Rating: 
Summary: A life of futility
Review: I am not a reader of novels, but there are certain authors whose works I never miss. One is William Trevor and the other V.S. Naipaul. Er..and oh, yes, Martin Amis.
The atmosphere Trevor is able to conjure in his writing is genial. A sadness permeates this tale like no other book I have read. Of course, the plot is really quite far fetched, but I suppose in setting the period beginning in 1921, he relies on the dearth of modern communications to explain the inability to contact Lucy's parents. On the other hand, the device of Lucy losing her clothes when swimming and for them to be found by a dog just when the family prepares to depart for England leasding to a jumped conclusion needs no period; it is scarcely credible at any time! Plot, however, is not one of my interests, but I do take great pleasure in Trevor's wonderfully written. painstaking prose. It says much that I read the book in two sittings!
Rating: 
Summary: "Well-crafted" but not well written
Review: I bought this book on a trip to Ireland and was really looking forward to reading it, after all the rave reviews I had read in the British press. I read mostly the nineteenth-century classics, and obviously reviewers read mostly newly issued novels and have a totally different perspective on what is wonderful, but I was expecting from the reviews that this book would be engrossing. It is not. The premise is certainly interesting, although it strains credulity, and I did want to find out what happened next for at least the first half of the book, but the basic problem is that the characters are cardboard, flat-affect, cold and boring and I couldn't care about them. I would have found Lucy Gault annoying if I could have believed she was real; she is a self-mythologizer swanning around sewing a fine seam in a white dress on the farm, where she doesn't lift a finger to help the people raising her. (Shades of "Yes Massa" are seen in this book.) I didn't even care enough to read past the middle of the book, but I have to admit I did flip through to the end to see what happened (nothing). This is the kind of book that gets great reviews because of its elegant, cool, unsentimental language. Personally, I think you can go too far in that direction, and this book does. I did find myself curious about the author though. Was his youth in Ireland really so sad? Why doesn't he write a memoir instead?
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story, beautifully told
Review: I couldn't put this beautiful little book down. It is written with a wonderful Irish lyrical voice. You feel as though you are in a dream. Lucy's story is a sad one, but you don't really feel sad for her. You feel as though life proceeds according to a pre-ordained rhythm unknown to those who live it. William Trevor is a man of sensitive genius.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story, beautifully told
Review: I couldn't put this beautiful little book down. It is written with a wonderful Irish lyrical voice. You feel as though you are in a dream. Lucy's story is a sad one, but you don't really feel sad for her. You feel as though life proceeds according to a pre-ordained rhythm unknown to those who live it. William Trevor is a man of sensitive genius.
Rating: 
Summary: Page Turner
Review: I for one couldn't put this book down. The storyline grabbed me and kept me intrigued over the course of two days. William Trevor is an excellent seasoned writer who winds an awesome tale.
Rating:
Summary: Love the writing, despised Lucy
Review: I gave it three stars because the writing is top-notch, but the story is boring and annoying. Mr. Trevor writes well. He created the scenes, the feelings. It was wonderful. I just wish Mr. Trevor would have created a multi-dimensional main character who didn't spend the entire book insisting, despite the love of good people who raised her, upon wallowing in misery and self-pity. Lucy did that and more. By the middle of the book I wanted to reach through the pages and wring her neck. "Yeah, okay, you made a mistake, but geez, honey, you were a kid. GET OVER IT." I simply cannot appreciate a character, or a real live person, who behaves this way. If you, like me, have zero patience for whiners who prefer complaining, self-imposed distress, and self-inflicted wretchedness to sucking it up and getting on with the business of life, then consider yourself warned. Read the book for the writing, and, if you can, try to look beyond Lucy and her stubborn, selfish choice to reject all the love she was given and be unhappy.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly lame
Review: I have read all of William Trevor's works, and up until this novel believe that he has only "failed" twice (Children of Dynmouth and Other People's Worlds). By fail, I mean, fail to execute his vision, because an authorial heavy-handedness forced the characters to ends that simply were not credible. The disturbing thing about Lucy Gault is how derivative it is... The plot, such as it is, simply strains credulity. At no point is the suspension of disbelief successfully achieved. Once again, two vapid Protestant wallflowers retreat to (where else in a Trevor story) Italy to get over the supposed loss of a child they never fully attempted to confirm was dead. The child falls into the now tired Trevor syndrome of attaching herself to some property and some memories and depriving herself of a real life in order never to let go of what she's lost. Again, this was already done--and to much better effect in the stories I mentioned above. As I said, a surprising failure considering the quality of his last (Death in Summer).
Rating:
Summary: Another fine piece of work from William Trevor
Review: I just finished the novel, and I have to say I disagree strongly with some of the negative comments from other reviewers. While it is difficult to say that I enjoyed the book -- it is a profoundly sad and tragic story -- there can be no doubt that Trevor has once again delivered a very moving and involving tale. How should Lucy's parents have tried harder to determine her fate? After finding some of her clothing on the beach and no other sign of her for weeks, it wouldn't be a stretch for any parent, in 1921 or 2003, to believe that their child had drowned. How should the lawyer have 'tried harder' to find the Gaults in Europe? In my opinion, such questions are pointless in a review, since they are actually projections of what some readers would have wanted to happen, not what Trevor actually wrote. Ultimately, these questions are as fruitless as asking why Lincoln didn't have more bodyguards at Ford's Theatre, or why Bill Buckner couldn't scoop up a slow roller in Game 6. Fate, guilt, remorse, culpability, love, and regret: these are some of the themes that a brilliant writer like William Trevor explores in his work, better than most. Set against the backdrop of Ireland, where such issues are given an added poignancy, makes almost anything that comes from his pen a better read than nearly anything else that passes as contemporary fiction. The Story of Lucy Gault is a tough read, but ultimately, well worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring, Plodding Misery
Review: I loathed this book so much that I was compelled to come here and write a review. I'm on page 212 and I don't think I can bear to make it to the end (page 228). With every ponderous page, I feel more irritated at the stupid, foolish plight of the dull and lifeless characters. The author never lets us into the head of Lucy herself--who one would assume from the title might be the main character! In this book, people sit around doing basically nothing for 20-30 years. If this is supposed to be a sad paean to missed opportunity, it fails. Rather, I regret my own missed opportunity at buying a book with a semblance of drama. Some critics adored this piece of tripe; I can't fathom how it held their interest even for 228 pages.
Rating:
Summary: Sleepless in Trevor Land
Review: I needn't tell you that William Trevor's The Story of Lucy Gault is exquisitely written, masterfully crafted, and his characters poignantly drawn. I will only caution that unless you wish to face a day feeling completely haggard and disheveled, provoke the wrath of your boss for lethargy and tardiness, or anger your children for forgetting to pack their lunches, do not begin this novel just before going to bed.
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