Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge, #1) in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Dec 30, 2014 Melissa rated it liked it

I read this for book club after it was recommended by one of the members. I kept saying that it was moving too slow and I wasn't sure I wanted to stick with it, but I also had to see what was going to happen. It was interesting with all the different stories, but it dragged at times and was depressing for the most part. Each chapter would leave off in a weird spot that felt vague. I also had to go back over paragraphs a few times to understand what was going on. I liked it more when Olive was at ...more

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Jun 28, 2010 Jennifer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: shortstory, bookclub

I did not care for the first few stories. And I am still ambivalent about Olive, after reading it in its entirety. But I can see why this won the Pulitzer. It's strange and off and so incredibly real. These characters are people- flawed, human, and frustrating. This reminds me of a terse Joyce, and I admire Strout's characterizations, even as I despise so many of the characters.

The final story is brilliant. It bumped me up from three to four stars. Maybe it's a bit trite, but it's refreshing to ...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Heather rated it liked it

Shelves: bookclub-book

I would have given this 3.5 stars if I could. It was good, but not in an "I can't put this down" type of way. As a mother, it left me wondering what Olive had done to her son to make him not want to be around her. That relationship made me think of my uncle and grandmother. For me, I wished that you got to see that Olive, at least in her private thoughts, would own her own feelings and memories. I get putting the front up to everyone else, but she seemed to have no real feelings even in her own ...more

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Dec 01, 2009 Lydia Presley rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, short_stories, 2010

I'm always a little bit intimidated when I pick up books stamped with a little gold seal that proclaims them a winner of the Pulitzer Prize. When I look at that little sticker a little voice inside of my head tells me: "You better like this book because people a whole lot smarter than you found it to be amazing".

Then I start to read, and as I read I have arguments with myself. I go back and forth with thoughts.

Well, it really is quite beautifully written.
Yes, but it's so incredibly depressing!
W ...more

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Jan 29, 2010 MacDuff rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2009

It's a Mainer's version of Joyce's Dubliners. ...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Melissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-books-2011

Loved This book! For me it was the book I couldn't wait to get home and read. The series of short stories tied together kept me very intrigued. Highly recommend. ...more

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