book review of olive kittridge

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WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • The beloved first novel featuring Olive Kitteridge, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of My Name is Lucy Barton and the Oprah’s Book Club pick Olive, Again

“Fiction lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. . . . You’ll never forget her.”—USA Today

“Strout animates the ordinary with astonishing force.”—The New Yorker

One of the New York Times’s100 Best Books of the 21st Century

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post Book World, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, People, Entertainment Weekly, The Christian Science Monitor, The Plain Dealer, The Atlantic, Rocky Mountain News, Library Journal
 
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.
 
The inspiration for the Emmy Award–winning HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins, and Bill Murray

From the Publisher

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (September 30, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0812971833
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812971835
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.68 x 8 inches
Reviewer: Harriet
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Choosing to live
Review: There are many reviews here so I won't be redundant. However, I am surprised to see the negative reviews saying this book is boring and depressing. I found the writing to be some of the most beautiful I've ever read, and that, in & of itself, keeps any part from being boring. I generally have a hard time with short story compilations as I don't like to move on just when I'm getting into a character. However, this book was NOT like that. Ms. Strout pulls you in right away in every story/chapter with her powerfully descriptive writing & strong characters. Also I felt it read more like a novel than a collection of short stories especially since there is one uniting character and so much of it is about that main character.Additionally, I did NOT find the main character mean and self-centered as several reviewers did. Of course, she had many moments of those traits, but this book is more about her growth and showing that a person is not all one way or the other. I found Olive to be complex, humorous and yes, even likeable at times, especially when she recognized her own shortcomings. And I loved that she could be so rude and brash but yet sometimes she was the one people remembered perhaps for her more honest take on the world. And also in some ways she perhaps cared MORE than many others who may not have been so outspoken or rude. In a nutshell, I found her refreshingly honest and real.Finally, though many of the stories were sad and had depressing elements, I felt that most of them were truly about choosing to find happiness or strength & persevere in spite of life's hardships. And also how sometimes the little twists and turns & surprises of life can help us to come to terms with it and move on - even, for example, in whether or not to plant the tulips.

Reviewer: Oddsfish
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Well-Written and Wise
Review: Back as a nerd in high school, I began a tradition of reading all of the Pulitzer Prize winning novels. During this last decade, I've been especially glad of my little commitment because the committee has chosen some fantastic works of fiction--Gilead, Empire Falls, The Known World, The Road--that I have no doubt will stand for a very long time. But despite winning the prize, I don't sense yet that Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge has quite garnered the same respect as those other fine novels. Perhaps it doesn't quite deserve to be considered at quite that level, but I was still really taken with the beautiful and precise writing and with the fascinating main character. It is a very worthy Pulitzer selection.I think that some people dislike Olive Kitteridge for two reasons. The first is the novel's structure. It can't, for instance, be called a traditional novel. It's really a collection of short stories, all of which surround or mention the title character. Olive Kitteridge, despite this disparate-seeming structure, though, does seem to me to be making a coherent statement, the individual works coming together to weave a tapestry of the novel's core themes about loss, betrayal, vulnerability, self-security, self-destructiveness, and fears of death and loss. The stories are each themselves beautifully written, and because they view the title character from multiple perspectives, they allow for a full portrait of the complex figure at the heart of the novel, a paradoxical woman who may be both mean and large-hearted, fearful and strong.Olive herself would be the second large reason why people may shrink from the novel. She is a complex character and is not always likeable. I don't see why the main character has to be entirely likeable, though, especially since Olive is so real, so believable and well-drawn. Olive is very human, a flawed woman who sincerely would like to love people and know how to live and be better. I felt for her and enjoyed her wit and intelligence and rooted for her to keep growing.So, I guess that Olive Kitteridge is not for every taste. But it was for mine, a beautifully written and wise work. If you do enjoy Olive Kitteridge, make sure to check out Anne Tyler's Breathing Lessons, another Pulitzer novel (which I count among my very favorites) that Oliver Kitteredge kept reminding me of.

Reviewer: rhodainpgh
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Hope, Loneliness & Olive Kitteridge
Review: I begin with a quote from the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winning Olive Kitteridge: Fiction by Elizabeth Strout:"...then Olive felt something she had not expected to feel again: a sudden surging greediness for life...She remembered what hope was, and this was it. That inner churning that moves you forward, plows you through life the way the boats below plowed the shiny water, the way the plane was plowing forward to a place new, and where she was needed."Restoring hope is crucial for couples who fear they've lost their way, for an individual with profound grief who's lost the most important person in their life, or someone who experiences panic attacks for the first time and feels overwhelmingly out-of-control or for all of us who suffer from the loneliness that's part of the human condition. Olive Kitteridge: Fiction is a luminous novel that captures the very nature of what it means to be human. The author's wisdom about regrets, anger, guilt, wounded souls and the weariness and hardships of life are worth re-reading several times. Six of the interwoven stories were published previously from 1992-2007. This book was worth the wait because there is a layering of characters that has a depth developed with the gift of time.There are two sides of hope which Olive is keenly aware of. Hope is crucial to endure hardship. Also hope is often disappointment delayed (as Carl Whitaker family therapist used to say). Olive is not one to be surprised by disappointment and she lives her life expecting it's daily arrival.Like all difficult people Olive has her strengths. She can recognize her own hard truths; "My son hates me, too." or " She hated the scared part of herself." Her honesty combined with her meanness create an unforgettable three dimensional character. This is a book where the truth of it grabs you and brings tears to your eyes. I re-read the last five pages at least five times. It is a book rich in capturing both the gratitude and struggle of life and asks you not to "squander" your days on this earth. Olive's learning's about her mistakes become etched in our memories as if they are our own.Her loneliness is palpable. There aren't enough books that capture the profound nature of loneliness which is such a huge part of so many people's lives. We are so selfishly unaware in America that we don't take time to introduce single people to each other, whatever their age. In a couple when they lose respect for each other, and disdain begins to crumble their alliance, it can be a terribly lonely place. Ultimately, Olive pays that price because her yawning mouth of hunger and needs obscures seeing the good man beside her and recognizing who her son really is. The author knows the truth, that couples who don't respect each other are on the lonely path to life without sex. Olive Kitteridge boils the terror of loneliness down to it's essence. She represents some of our worst fears for ourselves and she is redeemed by hope to embrace life yet again.So much that is popular lacks substance. Elizabeth Strout has taken her time to write a remarkable book jammed full of substance. Her writing is elegant. She is brilliant because she asks you to consider what is lyrical about life while acknowledging the hardships. It is one of the top three books of my life.

Reviewer: Iris
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I loved this book, the writing of E. Strout is sublime. But Olive - OMG, what a horrible woman !I think in the whole book there was perhaps two times coming from her mouth (or even her thoughts !!!!) something nice. I must say, it ruined the book a little bit for me - to read about such a despicable woman like that, it makes your hair stand upright. How she treats her husband, her son and ALL the people around her... I hated her. Needless to say, I will NOT order the 2nd book "Olive again", lol !I ordered another book of Strout instead, as she is really a wonderful, admirable author.

Reviewer: Jose Maria Navarro
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: No es exactamente una novela, más bien una concatenación de episodios enlazados entre sí, a veces de modo tenue. El foco no recae exactamente sobre Olive K. sino sobre la comunidad en la que ella vive, mostrándonos las idas y venidas de sus integrantes. ¿Es triste el tono de la novela? sí, lo es. Pero no exagerada sino adecuadamente triste. Más bien realista. Lo que ocurre es que la protagonista, y sus convecinos, han catado su dosis de derrota (y quizás de victoria), como todos nosotros.Está maravillosamente escrito. Eso sí, demanda nuestra atención porque cada frase cuenta, porque percibir el matiz exige concentración. No explica los hechos de modo directo, sino que va sembrando el texto de sugerencias, de alusiones, y al final todo encaja de modo que cada capítulo deviene una perfecta obra de orfebrería.

Reviewer: Peter - The Reading Desk
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Olive Kitteridge is a Pulitzer Prize Winner for fiction, which is breath-taking in its beauty and eloquence. The structure of the novel is 13 episodic stories, which provide a candid and searching insight into a small community in the coastal town of Crosby in Maine. It would be unfortunate to race through the pages without savouring the atmosphere, the wonderful sense of time, and the rich array of fascinating characters that enhance the human relationships on display. It takes the little breaks between stories to reflect on the mastery of prose and the observational expression of Elizabeth Strout.Olive Kitteridge is the indomitable presence throughout the book. Some stories have the faintest mention of Olive while in others she impacts with the overbearing resolve of a woman that is determined to get what she wants. Olive is rarely the focal point, but she acts as a magnet drawing each story to exist in her presence.Olive is an ex-school teacher, a tall and often clumsy woman, but as the years progress she becomes big,“… her ankles puffed out, her shoulders rolled up behind her neck, and her wrists and hands seemed to become the size of a man’s. Olive minds – of course she does; sometimes, privately, she minds very much. But at this stage of the game, she is not about to abandon the comfort of food, and that means right now she probably looks like a fat dozing seal wrapped in some kind of gauze bandage.”Olive has a formidable presence and a complexity that is intriguing and undefinable. While she offers very little filter in her comments and consideration of others and thinks it ludicrous to cry at weddings, she cries when she sees a young anorexic girl, Nina.“Olive shook her head again, blew her nose. She looked at Nina and said quietly, ‘I don’t know who you are, but young lady, you’re breaking my heart.’‘I’m not trying to,’ said Nina, defensively. ‘It’s not like I can help it.’‘Oh, I know that. I know.’ Olive nodded.”The first story is a touching story of her husband, Harry, who is a pharmacist, and his relationship with a young married assistant who tragically loses her husband. The relationship is subtly transformed from a platonic friendship to the delicate suggestion of deeper feelings as he allows himself to imagine what life would be like with this young woman. The emotional conflict burdens him until he finally asks Olive if she would ever leave him. “Oh, for God’s sake Henry. You could make a woman sick.” she responds.Most of the following stories reverberate with a sense of betrayal. You can feel the connection with the characters, laugh through incidents, be astounded by some events, nod in recognition with many, and shed a tear or two at others. The writing is emotionally stimulating and reveals such vivid moments that give breath to sentiments you may not have been expecting.This is a wonderful reading experience, infused with beautiful prose, images and feelings that we all encounter or witness throughout our lives. I would highly recommend this book. The reason why I jumped to read this book after it sitting on my bookshelf for so long, was that the sequel, Olive, Again, is due for release on 31st October this year.

Reviewer: Paula Ferroni
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Adorei o livro, pela oportunidade de ver a vida numa pequena cidade do Maine, EUA, com personagens que parecemos conhecer.

Reviewer: 大野 泰子
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 内容に関してです。まだ途中ですが、このピュリッツア作品は堅苦しくなくて、女性の感覚でうなずける点が随所にあり、どこの国でも同じだな、、、と感心してます。