Olive Kitteridge: Fiction

Elizabeth Strout

Mar 2008 · Sold by Random House

About this ebook

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

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

This edition includes an excerpt of Elizabeth Strout’s novel Olive, Again.

Ratings and reviews

I picked this one up as two friends, Terri and Deb, both read it and seemed to enjoy the experience. I enjoyed it too -- it's always intriguing how an author can intertwine the same character throughout a series of short stories. The book is well written and I did enjoy the main character, Olive. If you have ever lived in a small town, you'll most likely relate to many of the characters. I do find it interesting that this book is a Pulitzer Prize winner. I've read other Pulitzer Prize winning books before and thought, "I can see why this won such an award." I'm not so sure about this one -- it is well, written, etc., but worthy of the Pulitzer? Not sure.

I saw Olive, Again on Time's recommendation list. Thought I'd start with Elizabeth's first book. Can't stand this style of writing. More authors are going this route. Not for me. Olive seems like a character, but not worth reading forward, backwards, upside down. And 12.99 on ebooks? Nope.

I always wonder what makes a "Pulitzer Prize" winner worthy of a prize? What makes this book stand out from the others? This book is a series of short stories connected by the main character. Themes in the book were marriage and aging.

About the author

Elizabeth Strout is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Olive Kitteridge, winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Olive, Again, an Oprah’s Book Club pick; Anything Is Possible, winner of the Story Prize; My Name is Lucy Barton, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize; The Burgess Boys, named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post and NPR; Abide with Me, a national bestseller; and Amy and Isabelle, winner of the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize. She has also been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the International Dublin Literary Award, and the Orange Prize. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines, including The New Yorker and O: The Oprah Magazine. Elizabeth Strout lives in New York City.