bookthia 's review for:

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

4.0

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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It is the sign of a gifted writer that the reader is able to feel such empathy for a character like Olive Kittridge, a woman filled with impatience and judgement and frequently, anger. I might be one of the last to read this — I happened upon a copy recently and will definitely read more by this author.  The stories in this book are reflections of daily (almost mundane) life in a typical small town. People help each other and hurt each other and behave admirably in times of trouble but abominably when over reacting to the small stuff. Hearts are healed and hearts are broken. And we are broken and healed too, because we know these people. They are our parents, our neighbours, our friends and family.  I adored this book.