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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
That's what I call true literature!, 3 Nov 2009
I was looking forward to this "novel in stories" because I had read very positive reviews and I was rewarded.
This is maybe the first novel by a living writer that I can rate five stars this year. "A Classic" and "Comedy of social manners" jump to mind.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Confusing at first, but well worth the effort, 25 April 2009
I'm not a big fan of short stories, and so wasn't convinced that I'd enjoy this book, but as it won the Pulitzer prize I thought I'd give it a try.
I think the emphasis on this being a collection of short stories is misleading, as it is essentially just a novel about one woman, Olive Kitteridge. The story is told through the eyes of various people who knew her, capturing the important moments in her life, in what at first, are seemingly random snippets. The use of small-town gossip, to tell much of the story was a clever medium, which I haven't seen used before.
The book begins quite slowly, and I have to admit that for the first few chapters I didn't know what to make of it. The writing was very vivid and powerful, but the large number of characters meant that I wasn't sure who, or what, was important. About a third of the way through things began to fall into place. Olive's character became prominent, and I felt that I understood what was happening. I don't want to give anything away, but I think it is important that you know that the overwhelming emotion I felt on completing the book was that of heartbreak. This book is incredibly touching, and packed with feelings of sadness, and loss. It questions which things are important in life, and examines the relationships between family members who have forgotten how to love each other. Olive's emotions are powerful and realistic. All mothers will sympathise with her feelings of isolation, as her only son distances himself from her.
Overall, I found this to be an insightful, touching novel on the reflections of an old woman nearing death.
Recommended to anyone who has the patience to piece together a great story.
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5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Name "Olive" Sets The Stage For This Book, 15 April 2009
I've had this book sitting on my shelves for a few months now just waiting for that push to make it my next read. That push came when an online book group of mine voted it its #1 pick for 2008. I felt that was enough of an endorsement to put it at the top of my pile and its time came a few weeks ago when I began the first page. As many other reviewers have concurred, I too am not usually a fan of short stories but I understood that these short stories were all tied together with one individual, the ubiquitous Olive Kitteridge. Just short of being omnipresent, Olive appears in every short story in one way or the other. Sometimes it's only by name and sometimes it's merely by association but Stout deftly makes Olive's presence known as she chronicles vignettes in the lives of some of the residents of Crosby, Maine.
Now first of all, what does the first name "Olive" say to me. I've never known an Olive but anytime I've come across an Olive in a book, she's always been a bit nasty. My personal connotation of the name brings to mind someone who is also big boned and someone who is older. I think it's an interesting tidbit to point out that actual olives can't be eaten right off the tree; they require special processing to remove their intrinsic bitterness. Need I say more about the name Olive and the main character in this book. I couldn't have been more on target in the description of this Olive Kitteridge....a bit nasty, definitely larger and definitely older.
I often wonder how authors go about picking out the names of their main characters. I'm wondering if Elizabeth Stout felt the same way about the name Olive as I do. I just couldn't imagine this main character being named Amelia or even Serena or even Olivia. This character was "Olive" through and through.
As we travel through the lives of the seashore town's inhabitants, the reader seems to be given a glimpse at not only their lives but the reader's own life as well. Without trying to preach, the author almost subliminally forces the reader to examine his/her own life. At one point, Olive's son is seeing a therapist and repeats something to Olive that he's obviously heard from the therapist. I had to reread the words several times because I thought they were so appropos to so many people I know, including myself. As I'm typing this, I wish I had written them down so I could include them in this review and I've tried finding them again in the book but to no avail. So suffice it to say that the book forces the reader to assess their own life.
In one of the vignettes, there is a visiting reporter writing about the town's natives and referring to them as being "cold and aloof". This description is right on target and the author almost purposely leaves us with this feeling by never allowing the reader to become attached to the characters always keeping their individual stories short and unattached.
I tend to disagree with my book group and know that this book will not be one of my top picks for 2009. Once again, this is one of those times when my expectations for a particular book were so high that it would be hard for the book to live up to its hype. Reading a book where I don't particularly like any of the characters usually leads to a lower rating from me. Thus was the case with Olive and her friends, relatives and acquaintances of Crosby, Maine....a town where I'd definitely like to visit but would never like to live. If we could give half stars, this book would have been rated 3.5 stars but since we can't do that, I've only given it a 3 star rating.
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