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2.5 stars
Having never read any of Elizabeth Stout Novels I was delighted to get the chance to read Olive Kitteridge.
Olive Kitteridge is a combination of 13 stories all set in rural Maine. I was a little concerned that each chapter read as a different story with Olive being the connection between the stories. I found for me my concerns proved right as all the stories read like short stories and I am just not a fan of short stories. I found once again I am just getting into the story and connect ...more
Having never read any of Elizabeth Stout Novels I was delighted to get the chance to read Olive Kitteridge.
Olive Kitteridge is a combination of 13 stories all set in rural Maine. I was a little concerned that each chapter read as a different story with Olive being the connection between the stories. I found for me my concerns proved right as all the stories read like short stories and I am just not a fan of short stories. I found once again I am just getting into the story and connect ...more
This is a dismal, dreary, drab, depressing (any more "d" adjectives, anyone??) book. A collection of short stories that have Olive Kitteridge as the common thread, although in some stories she does no more than walk through the room where the main character is working, or be referred to by the main character of the short story. We see into marriages, most of which appear unhappy for one or both of the people concerned, and into lives where there just doesn’t seem to be a speck of colour or anyth
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Beautiful!!!
The main character, Olive, was difficult to like but since she was so oblivious to her own wrong-headedness I grew fond of her, in a sad way. Not so much a novel as short stories with varying degrees of 'Olive'.
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Olive Kitteridge is a collection of short stories about people living in the small town of Crosby, Maine. Olive is the main character in most of the stories, but in a few she is just briefly mentioned. I found Olive to be a grumpy, judgemental, unforgiving, bitter old woman who had little or no compassion for others. I hated the way she treated her husband and son Christopher. Each story deals with a sad and depressing event, such as infidelity, suicide, anorexia, or death. They weren't terrible
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2.5/5.
I saw another review saying how this is just a book about old people being upset and sad....and it's pretty much true.
Here's the thing: I saw the sparks of brilliance in this work. The prose is good and there are moments where I could see why it won a Pulitzer Prize -- the characters are well written and the way the story weaves through this town but all ties it back to Olive is genius. That said, this book just isn't for me. I found myself trying to rush through it, and I was relieved wh ...more
I saw another review saying how this is just a book about old people being upset and sad....and it's pretty much true.
Here's the thing: I saw the sparks of brilliance in this work. The prose is good and there are moments where I could see why it won a Pulitzer Prize -- the characters are well written and the way the story weaves through this town but all ties it back to Olive is genius. That said, this book just isn't for me. I found myself trying to rush through it, and I was relieved wh ...more
wow , what a beautifully written novel. i absolutely loved it. I want to tell everywoman, at every age to read this!
As already mentioned in other reviews, this was less a novel and more a collection of short stories relaying life in Crosby, Maine with Olive Kitteridge at its center. I don't typically read short stories, but the characters in this book are really great. Although I didn't get the traditional payoff of a beginning, middle, and conclusion, I was really entertained by these characters and this small East coast town.
Although Olive herself was not exactly likeable, she was *real*. She grows on you, ...more
Although Olive herself was not exactly likeable, she was *real*. She grows on you, ...more
I listened to this book, I liked the short story style tieing the book all together, and I really liked the main character Olive, even though she is not the most kind and caring person, and her husband Henry, who is such a caring person.
I really didn't think I was going to like Olive...but she won me over. I'm glad we spent some time together.
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Wonderful novel told through a series of short stories.
Feb 15, 2015
Amber
marked it as to-read
