A review by smay
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It took me several months, but I finally finished Ducks, Newburyport. It was long but definitely worth it. Early on I switched to the audiobook which really helped for me. I started the book during the early days of lockdown and reading the paper copy was a little anxiety-inducing. The audiobook is narrated by Stephanie Elynne who reads with somewhat of a chipper voice which was much nicer than my own for this book. Ducks, Newburyport is not a perfect book. There were plenty of times where my mind wandered off during long lists of brands or associative words that didn't mean anything to me. I'm not sure if all of it was necessary, but I did get really into listening to her thoughts, sometimes tuning out to follow my own train of thought and then getting back in again and not really having missed anything. For me, it felt like the perfect read during a lockdown, even though I kept thinking that the main character would probably have freaked out even more if it took place during this time.