|  | Author: Elizabeth Strout
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $7.06
as of 11/24/2009 21:00 CST details
You Save: $6.94 (50%)
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Seller: treebeardbooks
Rating:  280 reviews
Sales Rank: 72
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0812971833
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780812971835
ASIN: 0812971833
Publication Date: September 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Fast and Professional Shipping (no shipping to: APO, AK, HI, PR as standard mail to these locations takes 4+ weeks).
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 280
 Little redeeming value November 9, 2009
Ramona O. (Salt Lake City, UT)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm frankly amazed at the rave reviews for this book. The stories about the individuals in the town, while perhaps intended to portray reality, instead portray only the degrading, demoralizing, and shockingly crude aspects of this small town. I do believe that there is literary value in reality, but there seems to be no point to it in this book. There is little redeeming value in the story or in the characters. Of the main character, Olive Kitteridge, perhaps the only remotely redeeming quality is the fact that she arouses a very miniscule amount of pity due to the fact that she is so absolutely pathetic. Don't waste your time on this book. It's not good literature or entertaining reading.
 Not a novel November 8, 2009
Christina Pearl (Clackamas, OR)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'll admit this is the only work of this author I've read. But if I had known this was a book of interwoven short stories, I would have passed. Some of the chapters flowed into each other gracefully, while others made me feel as if I was beginning a new book all over again, with forced tie-ins to the main story. I did not like this aspect of the book.
What I liked: Olive is a wonderful and realistic character, whose complexities eventually come together to create understanding and sympathy. There were no gray areas in her character development. Some of the book's situations gave me pause, insight, and appreciation. There were a few characters and situations that were wonderful that way.
I'm not surprised to read the author is an MFA professor. Short stories sure seem to be the focus in MFA programs! As if you begin with short stories then you are eventually able to weave a novel. Hogwash. "Olive Kitteridge" does not fit into the novel category, in my opinion.
This author should stick to her short stories until she can perfect the novel format. (Again, this is the only work of hers I've read, so maybe her other novels are fine.) Perhaps a few lessons from Annie Proux are in order. . .
Understanding Olive November 5, 2009
Marci Rae (Boston, MA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Author Elizabeth Strout won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for this collection of short stories about life in Crosby, Maine, and in which Olive Kitteridge, a retired school teacher, is the unifying thread, appearing to varying degrees in each narrative. Strout's prose is lovely; her stories rare photographs of flawed people. I especially related to the character of Olive Kitteridge. She spoke to me in ways characters rarely do. At once she's all prickles and barbs, yet suddenly she shows compassion and understanding revealing unexpected wisdom. She wants to be a better mother, a better wife, and yet can't seem to transcend her need for her world to be orderly, to make sense, to meet her expectations.
 A Rewarding read! November 5, 2009
A. L. Liller (Maryland)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
A life span of Olive,a reserved school teacher, beautifully written, in 13 short tales to enable the reader to delve deeply into her very soul. The supporting characters, Henry Kitteridge, her husband, the complete opposite in character,who is an out going pharmacist, son, Christopher,a podiatrist, daughter-in-law, Suzanne, all play their roles full of human emotion. These are complex, interesting, real life, flawed characters, living in a New England village. This is an insightful, profoundly moving and thought-provoing look into family conflicts and loss. Elizabeth Stout is a master!
Two other recommendations I'd like to share is EXPLOSION IN PARIS, by Pirrung and A RANDOM ACT, that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. All three of these books would make perfect book club reads!!
Olive is My New Hero November 3, 2009
Tallgirl77 (Washington, DC)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Olive Kitteridge was recommended to me by a coworker who told me virtually nothing about the book other than "read it...you'll enjoy it" And she was right.
The story is told in a series of shorter stories, some about Olive directly, and others about people who know her in large and small ways. Olive's inner dialoge is fascinating and real. If you don't know someone like Olive in your life, you probably ARE Olive in some way. And learning what makes her tick made this a very good read.
This book was not what I would call a "Feel Good" book. Most of the book tells stories of bad things that happen to everyone...death, divorce, lonlieness, bad marriages, cancelled weddings, heartbreak and deceipt. I found myself a little depressed as I read it, and when I finished it, I burst into tears. If you are middle aged, you will defintely find this book something to think about (and maybe even worry about.) Despite the doom and gloom, I loved every minute of the read due to the quality of Elizabeth Strout's writing. Have you ever read a book, loved the subject or story line, but wanted to tell the writer where to turn their "camera" so you could see something they do not describe? Well, you won't feel that way with this book. It is clear, concise and she described for me everything I wanted to know.
For those of us who are a part of a book club, this would make an excellent book club section. Many different stories to touch on and talk about.
Happy reading!
Showing reviews 11-15 of 280
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