A review by tctimlin
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Short stories set mostly in the small town of Crosby Maine, where Olive Kitteredge is aging.  Sometimes she is the focus of the story, sometimes she just plays a bit role in a story about others in the town.  There are stories about marriage and friendship and small town mores, and parent-child relationships (which I found most gut wrenching as the mother of an only child son who is now an adult living almost on the other side of the continent).  Strout is a beautiful writer and conveys sparingly the deep love Olive has for her students, her husband and son and her struggles to express that love.
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