Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 369
 Well-written, but still hated it March 7, 2010
Likesa Goodread (Pittsburgh, PA)
This book appeared as a suggestion based on other contemporary literature I really enjoyed (like The Help, Guernsey Literary, The Book Thief...which by the way, are excellent).
I hated this book, and am surprised by its overall 4-star rating. While well-written technically, I kept thinking the stories would tie in together at the end and make sense. I like to be swept away by a story, and unfortunately, this book didn't take me there.
 Good, But Not ... Great March 7, 2010
Runner 101 (Los Angeles, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book, and I think that Strout is an impressive author, but I wasn't blown away. I loved that that the story was told in a series of short stories, and I think Olive's character was wonderfully developed, but I envisioned a very different ending. As complex a woman Olive was, the end seemed to come up short and fall flat. Despite this shortcoming, I would still enthusiastically recommend it.
Unique voices; vividly drawn characters March 6, 2010
Elizabeth H. Cottrell (Shenandoah Valley, VA USA)
This was my first Kindle reading experience!
I loved this book and was very impressed with its unique voices and unusual perspective. The character Olive Kitteridge is revealed slowly but beautifully through the stories of people who knew, loved or disliked her. Most remarkable, I felt, was the voice the author gives to humanity through her characters, because their trials, tribulations and emotions were achingly real and searingly memorable. Nothing is romanticized, nor is it demonized, but you come away feeling the author has mastered the powers of observation and listening and has the talent to convey and depict these people so you feel you know them personally. That ability is a gift.
Through Olive Kitteridge and her own ability to become more sensitive and open, we are given hope that we all can grow and be better people. The reader comes to form a grudging admiration and even affection for Olive who, though gruff and curt, has touched other lives in a positive way. By the end, I wished her godspeed for happiness.
Reminds me of Our Town March 4, 2010
cdea (San francisco, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fine book, stories well integrated. Reminded me of Wilder's "Our Town" and Anderson's" Winesburg Ohio." Stories of ordinary people whose lives are interwoven in unexpected ways.
Surprising March 4, 2010
Book Addict206 (Maryland, USA)
This book was surprisingly wonderous. Usually short stories are usually not my favorite, but the way they are used in this works very well. In this novel you will meet many different characters that only appear in their own short story, which may seem frustrating but it fits in with the story's attitude. One character that stays constant, the novel's namesake Olive Kitteridge who is frustrating, bitter, and a realist. She will annoy you beyond belief but in the end it is all worth it. I really got into this book, and even though it was thoroughly depressing, Olive becomes more real than in the stories before. Bittersweet when the book was over, but completely worth it.
Showing reviews 6-10 of 369
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