Hardcover, 288 pages
English language
Published March 25, 2008 by Random House.
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.
I enjoyed these interwoven stories very much, and thought it a brilliant way to portray a complicated character in the context of her surroundings, family, and acquaintances.
The cover may say this is "a novel in stories", but it's not: it's interlinked stories, some only tangentially linked to the eponymous character, the others focussing in on her life. The stories are thematically related, to some of the eternal themes: love, relationships, growing old, growing old in a relationship, raising children, and dealing with grown children. The characters are finely observed, the writing spare like the Maine setting.returnreturnA couple of the stories I know will stay with me: the man who grows slowly into an affair, bringing home donuts for both her and his wife on Sunday mornings. The visit to the grown child who is leading a foreign life. The man who has this sort-of love for the young widow working in his pharmacy.returnreturnThere are others which are notable duds, in particular a story about how a night of terror changes the title character and her husband. …
The cover may say this is "a novel in stories", but it's not: it's interlinked stories, some only tangentially linked to the eponymous character, the others focussing in on her life. The stories are thematically related, to some of the eternal themes: love, relationships, growing old, growing old in a relationship, raising children, and dealing with grown children. The characters are finely observed, the writing spare like the Maine setting.returnreturnA couple of the stories I know will stay with me: the man who grows slowly into an affair, bringing home donuts for both her and his wife on Sunday mornings. The visit to the grown child who is leading a foreign life. The man who has this sort-of love for the young widow working in his pharmacy.returnreturnThere are others which are notable duds, in particular a story about how a night of terror changes the title character and her husband. It means to say something about post 9/11 life, but it doesn't. And it is particularly frustrating that the aftermath of that incident never echoes in stories about Olive that occur later in time.returnreturnStill, I'll remember this book for the honest grappling the characters do with love, as it changes over time, and becomes more elusive and yet more important - through inlaws, sickness, and tragedy.
