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What Members Thought
This book is reminiscent of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, OH. I think of the book as "doughnuts and suicide!" "Hells bells" would work too. Olive, who appears in each of the short stories, is such a well-written character - at turns moody and mean, and others generous and genuine. I can't adequately describe how moving this book was; it will definitely stay with me for a long time. Elizabeth Strout certainly deserved the Pulitizer for this work!
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A beautifully written book about the most miserable, dreary people I've ever come across. I wanted to read it because they are filming the HBO series here in the town I live in but what a collection of cranky, dis-likable characters! The only person in the book I liked was Olive's husband Henry. I kept hearing that it was a great story about the "human condition"--I guess I've never met those sorts of humans.
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Thirteen stories are linked through a common character, and what a character it is... Olive Kitteridge! I thought of Scrooge, peering at windows of different scenes of people's lives...each one with its own joys and sorrows... Here you see Olive from the perspective of her friends.
Headstrong Olive lives in Maine. She is a retired teacher with a husband and an adult son, both with their own issues. She will bring you close to tears or she will get herself into hilarious situations that make you ...more
Headstrong Olive lives in Maine. She is a retired teacher with a husband and an adult son, both with their own issues. She will bring you close to tears or she will get herself into hilarious situations that make you ...more
With many echoes of Sherwood Anderson's classic Winesburg, Ohio, this collection of interrelated short stories form a wonderful narrative of small-town life in Maine. Olive is complex and intriguing as the focal point of this book - sometimes kind, often surly, always unpredictably moody and judgmental. It's not a plot-driven book, but rather one of those books where you nod in recognition as you read, and you're increasingly fascinated by the characters and their lives, however mundane they mig
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I can't seem to finish Chapter 1. Is it just me or is this one not as wildly wonderful as everyone says? I'll likely stick with it a while longer though--one chapter may not give it enough time.
Sent this back. Too dull. ...more
Sent this back. Too dull. ...more
I kept telling myself this was supposed to be a great book & I didn't like it. It felt very scattered & if it were any longer I would have quit after the first 50 pages. Maybe it was just bad timing ...
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Sep 28, 2009
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Oct 05, 2009
Efe
marked it as to-read
Mar 09, 2010
Jen
marked it as to-read
Feb 27, 2011
Curlysue
marked it as to-read
Feb 01, 2013
Terri
marked it as own
Feb 11, 2015
Stefanie
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
1-language-english,
usa
Jul 13, 2015
Diane
marked it as to-read
Jul 06, 2019
Mike
marked it as to-read
