Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Age Level: Adult
Format: Book

Olive Kitteridge, a school teacher living in Crosby, Maine, is known for her emotional outbursts and opinions. Her life revolves around doom and gloom, partially thanks to being raised by an emotionally disturbed father. However, as Strout shows in this collection of short stories, under Olive's cool demeanor is someone who shares the same joys, concerns and feelings that are representative of people she knows. Olive appears in each of the thirteen short stories, either as a main character, a minor character or just simply a passing name in conversation; each of these stories show how Olive's existence plays on the characters, whether it be a former student reflecting on Olive's classroom mannerisms to her husband contemplating a deep love for an employee and its effect on his marriage. Emotionally charged with themes such as depression, suicide and love, these stories bring into the foreground life's insecurities and how each of the characters play on their strengths and weaknesses to overcome or succomb to their thoughts.

This is a very powerful book and one that I would not normally pick up to read. However, the fact that this book won the Pulitzer Prize changed my mind. I'm glad it did. Despite her shortcomings, it's rather easy to sympathize with Olive and to see how she has touched the lives of those around her, in both a negative and positive light. The short stories span a few decades, watching Olive and her family growing older and facing tough situations, such as bad communication and health scares. This is a view of small town life and how so many of the townspeople connect with one another. It's just simply amazing.

Those who enjoyed reading The Grace That Keeps This World by Tom Bailey or Plainsong by Kent Haruf should try this book.

Reviewed by Jessica