by Elizabeth Strout
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| List Price: | $14.00 |
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Product Description
At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.
As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life–sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition–its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.
Praise for Olive Kitteridge:
“Perceptive, deeply empathetic . . . Olive is the axis around which these thirteen complex, relentlessly human narratives spin themselves into Elizabeth Strout’s unforgettable novel in stories.”
–O: The Oprah Magazine
“Fiction lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. . . . You’ll never forget her. . . . [Elizabeth Strout] constructs her stories with rich irony and moments of genuine surprise and intense emotion. . . . Glorious, powerful stuff.”
–USA Today
“Funny, wicked and remorseful, Mrs. Kitteridge is a compelling life force, a red-blooded original. When she’s not onstage, we look forward to her return. The book is a page-turner because of her.”
–San Francisco Chronicle
“Olive Kitteridge still lingers in memory like a treasured photograph.”
–Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Rarely does a story collection pack such a gutsy emotional punch.”
–Entertainment Weekly
“Strout animates the ordinary with astonishing force. . . . [She] makes us experience not only the terrors of change but also the terrifying hope that change can bring: she plunges us into these churning waters and we come up gasping for air.”
–The New Yorker
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Average Customer Review:
3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
 terrible waste of time, 2008-12-29
I really hated this book - after seeing all the glowing reviews, I rushed out to get it. Naturally, another crummy book endorsed by Oprah! I could not stand Olive, nor it seems could anyone else in her town. If you can't stand the main character, then the book is hard to enjoy. I also could not believe the political ranting about George Bush, I can see why all the liberal media loved this book. I don't like fiction that makes political statements. In the end, a bunch of short stories that don't connect, and a character who doesn't deserve a second chance at life, after making everyone in her life miserable. A lone voice, but I stand by my opinion.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Intertwined stories draw honest portrait of flawed, interesting character, 2008-12-23
I'm not usually a fan of short stories - I often find it difficult to get to "know" a character well enough to become invested. However, Olive Kitteridge is more like a full length novel split into many parts narrated by different characters. Sometimes the protagonist, Olive, tells the story from her own perspective; in other stories she only makes a brief cameo appearance. The format makes it possible for the reader to actually understand Olive better than most protagonists, because we get to see her from many different perspectives. Elizabeth Strout presents a triangulated view of Olive and the results are engrossing.
Though she's not a particularly likable person, I found myself rooting for Olive's redemption (and happiness). Instead of making Olive seem too shrill and overbearing, Strout manages to make Olive seem human - with all of the foibles and follies of a work in progress. She means well, but doesn't necessarily go about expressing that in a healthy way. Though we only have a moment to get to know many of the minor characters in the stories, Strout manages to fill her "novel" with a full set of complex, interesting townspeople whom the reader feels fortunate to get to know.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 A Fascinating if not lovable character. , 2008-11-26
I chose this book as a selection for our book group and now await the others' reactions. Olive seems incapable of affection yet envies the trait in others. Is it due to her parents' childrearing or just bad genes? She seems unable to express any emotion completely, yet her husband remains devoted and her former students remember her as someone who impacted their lives. She does her best with perfect strangers - but why? The other characters of the little Maine town are quirky, imperfect and we find they have some connection to Olive - some close, others in passing. I found myself still hoping she would make another human connection, before it is too late. Olive is a tough old bird who appears to not care what others think. Yet she found a place in this reader's heart, and may in yours.
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 A Bunch of Short Stories, 2008-11-19
I kept thinking that the different stories were going to have more in common than the characters living in the same town and knew Olive or were her students. The book is filled with character portrayals that never intertwine with the main story line or are resolved individually. Some of the portrayals are brilliant, such as the pianist, but I wanted more of her. As literature, this is a wonderful book, and the writing is rich and evocative. As a story, it is pretty weak. The development of Olive's son and husband is well done, but the other characters never work into the book. It is just like a bunch of short stories - some of them unresolved. Also, this is about the third book I've read that puts September 11 into the story. Why do authors feel the need to work 9-11 into their writing? Something like half the population doesn't believe the offical 9-11 story and trying to work it into the novel gives the book a propaganda edge to it and ruins it's originality.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A "Maine" Character not to be Forgotten!, 2008-10-25
Elizabeth Strout is a master of characterization. She has insight into the multilayered dynamics of what makes us human. Her portrayal of Olive Kitteridge is immensely intuitive. Olive is a sixty four year old retired math teacher who lives in coastal Maine. Through 13 short stories we come to know Olive from a variety of perspectives ...and in turn we also learn about the complicated relationships of the people in this insulated Maine town. Olive is a character who will long stay in the mind and heart. She encompasses the best and worst of what makes us human. Her relationship with her son and husband, Henry, is both the warmest and the coldest that one can imagine.It is this dichotomy that makes Olive so intriguing .There are times you will cheer for her, scold her, cry for her and ultimately root for her. She is many women, many mothers, many wives........the best and worst in all of them. In a masterfully written novel, Elizabeth Strout has brought to life an immensely complicated Olive who flits in and out of the lives of the people in this Maine community.......bringing with her doses of sarcasm, pushiness,narrowmindedness,as well as great sensitivity and compassion.These same qualities create major issues with those closest to Olive.The themes of loneliness,depression,growing old,being loved,and being needed,run through all 13 stories. There are two journeys of discovery in this novel. As the reader comes to discover Olive, she, too, begins to discover herself. She is forced to confront the darker sides of her nature as she faces the uncertainties of getting older. Strout is particularly sensitive to the issues and emotions of older characters.The last chapter is a tour de force and packs an immense emotional whallop! All in all this is a masterwork of character study.Kudos to Strout.I would love to know more about the younger Olive....her courtship to Henry and the early years that shaped the woman we come to know late in life. Another book, please.........Elizabeth!!!
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