"Olive Kitteridge," by Elizabeth Stout

"Olive Kitteridge," by Elizabeth Stout

At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life–sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition–its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.

This is our October selection for our book club.  I had neither heard nor read this book before and I found it very interesting.  It basically 13 short stories in which Olive has some sort of role in; sometimes a large role, sometimes just a "walk-on" part.

It's a very complex book with many layers.  Sort of reminds me of an onion.  I enjoyed Olive, and loved her total honesty of a situation.   You could actually relate to some or all of these stories.  The only negative thing all these stories never actually had an ending.  I was told in the HBO series of this book, the stories did have an ending?

Stars out of 5 : 4  I would love to see the TV series now, as I still have questions.  It was well worth the read though and I would definitely recommend you reading the book.