Nancy Sep 2025

Every life has a story, and that story is immensely important to the person living it. The wonder is that a novelist can create a fictional character with an ordinary life, and strip away the prejudices that tell us nothing happened, and reveal something universal and informative about 'the human condition,' that teaches us how to better live. [potential spoilers removed] An author does not usually give us direct clues to the meaning of their work; it is hidden away, little things here and there which the reader puts together. Lucy's writing teacher tells her exactly what she is writing about: This is a story about love, she says, people who love imperfectly, "because we all love imperfectly." You have only one story, Lucy had been told. And Lucy tells us about her life, how people think she came from nothing, which she knows is not true, and how she just lived her life, blindly, fighting to do what she needs to do.

Profile Avatar Judy P. Sep 2022

Very good book but way too short!!! Was that intentional so as to get you to buy the next one ( which I’m going to do) this book has so much familiar dysfunctional that you’re bound to see yourself in parts of it , even if it’s very small. Really did enjoy it!

Profile Avatar Anonymous Jan 2022

Self indulgent rambling repetitive no plot. Seemed more like a disgorgement of the character's disjointed psychotherapy sessions. I have enough problems of my own, thanks. The narrator was perfect for this book but was irritating to listen to as it reminded me of my mother-in-law's controlling, biting voice. A me problem, to be sure, but you get it.

Profile Avatar J-Hep Dec 2021

Enjoyed the story.

Profile Avatar Lisa A Aug 2017

really enjoyed this book

Profile Avatar Lisa Roling Mar 2016

This book was a rambling of disconnected stories. I do not understand the high rankings of other listeners because this book was a complete bore. The narration was very slow and a bit monotone and at times put me to sleep. I listen while driving so this is not a good thing. I would NOT recommend.

Profile Avatar Karen Humphreys Feb 2016

Touching story made of a series of smaller stories shared between mother and daughter.

Profile Avatar Kathleen Carney Feb 2016

Perfect story about "imperfect love" , which I believe we all witness. Narration well done. Kimberly brigs the novel to life and makes it believable.

My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel

My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel

Author: Elizabeth Strout
Read by: Kimberly Farr
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