Book Review – My Name is Lucy Barton

I received this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy Barton had an unhappy childhood full of poverty and abuse and was the daughter of dysfunctional parents.  As an adult, she has married and is a mother herself when she ends up in the hospital for a period of eight or nine weeks.  She has siblings that she has lost touch with and has not seen her parents for many years.  During her hospital stay, her husband is unable to visit her very often as he works and then has to look after their two young children so he contacts Lucy’s mother to see if she will travel to New York from Illinois to spend some time with Lucy while she is in hospital.  Lucy is very surprised to see her mother and they spend several days together reminiscing about friends and family.  I had a difficult time liking Lucy’s mother.  Although she seemed to make sacrifices when visiting Lucy (sat by Lucy’s bedside night and day during her time there), I didn’t find her maternal and felt that part of the reason she never left Lucy’s side was because she either didn’t want to spend the money or she didn’t have the money to spend on a hotel room and food.  The upside to this story is that Lucy recognizes the childhood for what it was and that she will never have a relationship with her parents and siblings like a lot of people do but she has turned that around for her own family unit where she shows great love and affection for her children.  You are left with the feeling that Lucy and her children will have a good relationship and that she has broken the dysfunctional circle.  I found this to be a 3.5 star read.