Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Having enjoyed The Burgess Boys enormously, I was keen to sample some more Elizabeth Strout and was drawn to Olive Kitteridge which had won the Pulitzer Prize.

This book reads like a series of connected short stories set in the small Maine town of Crosby, each touching on the life of a retired school teacher. Olive Kitteridge is a raw-boned, prickly and patently rude woman, with a good understanding of the human psyche. At times you wonder if it is this understanding that makes her so difficult - she simply can’t be bothered with conventions of polite society when she sees the lives of silent desperation around her.

And there’s plenty of suffering on offer as stories deal with suicide, depression, parents coping with offspring in prison, anorexia, loneliness and loss. In spite of this, there are also humorous moments, such as Olive’s revenge on her daughter-in-law, and even the odd happy ending.

And for all her peculiar behaviour, Olive is interesting and oddly likeable. And similarly, this is an oddly likeable book as well, for all the sadness lurking in its pages. As with The Burgess Boys, Strout’s characters are very real and the dialogue and interactions between them are very believable, while in the background Crosby is vividly created with its wild seashore and weather. This is an unusual book from a very gifted writer.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue Link: Olive Kitteridge