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"Olive Kitteridge has returned, as indomitable as ever, this time as a person getting older, navigating her next decade as she comes to terms with the changes--sometimes welcome, sometimes not--in her own life. Here is Olive, strangely content in her second marriage, still in an evolving relationship with her son and his family, encountering a cast of memorable characters in the seaside town of Crosby, Maine. Whether it's a young girl coming to terms with the loss of her father, a young show more woman about to give birth at a baby shower, or a nurse who confesses a secret high school crush, the irascible Olive improbably touches the lives of others."--Provided by publisher. show lessTags
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Audio Book. A book about the loneliness in the lives of some of the people acquainted with Olive and with Olive herself. Thoughtful, funny and sad. Kirkus: The thorny matriarch of Crosby, Maine, makes a welcome return.As in Strout?s Pulitzer Prize?winning Olive Kitteridge (2008, etc.), the formidable title character is always a presence but not always onstage in these 13 interconnected tales of loneliness, loss, and love in its many flawed incarnations. Olive has not become any easier to like since her husband, Henry, died two years ago; ?stupid? is a favorite adjective, and ?phooey to you? a frequent term of dismissal. But over the course of about a decade we see Olive struggling, in her flinty way, to become ?oh, just a show more tinytiny¥bit better as a person.? Her second marriage, to Jack Kennison, helps. ?I like you, Olive,? he says. ?I?m not sure why, really. But I do.? Readers will feel the same, as she brusquely comforts a former student with cancer in ?Light? and commiserates with the grieving daughter-in-law she has never much liked in ?Motherless Child.? Yet that story ends with Olive?s desolate conclusion that she is largely responsible for her fraught relationship with her son: ?She herself had [raised] a motherless child.? Parents are estranged from children, husbands from wives, siblings from each other in this keening portrait of a world in which each of us is fundamentally alone and never truly knows even those we love the most. This is not the whole story, Strout demonstrates with her customary empathy and richness of detail. ?You must have been a very good mother,? Olive?s doctor says after observing Christopher in devoted attendance at the hospital after she has a heart attack, and the daughter of an alcoholic mother and dismissive, abusive father finds a nurturing substitute in her parents? lawyer in ?Helped.? The beauty of the natural world provides a sustaining counterpoint to charged human interactions in which ?there were so many things that could not be said.? There?s no simple truth about human existence, Strout reminds us, only wonderful, painful complexity. ?Well, that?s life," Olive says. "Nothing you can do about it.?Beautifully written and alive with compassion, at times almost unbearably poignant. A thrilling book in every way. show less
Has there ever been a more difficult and confounding old white woman, in the whitest and most aged state in America, than the unsinkable Olive Kitteridge? With this sequel and expansion to the Pulitzer Prize winning novel Olive Kitteridge (and always seeing Frances McDormand as Olive in the fantastic mini-series), Olive is as iconic as the farm lady in American Gothic. I believe that she must have haunted author Strout until she created another book of linked short stories, half about Olive and half about her neighbors, and all about how the citizens of Crosby, Maine painfully separate from their children, age ingloriously, and die. Olive is remarried to Jack, a #MeToo'd Harvard professor and widower, who watches in amusement and show more affection as his wife fiercely tries to become "less Olive". Their odd-duck marriage assuages their loneliness while allowing them to gingerly confront the demons they share - the alienation of their children, their regret at the mistreatment of their deceased spouses, and their misplaced sense of superiority. Like an unexpected gift, characters from her previous novels Amy and Isabelle and The Burgess Boys resurface, testing the reader’s knowledge of the Strout oeuvre. The other stories intertwine peripherally with Olive’s, and are rife with struggles to survive tragedies and the ennui of endless northern winters. Once again, Strout has created a work that causes almost physical heartache for the reader.
Quote: "There were openings into the darkness of a relationship one saw by mistake, as if inside a dark barn, the door had been momentarily blown off and one saw things not meant to be seen." show less
Quote: "There were openings into the darkness of a relationship one saw by mistake, as if inside a dark barn, the door had been momentarily blown off and one saw things not meant to be seen." show less
This sequel to Olive Kitteridge is structured much the same as the first book. Olive herself -- a woman I find a little bit difficult to like, but remarkably easy to love -- sits at the core of it, but many chapters barely namecheck her, focusing instead on on some of the other residents of her town on the coast of Maine as they live their own weird and mundane lives, lives we dip in and out of over the course of several years.
Some of these chapters worked better for me than others, but always I am impressed and moved by Strout's ability to capture some very complicated and profound human experiences in very simple language. Most particularly, in this case, the experience of aging and everything that goes with it.
Some of these chapters worked better for me than others, but always I am impressed and moved by Strout's ability to capture some very complicated and profound human experiences in very simple language. Most particularly, in this case, the experience of aging and everything that goes with it.
I wish I lived in Crosby, Maine! Perhaps then I’d personally know Olive Kitteridge. In, fact, I probably would – it’s that kind of small town. I think I’d like Olive. I hope she’d like me. We’re two older women who speak our minds; we’d probably be like stone on stone, flashing and sparking – and sharpening each other.
Olive, Again—which by now you know is a follow-up to Elizabeth Strout’s phenomenally successful Olive Kitteridge and is similar in structure to that first book—is a series of connected short stories about the people of one small town in Maine. Also as in the first book, not all of the stories focus on Olive, although the very best are the ones that do.
I was particularly moved by Motherless Child, in show more which Olive’s son and his family pay her a visit at what is (at least as implied to the reader) her invitation, to try to mend relationships. But Olive goes about it awkwardly, as you would expect from Olive. Although both Olive and her daughter-in-law attempt to be pleasant, there are uncomfortable moments; the connection between Olive and her son has its up and downs, and is a decidedly bumpy ride; her relationship with her step-grandchildren is uncomfortable from both sides. Strout draws all of these people so adroitly that my heart cried for all of them.
As Olive ages in this new book, the years pass far too quickly, and Olive shows her vulnerability more than she did in her first outing with us. In so doing, she makes it far easier to like her –even to love her. Anyway, I know that—by the time I finished Olive, Again—I loved Olive and was sorry to know that I won’t be visiting her again.
I received my ecopy of Olive, Again by request through NetGalley. This did not affect my review. show less
Olive, Again—which by now you know is a follow-up to Elizabeth Strout’s phenomenally successful Olive Kitteridge and is similar in structure to that first book—is a series of connected short stories about the people of one small town in Maine. Also as in the first book, not all of the stories focus on Olive, although the very best are the ones that do.
I was particularly moved by Motherless Child, in show more which Olive’s son and his family pay her a visit at what is (at least as implied to the reader) her invitation, to try to mend relationships. But Olive goes about it awkwardly, as you would expect from Olive. Although both Olive and her daughter-in-law attempt to be pleasant, there are uncomfortable moments; the connection between Olive and her son has its up and downs, and is a decidedly bumpy ride; her relationship with her step-grandchildren is uncomfortable from both sides. Strout draws all of these people so adroitly that my heart cried for all of them.
As Olive ages in this new book, the years pass far too quickly, and Olive shows her vulnerability more than she did in her first outing with us. In so doing, she makes it far easier to like her –even to love her. Anyway, I know that—by the time I finished Olive, Again—I loved Olive and was sorry to know that I won’t be visiting her again.
I received my ecopy of Olive, Again by request through NetGalley. This did not affect my review. show less
I can't think of another author who writes so simply and yet so powerfully, and who captures the small but important details of everyday life. Maybe even better than its predecessor, [b:Olive Kitteridge|1736739|Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge, #1)|Elizabeth Strout|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320430655l/1736739._SY75_.jpg|3263906], because it gives Olive a bit of warmth and insight (not too much warmth of course, she's still Olive). I can't say I cared much for the chapters that focused on other characters; they seemed to be trying too hard to make a point unlike the effortless prose of the Olive vignettes (granted, it is harder to fully flesh out a character in 20 pages, while Olive's show more personality is already well-established). But sometimes Strout made these stories more shocking than they needed to be (the old man voyeuristically watching the teenaged housecleaner touch herself, the nice couple's daughter telling them she was featured in a documentary film about being a dominatrix) when the absurdness of normal life would have sufficed.
The last few chapters as Olive ages and moves to a senior living facility just about broke my heart, as I could imagine my 95 year old mother having the exact same feelings and reactions. I initially hesitated about reading this book because I didn't think a sequel to the Pulitzer-Prize winning Olive was necessary, but I should have trusted that Elizabeth Strout wouldn't continue the story unless she could do it justice. show less
The last few chapters as Olive ages and moves to a senior living facility just about broke my heart, as I could imagine my 95 year old mother having the exact same feelings and reactions. I initially hesitated about reading this book because I didn't think a sequel to the Pulitzer-Prize winning Olive was necessary, but I should have trusted that Elizabeth Strout wouldn't continue the story unless she could do it justice. show less
4.5 stars. I loved Olive Kitteridge and this wonderful sequel did not disappoint in any way! Through a series of connected short stories, the reader catches up with Olive, still her curmudgeonly self but definitely older, and others who inhabit or pass through Olive’s small town of Crosby, Maine. We see Olive watch her friends and family fall away as she deals with her own physical decline that comes with age. She is still the same old Olive, however, as abrasive and bluntly honest as ever, but with an inner heart of gold.
This novel was a wonderful opportunity to go back and visit Olive as an old friend, as well as to catch up with characters from the previous novel and from other of Strout’s works (for example, Amy and Isabelle). show more As I was reading, I saw Olive as an older Francis McDormand, who played Olive’s character so beautifully and brilliantly in the television mini-series.
Strout’s writing was, as always, superb and impeccable -- and again Pulitzer Prize worthy. Her portrayal of Olive as she enters into old age is both illuminating and heart-breaking. I can hear Olive thinking over and over again, “Getting old is definitely not for sissies!”
All in all, this was another wonderful read from Strout. If you loved Olive Kitteridge, you will love Olive, Again. Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader's copy of this novel. show less
This novel was a wonderful opportunity to go back and visit Olive as an old friend, as well as to catch up with characters from the previous novel and from other of Strout’s works (for example, Amy and Isabelle). show more As I was reading, I saw Olive as an older Francis McDormand, who played Olive’s character so beautifully and brilliantly in the television mini-series.
Strout’s writing was, as always, superb and impeccable -- and again Pulitzer Prize worthy. Her portrayal of Olive as she enters into old age is both illuminating and heart-breaking. I can hear Olive thinking over and over again, “Getting old is definitely not for sissies!”
All in all, this was another wonderful read from Strout. If you loved Olive Kitteridge, you will love Olive, Again. Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader's copy of this novel. show less
More of Olive Kitteridge but never too much. Elizabeth Strout continues her story-telling in the same way as the first book; Olive is sometimes at center-stage but at other times, she is only tangentially mentioned. Regardless, Strout never tells you directly about the changes in Olive's life. Here, she finds a second love, remarries, experiences the death of a second husband, suffers a heart attack, reconciles with her son, and moves into a facility. And even at a ripe old age, she learns new things about herself. She recognizes in the wife that her son married a resemblance to herself, and realizes to her horror how she had behaved in the past. What an unpleasant epiphany (I am sure none of us want to live till that age and realize show more how horrible we have been). Still, you cannot dislike Olive because all of us will recognize shades of ourselves in her. show less
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Author Information
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Elizabeth Strout (born January 6, 1956) is an American author of fiction. She was born in Portland, Maine. After graduating from Bates College, she spent a year in Oxford, England. In 1982 she graduated with honors, and received both a law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law and a Certificate of Gerontology from the Syracuse School show more of Social Work. Strout wrote Amy and Isabelle over the course of six or seven years, which when published was shortlisted for the 2000 Orange Prize and nominated for the 2000 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. Amy and Isabelle was made into a television movie starring Elisabeth Shue and was produced by Oprah Winfrey's studio, Harpo Films. Strout was a NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) professor at Colgate University during the Fall Semester of 2007, where she taught creative writing. She was also on the faculty of the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2009 Strout was honored with a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Olive Kitteridge, a collection of connected short stories she wrote about a woman and her immediate family who lived on the coast of Maine. Strout also wrote The Burgess Boys in 2013 which made The New York Times Best Seller List. Ms. Strout's title, My name is Lucy Barton, made the New York Times Best Seller List in 2016. Her newest title, Anything is Possible (2017), won the 2018 Story Prize. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Olive, Again
- Original title
- Olive, Again
- Original publication date
- 2019-10-15
- People/Characters
- Olive Kitteridge; Christopher Kitteridge; Ann Kitteridge; Jack Kennison; Kayley Callaghan; Suzanne Larkin (show all 21); Bernie Green; Cindy Coombs; Denny Pelletier; Elaine Croft; Bob Burgess; Margaret Burgess; Jim Burgess; Helen Burgess; Susan Burgess Olson; Andrea L'Rieux; Fergus MacPherson; Ethel MacPherson; Lisa MacPherson; Laurie MacPherson; Isabelle Goodrow Daignault
- Important places
- Crosby, Maine, USA; Shirley Falls, Maine, USA
- Dedication
- For Zarina,
again - First words
- In the early afternoon on a Saturday in June, Jack Kennison put on his sunglasses, got into his sports car with the top down, strapped the seatbelt over his shoulder and across his large stomach, and drove to Portland---almos... (show all)t an hour away---to buy a gallon of whiskey rather than bump into Olive Kitteridge at the grocery store here in Crosby, Maine.
- Quotations
- So there was this, too: her son had married his mother, as so many men—in some form or other—eventually do.
Kayley could actually feel a small wave of pain go through her chest at times, and she would think: This is why they say a person's feelings are hurt, because they do hurt.
And it came to him then that it should never be taken lightly, the essential loneliness of people, that the choices they made to keep themselves from that gaping darkness were choices that required respect:
Maybe you fall in love with people who save your life, even when you think it's not worth saving.
I do not have a clue who I have been. Truthfully, I do not understand a thing. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Olive stuck her cane to the ground and hoisted herself up. It was time to go get Isabelle for supper.
- Original language*
- Anglais (Etats-Unis) (Etats-Unis)
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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