Reviews

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

bhnmt61's review against another edition

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4.0

We all have our reading peeves and lord knows I’ve told you about a bunch of mine. One of my most visceral is that I will always be creeped out by a story about sexual attraction between an older man and a young woman—because of my own history, which is certainly not the fault of the author.

There is a story about that exact situation early on in this book, and it took me several tries to get through it. Then that dynamic showed up again in another story, not as blatant but as subtext, and I came very close to quitting, because I don’t think reading should make you nauseated. But I just quit another book and I didn’t really want to DNF two in a row, so I pressed on. And then the stories began to be about Olive and her friendships with other women, and those were excellent, so excellent that I really loved the second half of the book. And there are her ruminations about her son and her two husbands and death— it’s beautifully done. I really love Olive. There aren’t enough curmudgeonly women with hearts of gold in American lit.

mary_elizabeth's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

hikikomorka's review against another edition

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3.0

Życie jest tylko jedno, a popełnionych błędów nie sposób naprawić. Pozostaje cieszyć się tym co zostało, a przeszłość nie była przecież aż taka zła.

angiebcn's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

magsisreadingagain's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

rexiesmum's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad 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

rachel_patrick's review against another edition

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reflective slow-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

3.75

zoefruitcake's review against another edition

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5.0

Happy that we could once again join the residents of Crosby, Maine as they lived their lives occasionally touched by the larger than life presence of Olive Kitteridge

jackiesandora's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective relaxing sad 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

5.0

I find Olive to be such a deeply complex character - so human. I loved journeying through both Olive Kitteridge and Olive, Again.

millie_annaa's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0