Lucy by the Sea

I could read about Lucy and her family forever, I think. Lucy is an observer and a writer, and she makes note of the small discrepancies and small joys of her daily life in a simple and wise way. All around her is the world, and that world is churning and sparking and grinding, but Lucy goes on, reflecting on the world but managing to stay apart from it, noting her reactions to the world but not allowing herself to get immersed in it...Lucy is a healthy person, that is, and a person to emulate.

In this volume of Lucy's story, she is amid the pandemic, and her former husband, William, takes her out of the city to a safe place in Maine. There Lucy meets new people—Bob, who helped William find a safe place for Lucy; Bob's wife, Margaret, a minister; Charlene, a cleaner who helps out in a soup kitchen and supports the president Lucy despises. Lucy deals with her daughters and their grownup troubles. And Lucy and William talk and visit and come to know each other all over again.