A review by rebeccahussey
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann

5.0

I adore this book. Here's what I wrote about it over at Book Riot before I'd finished: I haven’t finished this one yet, but, in my defense, it’s 1,000+ pages long. I’m loving every single page. Not only is this book very long, but the main narrative is written in one long, stream-of-consciousness, run-on sentence, following the thoughts of a woman living in Ohio. She works as a baker from her home and is raising four children. Her interior monologue is interspersed with short sections from the point of view of a mountain lion. If all this sounds intimidating, let me assure you that the novel is not difficult. The narrator’s thoughts are fascinating, covering Laura Ingalls Wilder, gun control, Trump, climate change, Anne of Green Gables, her children, the pies she spends all day baking, her social anxieties, the everyday objects that fill her life, and so much more. She is funny, reflective, worried, angry, and above all endlessly entertaining. I’m still figuring out how the mountain lion narrative fits in, although she, too, is a mother, and her story surely offers a parallel or contrast to the human account of motherhood. I’m in awe of the ambition of this novel, its range, depth, and inventiveness, and I love that it’s focused on one woman’s thoughts and feelings. More of this, please.

https://bookriot.com/2019/09/19/indie-press-round-up-september-2019/