How do we get to know about the characters who populate this book?

How do we get to know about the characters who populate this book? Do we learn about them because they tell us? Through the eyes of other people? Through the filters of our own experience. I found myself not liking Lucy or William that much but discovered that I learned more about them because I found them lacking. I wonder if this is true for other readers of the book. Please share your experience.

We got to know the characters who populate this book through Lucy describing them to us. She is very specific in her details of each character and every setting. She describes their good points and their bad points and her reactions to each person. What I liked about Lucy and William was the fact that they were very human in their foibles. Lucy didn't push her descriptions, just told us and let us decide whether or not we liked the character. What the reader has to decide for themselves is whether Lucy is a reliable narrator? Do you accept her opinions or do you question them?

I feel you need to have read some of Elizabeth Strout's other books to get to know these characters better. I recognized references to other books, but it has been a while since I read them so I feel I really missed out on getting to know the characters here better.

Since Lucy is the narrator, it is through her writing that we get to know the characters in the book. So if she likes an individual, her writing will describe this character favorably, even if they may have foibles. The opposite is true also, of course.

Obviously, with Lucy's first-person narration, it is Lucy who introduces readers to the characters. Although Lucy is providing the descriptions, it still is possible to read between the lines. I do not think it is necessary to have read other Strout novels to know the characters well.

Through Lucy's descriptions. I felt she gave very good all-around descriptions of the characters.

Believe it or not, I have not read any of Stout's other books but I understood the characters clearly. Lucy is very descriptive in her details of herself and other characters of the stories. I disagree that other books need to be read before reading this book. I will now read some of the other books because I enjoyed this one so much!