From the Bookshelf of 2015 Reading Challenge [Closed]…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
*
Week 18: Progress Post
By Zaz , Mood Minion · 15 posts · 75 views
By Zaz , Mood Minion · 15 posts · 75 views
last updated Dec 01, 2015 04:43AM
*
Week 18: Introduction
By Zaz , Mood Minion · 3 posts · 150 views
By Zaz , Mood Minion · 3 posts · 150 views
last updated Apr 23, 2015 09:35AM
showing 10 of 13 topics
view all »
Other topics mentioning this book
Manda's Overly Ambitious Reading Plan[s]
By Maple · 51 posts · 194 views
By Maple · 51 posts · 194 views
last updated Dec 01, 2015 08:04PM
Book Suggestions - Not Really Off Topic
By Chelle_Rydz · 79 posts · 196 views
By Chelle_Rydz · 79 posts · 196 views
last updated Feb 25, 2015 08:24AM
What Members Thought

Dec 01, 2020
Sarah Koehler
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2020,
books-i-read-and-then-gave-away
I wanted to like this... but I just.... didn’t. Olive is a crabby old woman with no endearing qualities like Ove or Arthur Truluv. And the plot is meaningless, though I get what Steout was doing by making Olive the thread which flows through each chapter. But I just don’t care about any of these people. I liked Henry the best and now he’s just laying in bed, the victim of a stoke, and Olive is shitty to him. She’s shitty to everyone. No thanks. Once again, a Pulitzer Prize winner is completely d
...more

Week 18 in the 2015 Reading Challenge - A Pulitzer Prize Winning Book
This is a book I would never have read but chose it because it was the first Pulitzer winning book I found that was available in my local library. Surprise - I actually enjoyed it! It was a series of short stories that takes place in a small town in Maine and Olive appears in all of them. She is not necessarily the main character - sometimes just a customer in a restaurant or something. But each story was an interesting slice o ...more
This is a book I would never have read but chose it because it was the first Pulitzer winning book I found that was available in my local library. Surprise - I actually enjoyed it! It was a series of short stories that takes place in a small town in Maine and Olive appears in all of them. She is not necessarily the main character - sometimes just a customer in a restaurant or something. But each story was an interesting slice o ...more

I do love Elizabeth Strout's writing. It is very elegant and not only does she have great insight into relationships, particularly those within the family, but she tells a good story.
However, around half way through, I found that I started to lose interest in this book. Rather than one novel, this is a set of interconnected stories set in small town America. But the tone of each story was so similar and so grey. Grey is fine if you have some contrast, but the book felt so monotone that, for me, ...more
However, around half way through, I found that I started to lose interest in this book. Rather than one novel, this is a set of interconnected stories set in small town America. But the tone of each story was so similar and so grey. Grey is fine if you have some contrast, but the book felt so monotone that, for me, ...more

Olive seemed so sad; she didn't enjoy life....
...more

A quick , easy read . It's a book that has been raved about a lot of readers I know.
For me it's an average read , the characters didn't grab my attention enough ...more
For me it's an average read , the characters didn't grab my attention enough ...more

Apr 21, 2009
E
marked it as to-read

Apr 28, 2009
Lauran
added it

May 18, 2009
Jill Robinson
marked it as to-read

Jun 07, 2009
Beth
added it

Nov 25, 2009
Tanya
marked it as to-read

Jan 11, 2013
Kris Stuart
added it

Apr 21, 2014
SibylM
marked it as to-read

Sep 12, 2014
Melyssa
marked it as to-read

Jan 29, 2015
Emily Tillis
marked it as to-read

Aug 04, 2017
Anna
marked it as to-read