Why do you think Lucy and William have stayed in each other's lives? Did you find yourself wishing they would get back together? Did your opinion change over the course of the book?

Why do you think Lucy and William have stayed in each other's lives? Did you find yourself wishing they would get back together? How, if at all, did your opinion about that change over the course of the book?

Lucy and William shared two daughters, and they delighted in family anecdotes. Their three-year-old Chrissy’s retort to her father’s admonishment being a favorite: “ No, you listen to me. You are starting to piss me off.” Another being how scared 9 yr. old Becca was of Captain Hook when they took the girls to Disney World. Lucy and Wm. also shared scarred childhoods. This is what initially bound them together. Lucy felt safe with Wm. and Wm. trusted Lucy’s opinion, later even in the women he dated. Wm. admitting to night terrors showed that he could confine in his former wife.
At first, I did wish they would reunite. They seemed so comfortable with each other. Later, I felt Wm. would never overcome his infidelity. “Oh William!”, Strout’s title says it all. Constant eye rolls don’t make for good marriages.

I felt like they were comfortable with each other but not passionate, no sparks. They had a bond for the children they had together and I think they grew to understand each other better over time but I do not think they were “ in love.”The familiarity with one another felt safe, and I think they eventually became good friends. That being said I wouldn’t put it past William to attempt an “affair” with his ex wife at some point, maybe that’s why he wanted her to go on vacation with him!

Yes, I concur and recall how Lucy later relayed how “intimacy became a ghastly thing”. Marriage with Wm. became “a visceral, hideous memory... with a familiarity so dense that it filled up the room, your throat almost clogged with the knowledge of the other so that it seemed to practically press your nostrils- the odor of other’s thoughts, the self-consciousness of every spoken word, the slight flicker of an eyebrow slightly raised,the barely perceptible tilting of the chin; no one but the other would know what it meant; but you could not be free living like that, not ever.”

Shared history is a very strong bond. William and Lucy will always share their daughters and the stories and memories of being a family. William seems like the weaker partner in their relationship despite his success. I did not want them to get back together as a romantic couple. I feel they will always remain in each other's lives, but it is much healthier for Lucy to stay on her own.

I agree that shared history, especially having children together, creates a bond. I don't think it needs to go away, just because a marriage ends - it seemed like they were still "family".

I think William and Lucy stayed together because over the years they created a safe place. They had raised two daughters together and were proud of their accomplishments as parents. There would always be family celebrations to enjoy. William began to understand his weaknesses and trusted Lucy's common sense and found it safe to confide in her. Lucy always felt "at home" with William. She accepted his wandering eye and knew it would not change. It was almost like their marriage was made up of three people, particularly when Catherine was alive.
I was glad to see the close friendship develop, they needed each other, but did not want them to get back together. William's insecurity would always have him looking, proving to himself that he could get someone, Oh, William.

I think Lucy and William stayed together because they were embroiled in a comfortable, familiar, co-dependent, albeit unequal relationship that suited both of them. They didn't love each other in that emblematic kind of marriage most of us look for -- a loving, passionate connection.

And wishing they would get back together again, is a big no.

Lucy and William knew each other well and shared a family together. They had grown apart and gone separate ways but still had the bond of having “grown up together”. Like old friends from high school with whom you shared many experiences, those memories will never fade. Their time together was a big part of who they became. They clearly still liked each other, but had no interest in going back to who they were together and their old relationship. Perhaps William did, but Lucy didn’t seem to. It seemed to me that they each appreciated the other and the new relationship they had created.

Although the obvious response is that they had two daughters and were brought together to celebrate family events, their relationship went beyond being co-parents. Lucy looked to William for authority and security (e.g. he was called to help with finances after David's death) and William looked to Lucy for emotional affirmation. He trusted her to be there when he needed support, when he needed a friend. Although they did not "get back together" in any formal way, surely their bond was strengthened by their mutual need for one another although at the end the balance was perhaps reversed with Lucy being the stronger of the two.

I agree with the other participants about why they remained connected. But I was also truly amazed at their intimacy. My experience of ex-spouses is that discomfort, even continued hostility, is a more common situation even for those who shared so much. Their relationship seems so mature and shows a real affection beyond divorce. While they remained friends and even companions, Lucy could not be happy if she and William reunited, nor would he, for while their connection was very strong, I agree with Ottile that constant eye rolls don’t make for a good marriage.

They were connected because they shared children together. Most divorced couples have nothing to do with each other and it becomes a difficult situation for the kids. I know of a couple who have holiday dinners and even take family vacations together. It’s very rare but it provides a pleasant atmosphere for the children.

In the beginning of the book I was hoping Lucy and William would get together but as the book progressed I knew that would never happen. The ending was sad but I found I liked William less and less

They will always have a strong connection with shared children and shared previous life. but, I believe they both find the other exasperating - the more time they spend together they are reminded why a life together is no longer a good idea... particularly Lucy - hence the title 'Oh William.'

For Lucy, an entire new world was opened by William and perhaps more so, his mother. Even though I got the sense that Lucy may have been a little frightened by the new experiences and traveling to new places, I also got the sense that she liked it. I also feel that Lucy stayed with William because he provided her a sense of safety from her past, as well as in her new life with him (and his mother). I didn't want them to get back together because William cheated on her (and his other wives) more than once and didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with his behavior.

Like a very comfortable pair of old shoes, they have come to find solace in the familiarity of someone they know so well and love so much. Though their love is complex and contradictory, it is never less than complete. I did think they might get back together, and the points in the plot where they are alone and lonely (I think especially of the hotel room in Maine) seem to be a setup for them to kiss but I'm glad they didn't because the plot is more compelling if the tension between them remains intact. Besides, William would drive anyone crazy after not too long, so it's just as well they are apart.

I believe that they really loved each other perhaps not as husband and wife but as friends. That is the bond they had throughout their lives.

I think William and Lucy stayed in each other’s lives because they had spent so many years living together and raising their children. They seemed to understand each other very well. Sometimes when you go through difficult times, it is nice to have someone who understands how you might feel and how you react to situations. I have known people who had long marriages who helped their ex-spouse when they were seriously ill. Relationships change, but William is still the children’s father. Sometimes that is the impetus for a different kind of relationship after divorce. Early in the book I thought it might be good for them to reunite, but as the story unfolded I realized that Lucy deserved a better relationship.

Lucy and William had strong feelings for one another based on their many shared experiences both during and after their marriage. I felt Lucy was able to overcome many obstacles in her life and became stronger and more self-assured as the years went by. William, on the other hand, had difficulty with self-reflection, was self-absorbed and had great difficulty developing real intimacy with others. Lucy really cared for him, and as he got older he depended upon her. There was "joy" in Lucy, but not in William.

Lucy and William stayed in each other's lives because of a past shared a marriage and 2 children. They also respect each other's opinion and feel they can speak openly with each other. They can relate to one another as friends, but William is still too self-absorbed to be a good marriage partner for Lucy.

Mainly because of the children. They did like each other and enjoyed their shared history. But getting back together was out of the question. William was unable to stay faithful.

Because they are bonded in ways that are deep and significant, but they clearly don’t understand and appreciate their significance. The breakthrough likely will happen on the trip they take after the novel’s end, in which they will finally recognize that these deeper bonds are in fact the bases for sustainable relationships. That is why they find themselves together repeatedly. And, forgive each other, repeatedly.

I think Lucy and William have stayed together because they had children and it was in the best interest of the children. I also think Lucy cared for William's overall well-being because she had children with him. I did want them to get back together at first but changed my mind by the end. William is set in his ways and will never change. Lucy deserves better than William.

Their relationship begs the age-old question: once you have loved someone does love ever completely die? Certainly it changes character. But once you have built and shared a life with someone, I don't think you stop caring about them completely, even after it becomes apparent that you cannot continue to be in a relationship with them.

I think Lucy felt a need to continue to be William's caretaker, in some ways, because she knew his strengths and weaknesses, and recognized that he needed her even though they could not remain together. And he cares deeply about her, as well, as evidenced by the way they still call each other by their nicknames even as they get on each other's nerves & fuss about little annoyances. William was emotionally detached and unavailable to Lucy, and betrayed her. But Lucy has always felt invisible in the world “in the deepest way,” even though she knows that she truly isn’t. So she was, in her own way, equally emotionally unavailable to him.