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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really a 4.5. Great character development. A bit disjointed but otherwise a terrific read!
Well-written, good story-telling… I just don’t care what happens to the character s
Writing about the ordinary events of small towns has never been so good
I don't understand how this book won the Pulitzer Prize. I guess there weren't many other candidates for the prize that year.
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.
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.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a book about Olive Ketteridge; told through a series of short stories, from a number of different POVs including Olives. Some of the stories feature Olive heavily; in others she makes a brief appearance or a character speaks of her. I initially struggled with the book because of the short story method of telling the story. I tend to read a couple of chapters every evening and I found that upon starting each story I got lost thinking if a character had been mentioned previously, who they were, etc. This isn't the book's fault and I found that I appreciated this book much more on reflection than when I was reading it. Our knowledge of Olive starts very negatively and throughout the book snippets of a different more positive Olive are provided which clash with the Olive we think we know. The in depth stories of Olive show an angry, disappointed and bitter woman. The Olive that is briefly touched upon in the other stories, often has a positive, long lasting effect on the minor characters. I loved the last story, an Olive we hadn't seen before. I definitely need to read this book again and I will definitely be reading more of Elizabeth Strout's books.
A lovely collection of personal stories from various people of a small town in Maine. It's like small town gossip, elevated- perfect! Stories that run the gamut from coming-of-age to aging and death, traumas and insecurities, prejudices, regrets, joys and devastation... Really a breadth of the human experience covered here. It took a minute to get into it, but I soon became very invested in these fictional strangers' world- eager to add the others in the series to my TBR list
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes