A review by waxingquixotic
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

4.0

This story is told in a series of short stories that sometimes feature Olive, but most of the time she appears briefly in a conversation or in the background somewhere. I love the story because it made me think about my relationship with my family and my friends, my acquaintances, people I see every day that I really don't know at all. It made me think about our connectedness and how important those relationships are, and how sometimes people have this perception about us or we have a perception about them that may not be accurate. I thought about how I impact the lives of others and how things that seem insignificant in my day could have a major impact on the lives of others. I wondered if I ever come up in a casual conversation between other people while they wait to see a movie or go out for pizza on Friday night. I thought about how I have perceptions of others are work or in my neighborhood, but I usually talk about them instead of to them. The end of the book reminded me of how I moved away from home a while ago and how my decisions and lifestyle must make my mom feel or how she often reminds me of an old story about me when I was five years old even though I haven't been five years old in a long time. I really liked this book not because it was well written, but because it made me think about my own life and examine some of the decisions I've made and the people I've interacted with. I don't even know if that's what the author intended, but that's where I went.

This is seriously the longest stream of nonsense I've tried to disguise as a review, but I'm going with it... Four stars. Recommended. Time to watch the HBO miniseries.