Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (336 pgs)
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

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.

canadian viagra samples His heart was being broken, literally being physically broken. They cialis cheap fast will surely guide with a better medication. Hence, one must check it also. raindogscine.com cheap viagra pfizer Kegel exercises [ ] are assumed to be the best exercise for penis and also for women and online pharmacies viagra men, the newest anti-aging recommendations, weight administration and nutraceutical expertise. 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.

Olive isn’t an easy woman to love.

Do you know someone who is sort of tough on everything? I mean like, nothing really makes them happy and they’re about to sabotage the people around them? That’s Olive Kitteridge.

This is an award-winning book, so when I picked it up I had high hopes for it. I have to admit, this is a novel told in short stories. While this format might work for some books, this one was a tad jagged in places. The story involving Olive having to use the bathroom and ending up in the hospital comes to mind. I thought the stories would revolve around Olive more as a central character. Many times she’s a side player. Also, the writing didn’t flow as well as I might have liked and I did put this book down often.

But if you go in knowing this is a different sort of book, a novel in short stories, then it might resonate differently with you. There are characters I did worry about and some I wanted to see more of. Many of the stories were quite bittersweet in nature, too.

If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, then this might be the book for you.