Olive Kitteridge: Fiction | 
 enlarge | Author: Elizabeth Strout
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $14.07
You Save: $10.93 (44%)
New (37) Collectible (1) from $14.07
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 12585
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 140006208X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781400062089
ASIN: 140006208X
Publication Date: March 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In a voice more powerful and compassionate than ever before, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Strout binds together thirteen rich, luminous narratives into a book with the heft of a novel, through the presence of one larger-than-life, unforgettable character: Olive Kitteridge.
At the edge of the continent, Crosby, Maine, may seem like nowhere, but seen through this brilliant writer’s eyes, it’s in essence the whole world, and the lives that are lived there are filled with all of the grand human drama–desire, despair, jealousy, hope, and love.
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 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 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.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Is life really this bad? July 21, 2008
I do love the author's insights into the working of the human mind. The filter of writer and reader barely registers, the thoughts are so intricately expressed and recognizable as true. That's the best part of this book. (That, and the scene in which Olive takes revenge on her new daughter-in-law!)
I had read in reviews of Abide With Me that readers were disappointed in the lack of action or apparent reason to keep reading that book. I don't agree with that assessment, but I do think this book goes overboard in the other direction. Something dramatic happens in everyone's story in this book, and it's always something awful.
I became weary of the accidents, deaths, murders, near-drownings and suicides, eating disorders, infidelities and divorces, cruelties spoken and thought, the relentless dying of hope and possibility.
The structure of the book is also problematic if you start by thinking that you're reading a novel. I quickly came to care about individual characters only to have them crushed, or never to hear of them again after a chapter ended. And, as with most fiction, I didn't feel that many of the characters were believable, maybe only the title character. Even Olive steps out of character in the last scene of the book, which I imagine is supposed to be uplifting, but I found ridiculous.
I'm in the midst of my life, and maybe this is what's to come. If so, at least it will be just my story I'm living and I won't be weighted down with the knowledge of everyone else's pain. It's too overwhelming. The characters could have used a little of the faith of their Abide With Me counterparts to temper the despair.
 Leave Out The Politics July 6, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful novel. All the good things have been written about it in previous reviews. But, then this author waits till the end of the book to foster on her readers her political views. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I feel as if I've been mugged. Regardless of which side the writer plugs, such heavy hatred doesn't belong in a book that people spend their money on unless they've been forewarned.
 Absolutely Terrific Read! July 5, 2008
I cannot say more than what the other reviewers have already said, (but I LOVE this book!) so I will only add that my favorite "vignette" in the entire book is Olive, at her son's house just after the wedding, lying on the bed in his room, and what she does just before she leaves the room. I know, I know, I know, I should think it petty, but I found it hilarious, and understandable. Which probably does not say much about me!
Resonant regardless of one's affinity July 5, 2008
How is it possible for the lives of those in a small town in Maine to resonate with a reader in an urban area? That is one of the amazements of this book: each story, each emotion, each heartbreak reminds the reader of their own personal experiences. Many writers can dazzle with deft use of language and momentum of story, but rare is a writer like Strout who can elicit an intense look inside one's own life.
Olive Kitteridge is every person who questions what in the world they are doing here. June 23, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I closed this book with a feeling of "oh my gosh, what a story!" Presented in a series of short stories within the ongoing story of a woman's later years in life, this was one of the most unique books I have read in a long time. The main character is somone we have all been at one time or another whether we want to admit it or not. We have all felt put-upon, self-rightous, lonely, hateful, superior, and tired. I also think, at one time or another, we have all felt that all the other people around us are slow-witted jerks who are only trying to make our lives miserable. This is Olive Kitteridge. She, like all of us, is ego-centric and wonders why all these things keep happening to HER. At times you want to despise her while at the same time completely understanding what she is thinking. The author does a wonderful job at describing the insecurities, obsessions, insanities and sadnesses of small town denizens and their interconnected lives.
|
|
|
