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joan_anne's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars because it was written very well and I can see why it won awards. My heart gave it two stars because I read to forget things in the world and this book brought them front and center, and made me think about humanness. Then I realized, this is a 4 star book. Too serious and real for me but 4 stars nonetheless.
oliviasbookshop's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
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
4.0
knuckledown's review against another edition
3.0
I had so many mixed feeling about this book. I loved the first chapter, which made me deeply annoyed when the next chapter switched to a different set of characters. What saves this book from the pitfalls of many short story collections is Olive Kitteridge herself, whose character appears to a greater or lesser degree in every story. As is usually the case, some stories will resonate with the reader and some won't. As long as the reader appreciates Olive, the collection is saved. At first I found Olive a hard nut to crack, but by the end I really did care about her. So the book might not be a favorite, but I'm glad that I stuck it through till the end.
lclately's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
smusie's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. Really great writing--I put off reading it because of the description: woman in small-town Maine. It just sounded too Anne Rivers Siddons. But one story/chapter was excerpted in The Best American Mystery Stories 2008, and I had to read it. Olive is a character that shows up in most but not all the stories. (The ones in which she doesn't actually appear, she haunts.) Fantastic character--a woman who never apologizes. I was strangely disappointed to find out that the stories were actually written separately, with in some cases years in between, and published individually before being put together in this book. Somehow I wanted it to have been planned from the very beginning as a novel. Why does it make a difference how it was written? Although it's unfair, if it had been written that way, I would have given it five stars. Oh, OK, I'm changing it to five.
alhedrick's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
kharris510's review against another edition
3.0
I'd probably give this one 3 1/2 stars.
I enjoyed the writing in this book. It gave each story a sense of "realness" and emotional depth. It was much more "show" than "tell," which I always appreciate in writing.
One of the things I didn't like about this book was that you never get to hear how each story pans out, which is a little frustrating to me. I understand that it's part of the style and done intentionally, but it left me wanting.
I also thought the book was a bit heavy on the strong language - worse in some parts than others.
I enjoyed the writing in this book. It gave each story a sense of "realness" and emotional depth. It was much more "show" than "tell," which I always appreciate in writing.
One of the things I didn't like about this book was that you never get to hear how each story pans out, which is a little frustrating to me. I understand that it's part of the style and done intentionally, but it left me wanting.
I also thought the book was a bit heavy on the strong language - worse in some parts than others.
erindoublee's review against another edition
5.0
Who doesn’t love Olive? She’s likeably unlikeable. She’s grumpy, kind, gruff, sweet, and just generally real.
I enjoyed the realness of this novel and the characters. The story nearly read like a biography of the town and its inhabitants. Some parts were gloomy, too real, too depressing, too hard hitting. But most parts were refreshing and delightful. It reminds me that life is fleeting.
I enjoyed the realness of this novel and the characters. The story nearly read like a biography of the town and its inhabitants. Some parts were gloomy, too real, too depressing, too hard hitting. But most parts were refreshing and delightful. It reminds me that life is fleeting.
reli's review against another edition
1.0
I loved Anything Is Possible. Strout used the same narrative structure so that part wasn't new to me.
My problem I guess is not with the writer but the subject matter. I'm sick and tired of this world view.
We know that life is meaningless. We know that we came and we'll go out alone. We know that the likelihood that we'll be remembered is almost 0. Yet we are more than happy to live a pathetic life. Not only that but we "fight" and we stress over the best way to accomplish this.
This pathetic worldview - people that feel unfulfilled, people that are in relationships just because they can't life alone, people that have put all their bets on having tentative children and grandchildren, and be shocked when their bets don't roll in their favour - perhaps blinded me of any sort of hidden value of this novel.
I guess, I might have benefited from this book (or as I expect Strout's entire books) if I read them as a teen! I would have realised quicker that this form of pathetic existence, where adults life under self-imposed misery is not a goal worth pursuing.
Maybe the reason it's so popullar is because it give people something to point to "look, see I'm not alone, misery is so normal, so widespread that they wrote a novel about it". Or it could be that I didn't get it
I could not finish the book
My problem I guess is not with the writer but the subject matter. I'm sick and tired of this world view.
We know that life is meaningless. We know that we came and we'll go out alone. We know that the likelihood that we'll be remembered is almost 0. Yet we are more than happy to live a pathetic life. Not only that but we "fight" and we stress over the best way to accomplish this.
This pathetic worldview - people that feel unfulfilled, people that are in relationships just because they can't life alone, people that have put all their bets on having tentative children and grandchildren, and be shocked when their bets don't roll in their favour - perhaps blinded me of any sort of hidden value of this novel.
I guess, I might have benefited from this book (or as I expect Strout's entire books) if I read them as a teen! I would have realised quicker that this form of pathetic existence, where adults life under self-imposed misery is not a goal worth pursuing.
Maybe the reason it's so popullar is because it give people something to point to "look, see I'm not alone, misery is so normal, so widespread that they wrote a novel about it". Or it could be that I didn't get it
I could not finish the book