Status
Available
Series
Genres
Publication
Random House (2019), Edition: 1st Edition, 304 pages
Description
"Olive Kitteridge has returned, as indomitable as ever, this time as a person getting older, navigating her next decade as she comes to terms with the changes--sometimes welcome, sometimes not--in her own life. Here is Olive, strangely content in her second marriage, still in an evolving relationship with her son and his family, encountering a cast of memorable characters in the seaside town of Crosby, Maine. Whether it's a young girl coming to terms with the loss of her father, a young woman about to give birth at a baby shower, or a nurse who confesses a secret high school crush, the irascible Olive improbably touches the lives of others."--Provided by publisher.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member dianaleez
There are authors whose prose flows gracefully from one thought to the next. And there are authors whose characters live - who speak to the reader and say - Reader, this is you. And there are authors whose characters live ordinary lives that are in their way extraordinary.
Elizabeth Strout’s
For those who have never met Olive Kitteridge, she is gauche, often wrong, and painfully outspoken. And she is Everyman. She is one of, if not the, most compelling characters in American Literature.
‘Olive, Again’ is the story of Olive’s last years in the close knit community of Crosby, Maine. Olive and the other inhabitants struggle with life in the Trump era. They’re all quirky and real - from the unhappy couple who has divided their house with yellow duct tape into ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ sections to the grandmother who finds it difficult to love her four inarticulate grandchildren.
The people of Crosby live in the moment, but that moment is often determined by the past. Even in the moments that they try to connect and understand each other they’re hampered by their own lack of self-awareness.
And that’s where Olive (and Strout) triumph. Olive remains imperfect, but she tries to connect to others. Olive will always be gauche; she will always thoughtlessly offend and she will always ask awkward prying questions, but she will also gain an Olive modicum of self-knowledge and a desire to do better.
A free reviewer's copy was provided by the publisher.
Elizabeth Strout’s
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newest novel, ‘Olive, Again,’ is a gracefully written heart-rending masterpiece that encompasses all these qualities. For those who have never met Olive Kitteridge, she is gauche, often wrong, and painfully outspoken. And she is Everyman. She is one of, if not the, most compelling characters in American Literature.
‘Olive, Again’ is the story of Olive’s last years in the close knit community of Crosby, Maine. Olive and the other inhabitants struggle with life in the Trump era. They’re all quirky and real - from the unhappy couple who has divided their house with yellow duct tape into ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ sections to the grandmother who finds it difficult to love her four inarticulate grandchildren.
The people of Crosby live in the moment, but that moment is often determined by the past. Even in the moments that they try to connect and understand each other they’re hampered by their own lack of self-awareness.
And that’s where Olive (and Strout) triumph. Olive remains imperfect, but she tries to connect to others. Olive will always be gauche; she will always thoughtlessly offend and she will always ask awkward prying questions, but she will also gain an Olive modicum of self-knowledge and a desire to do better.
A free reviewer's copy was provided by the publisher.
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LibraryThing member Narshkite
I went into this thinking it would be nice to catch up on what was happening in Olive's life, but there was no way it would be as good as Olive Kitteridge. I don't know why I thought that. I love Elizabeth Strout's books, and while I love some more than others the distinctions are 100%
In book one, not many good things came to Olive, and the good things that did she pushed away. Some things she pushed away for noble reasons, others for reasons that seemed inexplicable, and probably rested in self-protection. As the reader, I wanted to shake her! But in this book, Olive let's some good into her life, and for good and ill she occasionally turns that judgmental eye on herself. She is still cantankerous, she still bulldozes everyone, she is still Olive after all, but we see growth, and some little bit of happiness, and we are able to say goodbye to this character who feels as real and enduring to me as Lizzie Bennett or Ivan Illyich, Frank Bascombe, or Nathan Zuckerman or Count Rostov. We are also privy to the process of aging. This is something rarely covered in more serious literature, but it is covered here in detail in all its random farts, soiled sheets and underwear, unaccustomed physical weakness, senility (or as Olive would say, "going dopey dope"), strained familial relations, and, of course, death. Olive and others are embarrassed by these things, but Strout doesn't let these things diminish the dignity of any character. They are just facts, and have nothing to do with the essence of any person. Its lovely.
But Olive is not the only character in these linked stories, and the other inhabitants of Crosby get beautiful tales as well. As creepy as Cleaning is (my favorite of the non-Olive stories), its creepiness is outshone by its deep sense of longing. It turns out to be incredibly sad and touching, and that really surprised me. It all surprised me and filled me with a sense of having visited people I didn't know I missed.
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idiosyncratic, and the books are uniformly extraordinary. Still, I never expect much from sequels. But this one shocked me; I liked it more than the original. Olive Kitteridge was a wonderful book, but there was a bleakness to it that rankled a bit. Olive is no fountain of joy, but she is beautifully drawn and I (and I assume most readers) came to fully empathize with her, and even to feel some love for her (so long as you don't actually have to talk to her.)In book one, not many good things came to Olive, and the good things that did she pushed away. Some things she pushed away for noble reasons, others for reasons that seemed inexplicable, and probably rested in self-protection. As the reader, I wanted to shake her! But in this book, Olive let's some good into her life, and for good and ill she occasionally turns that judgmental eye on herself. She is still cantankerous, she still bulldozes everyone, she is still Olive after all, but we see growth, and some little bit of happiness, and we are able to say goodbye to this character who feels as real and enduring to me as Lizzie Bennett or Ivan Illyich, Frank Bascombe, or Nathan Zuckerman or Count Rostov. We are also privy to the process of aging. This is something rarely covered in more serious literature, but it is covered here in detail in all its random farts, soiled sheets and underwear, unaccustomed physical weakness, senility (or as Olive would say, "going dopey dope"), strained familial relations, and, of course, death. Olive and others are embarrassed by these things, but Strout doesn't let these things diminish the dignity of any character. They are just facts, and have nothing to do with the essence of any person. Its lovely.
But Olive is not the only character in these linked stories, and the other inhabitants of Crosby get beautiful tales as well. As creepy as Cleaning is (my favorite of the non-Olive stories), its creepiness is outshone by its deep sense of longing. It turns out to be incredibly sad and touching, and that really surprised me. It all surprised me and filled me with a sense of having visited people I didn't know I missed.
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LibraryThing member Hccpsk
Classic Elizabeth Strout--what more needs to be said? Olive, Again revisits Strout’s Pulitzer Prize-winning character, Olive Kitteridge, as she confronts old age. Per usual, Olive’s life reveals itself through a series of vignettes--some focused on her and some on other residents of Crosby,
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Maine. (And yes, some characters return from her other books.) Strout continues to achieve a remarkable level of character development that feels truly believable through intricate details and intimate musings instead of plot. Readers who enjoyed her earlier books will not be disappointed, but it must be said that Strout addresses some potentially troubling sexual situations, and the novel is quite short. Show Less
LibraryThing member riofriotex
I liked this better than Olive Kitteridge, which I recently re-read - and found I liked better on the second reading, about 11 years after the first. Maybe because I am older now too? Maybe because, in this book, Olive also dislikes Trump? Olive ages quite a bit in this sequel, moving from the
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death of her first husband Henry (after a stroke puts him in a nursing home for a few years), to meeting, marrying, and then losing her second husband Jack, and finally, twice widowed, moving into an independent/assisted living facility herself. She also becomes more introspective and somewhat less meddling. Show Less
LibraryThing member lauralkeet
In this follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout once again uses a series of connected short stories to bring readers one of the most memorable characters in literature. Headstrong, outspoken, and yet also incredibly insecure, Olive is now in her 70s. Her
When his wife was dying, she was the one who was furious. … And the last thing she said to him was: “I hate you because I’m going to die and you’re going to live.”
As he glanced up at a seagull, he thought, But I’m not living, Betsy. What a terrible joke it has been.
and this:
The truth is that Olive did not understand why age had brought with it a kind of hard-heartedness toward her husband. But it was something she had seemed unable to help, as though the stone wall that had rambled along between them during the course of their long marriage--a stone wall that separated them but also provided unexpected dips of moss-covered warm spots where sunshine would flicker between them in a sudden laugh of understanding--had become tall and unyielding, and not providing flowers in its crannies but some ice storm frozen along it instead. In other words, something had come between them that seemed insurmountable.
and this:
And it came to him then that it should never be taken lightly, the essential loneliness of people, that the choices they made to keep themselves from that gaping darkness were choices that required respect.
There is an arc to the stories in this novel; time passes, and aging continues to present Olive with emotional and physical challenges. Her loneliness--often self-imposed--never quite goes away, but the final story is both bittersweet and uplifting.
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first husband, Henry, has passed away and Olive has a distant relationship with her only son. She refuses to admit to loneliness, but slowly gives in to overtures of friendship from widower Jack Kennison. Olive learns to love again and initiates reconciliation with her son and grandchildren. In other stories we meet residents of Crosby, Maine, whose lives may barely touch Olive’s but are part of the larger tapestry of this novel. Themes of aging, love, and loss run like a current through this book. I admire Strout’s ability to stir up a swirl of emotions with her evocative writing. Here are just three examples:When his wife was dying, she was the one who was furious. … And the last thing she said to him was: “I hate you because I’m going to die and you’re going to live.”
As he glanced up at a seagull, he thought, But I’m not living, Betsy. What a terrible joke it has been.
and this:
The truth is that Olive did not understand why age had brought with it a kind of hard-heartedness toward her husband. But it was something she had seemed unable to help, as though the stone wall that had rambled along between them during the course of their long marriage--a stone wall that separated them but also provided unexpected dips of moss-covered warm spots where sunshine would flicker between them in a sudden laugh of understanding--had become tall and unyielding, and not providing flowers in its crannies but some ice storm frozen along it instead. In other words, something had come between them that seemed insurmountable.
and this:
And it came to him then that it should never be taken lightly, the essential loneliness of people, that the choices they made to keep themselves from that gaping darkness were choices that required respect.
There is an arc to the stories in this novel; time passes, and aging continues to present Olive with emotional and physical challenges. Her loneliness--often self-imposed--never quite goes away, but the final story is both bittersweet and uplifting.
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LibraryThing member msf59
“But little Henry, Olive's grandson who was ten, had memorized all the presidents of the United States. 'Good for you!' Olive told him, but she was extremely bored as he recited them, and when he got to the current president, Olive made a noise of disgust, and the boy said, seriously, 'I
Olive Kitteridge was published in 2008, (it won the Pulitzer too, which I am perfectly fine with) and now we have Olive's return, a decade later, in Olive, Again. She is still, outrageously cranky, but also ruthlessly honest, with a deep empathetic soul, and she remains one of my favorite literary creations. This is another series of linked stories, set in, Crosby, Maine and Olive shows up, front and center, in many of them, which is also completely fine with me. This collection takes Olive into her 80s and, despite her crotchety ways, she continues to be an inspiration.
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know'.”Olive Kitteridge was published in 2008, (it won the Pulitzer too, which I am perfectly fine with) and now we have Olive's return, a decade later, in Olive, Again. She is still, outrageously cranky, but also ruthlessly honest, with a deep empathetic soul, and she remains one of my favorite literary creations. This is another series of linked stories, set in, Crosby, Maine and Olive shows up, front and center, in many of them, which is also completely fine with me. This collection takes Olive into her 80s and, despite her crotchety ways, she continues to be an inspiration.
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LibraryThing member tangledthread
Back to Olive Kitteridge and the next chapters of her life. The book is constructed much like the first book, but the stories are fresh, depicting Olive after losing her first husband, Henry, and meeting and marrying her second husband, Jack. Olive is not the centerpiece of all the short stories,
The writing is a great reflection on self-awareness and lack thereof., and how much do we really ever know another person. There are also brief reflections on love, especially in the last chapter.
This book could be read without reading the first Olive Kitteridge, but why would you want to do that?
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but she does appear in each of them. I enjoyed the cameo appearances of characters from Strout's other novels: The Burgess Boys and Amy & Isabelle. The writing is a great reflection on self-awareness and lack thereof., and how much do we really ever know another person. There are also brief reflections on love, especially in the last chapter.
This book could be read without reading the first Olive Kitteridge, but why would you want to do that?
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LibraryThing member phyllis.shepherd
I am definitely an Elizabeth Strout fan. When I checked for other books she's written, I realized that I've read them all! Disappointing, but not really in a bad way. Olive, Again may not be the highest form of literature, but I could not put it down. Perhaps it's because I find myself at a similar
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stage of life as Olive, and I could relate to some of her experiences. It's jarring to realize that you don't necessarily have perfect control of your bodily functions any longer, and Olive expresses her frustration in very understandable ways. As we age, our relationships with our children and with other people change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. it also becomes a little easier to to set aside some of our discontent with current events, as we realize that we won't be here forever, and there's only so much we can do in our allotted time. Show Less
LibraryThing member kimkimkim
Juddering, stuttering, along goes Olive, brutally honest and often off putting. Person to person, vignette to vignette, the theme of whether a life has been honestly lived repeats. So many imperfect people with ordinary problems which dwarf their ability to bear their burdens gracefully or any
Olive Kitteridge attempts to teach life’s lesson of knowing who you are, listening to yourself and never forgetting who you are. Knowing you can love deeply and also knowing that it can be temporary. Knowing that all love should be taken seriously and then admitting that she has no clue who she has been and that she doesn’t understand a thing. Isn’t that what life is about?
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a copy
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other way. The exploration of loneliness and the lack of answers, well isn’t that what life is about?Olive Kitteridge attempts to teach life’s lesson of knowing who you are, listening to yourself and never forgetting who you are. Knowing you can love deeply and also knowing that it can be temporary. Knowing that all love should be taken seriously and then admitting that she has no clue who she has been and that she doesn’t understand a thing. Isn’t that what life is about?
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a copy
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LibraryThing member shazjhb
Amazing book. I am not sure if it is because I love Olive or something else. The writing is clean, the characters wonderful and situations real
LibraryThing member froxgirl
Has there ever been a more difficult and confounding old white woman, in the whitest and most aged state in America, than the unsinkable Olive Kitteridge? With this sequel and expansion to the Pulitzer Prize winning novel Olive Kitteridge (and always seeing Frances McDormand as Olive in the
Quote: "There were openings into the darkness of a relationship one saw by mistake, as if inside a dark barn, the door had been momentarily blown off and one saw things not meant to be seen."
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fantastic mini-series), Olive is as iconic as the farm lady in American Gothic. I believe that she must have haunted author Strout until she created another book of linked short stories, half about Olive and half about her neighbors, and all about how the citizens of Crosby, Maine painfully separate from their children, age ingloriously, and die. Olive is remarried to Jack, a #MeToo'd Harvard professor and widower, who watches in amusement and affection as his wife fiercely tries to become "less Olive". Their odd-duck marriage assuages their loneliness while allowing them to gingerly confront the demons they share - the alienation of their children, their regret at the mistreatment of their deceased spouses, and their misplaced sense of superiority. Like an unexpected gift, characters from her previous novels Amy and Isabelle and The Burgess Boys resurface, testing the reader’s knowledge of the Strout oeuvre. The other stories intertwine peripherally with Olive’s, and are rife with struggles to survive tragedies and the ennui of endless northern winters. Once again, Strout has created a work that causes almost physical heartache for the reader.Quote: "There were openings into the darkness of a relationship one saw by mistake, as if inside a dark barn, the door had been momentarily blown off and one saw things not meant to be seen."
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LibraryThing member diana.hauser
OLIVE, AGAIN is written by Elizabeth Strout.
The book is a continuation of Ms. Strout’s Pulitzer prize-winning book, OLIVE KITTERIDGE. OLIVE KITTERIDGE was also developed into an award-winning HBO miniseries which is highly recommended.
OLIVE, AGAIN is a series of exquisite vignettes. The vignettes
A favorite quote from the book is “My God, but I have always loved the light in February.” As any Mainer can attest, the light is so beautiful in February. (When we have light, that is! The secretive nature of February’s light is what makes it so special when we see it.)
Another favorite quote is “Imagine, at my age, starting over again.”
Olive, for all her faults, has the insight, the capacity and ability to grow and change. That is what is very endearing to me.
The book is a continuation of Ms. Strout’s Pulitzer prize-winning book, OLIVE KITTERIDGE. OLIVE KITTERIDGE was also developed into an award-winning HBO miniseries which is highly recommended.
OLIVE, AGAIN is a series of exquisite vignettes. The vignettes
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set a mood and develop the character that is Olive. My favorite story revolves around Olive’s home health aides - the interactions Olive has with them and the impressions, opinions and thoughts that Olive experiences.A favorite quote from the book is “My God, but I have always loved the light in February.” As any Mainer can attest, the light is so beautiful in February. (When we have light, that is! The secretive nature of February’s light is what makes it so special when we see it.)
Another favorite quote is “Imagine, at my age, starting over again.”
Olive, for all her faults, has the insight, the capacity and ability to grow and change. That is what is very endearing to me.
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LibraryThing member GirlWellRead
A special thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This anticipated follow up features the now iconic Olive Kitteridge in a more reflective state in her life. It has been two years since her husband, Henry, died and Olive has started a new relationship
Strout is simply a gift. Her writing is breathtaking, gorgeous, and heartbreaking. Revisiting Crosby, Maine, Strout once again draws on the small-town characters and their connections to Olive. Her works speak to the reader with her signature style of subtle nuances juxtaposed against the not-so-subtle, Olive. This book is a character study that is a feast for the reader.
Admittedly I didn't enjoy this book quite much as Olive Kitteridge, but it was lovely to revisit the brutally honest and discontented, yet empathetic, Olive.
This anticipated follow up features the now iconic Olive Kitteridge in a more reflective state in her life. It has been two years since her husband, Henry, died and Olive has started a new relationship
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with Jack Kennison, a widower. Strout uses this relationship status as a vehicle for Olive's observations on her life, and how her actions have caused stress in many of the most important connections in her life. Strout is simply a gift. Her writing is breathtaking, gorgeous, and heartbreaking. Revisiting Crosby, Maine, Strout once again draws on the small-town characters and their connections to Olive. Her works speak to the reader with her signature style of subtle nuances juxtaposed against the not-so-subtle, Olive. This book is a character study that is a feast for the reader.
Admittedly I didn't enjoy this book quite much as Olive Kitteridge, but it was lovely to revisit the brutally honest and discontented, yet empathetic, Olive.
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LibraryThing member nancyadair
Elizabeth Strout's Olive, Again only confirms her as one of my favorite contemporary writers of literary fiction.
The temperamental Olive in her later decades demonstrates qualities that only come with experience and self-reflection, enabling her to be an instrument of grace to others. She is still
The stories in this book revisit characters from Strout's fictional world of Crosby, Maine.
This was a hard story to read. At age 67, my husband and I have undergone several surgeries this year. I am all too aware of the brevity of life and how we allow ourselves to be propelled through the years impassively until some change in our abilities stops us up short. We reconsider our mistakes; our view of the past and its relationships become torqued with new understanding. We wonder how we could have allowed love to become a battleground, fear to fence us from our dreams. We become invisible, an unwanted portend to others of their own inevitable future. We recognize that we are strangers to each other--and are incomprehensible even to ourselves.
What kind of life can we live in these ever-shortening days? The answer is in the line that had me in tears: "I think our job--maybe even our duty--is to--" Her voice became calm, adultlike. "To bear the burden of the mystery with as much grace as we can."
Life is a mystery. People are a mystery. There are no answers, no easy to follow instructions to guarantee success and happiness.
Like Ranier Maria Rilke wrote in his Letters to a Young Poet, we must "be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked doors and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."*
I don't know if Olive's story is completed. And I am not sure I want to follow her to her end. It's all too close to home. Strout is a fearless writer who dares to confront us with things that disturb our equilibrium. We recognize ourselves in her characters.
I read a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
The temperamental Olive in her later decades demonstrates qualities that only come with experience and self-reflection, enabling her to be an instrument of grace to others. She is still
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a straight-shooter who sees things unvarnished, her truthfulness sometimes abrasive.The stories in this book revisit characters from Strout's fictional world of Crosby, Maine.
This was a hard story to read. At age 67, my husband and I have undergone several surgeries this year. I am all too aware of the brevity of life and how we allow ourselves to be propelled through the years impassively until some change in our abilities stops us up short. We reconsider our mistakes; our view of the past and its relationships become torqued with new understanding. We wonder how we could have allowed love to become a battleground, fear to fence us from our dreams. We become invisible, an unwanted portend to others of their own inevitable future. We recognize that we are strangers to each other--and are incomprehensible even to ourselves.
What kind of life can we live in these ever-shortening days? The answer is in the line that had me in tears: "I think our job--maybe even our duty--is to--" Her voice became calm, adultlike. "To bear the burden of the mystery with as much grace as we can."
Life is a mystery. People are a mystery. There are no answers, no easy to follow instructions to guarantee success and happiness.
Like Ranier Maria Rilke wrote in his Letters to a Young Poet, we must "be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked doors and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."*
I don't know if Olive's story is completed. And I am not sure I want to follow her to her end. It's all too close to home. Strout is a fearless writer who dares to confront us with things that disturb our equilibrium. We recognize ourselves in her characters.
I read a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
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LibraryThing member amysan
Elizabeth Strout is one of my favorite authors and I was excited to get to read more about Olive Kitteridge. It was fun to follow Olive as she grows older and a little more self aware. I love the depth of these characters and the opportunity to explore human nature. Thank you to Netgalley and
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Random House for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
An older and wiser, Olive. Yes, somewhat but she is still outspoken, firm in her likes and dislikes, but more tactful and empathetic. Looking back she admits to mistakes she has made. Linked episodes, that is the description i would use describing this book. The people of Crosby, Maine, like all
Stout, takes the many incidents and foibles, the ordinary things that make up a day,and makes them interesting. As a reader one can relate to some of these occurrences, realizing these are the things that make up our lives. Childbearing, marriage, loneliness, friendship, health issues and aging. Yes, it's all here and plenty more. Life, in all its Glory and ugliness is what is on these pages, and Strout does them justice.
ARC from Random House.
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towns, are going through their individual crises and Olive flute in and out through their lives, sometimes with just a glancing blow. Some episodes are all Olive, catching us up on her life since her last staring role, in the last book.Stout, takes the many incidents and foibles, the ordinary things that make up a day,and makes them interesting. As a reader one can relate to some of these occurrences, realizing these are the things that make up our lives. Childbearing, marriage, loneliness, friendship, health issues and aging. Yes, it's all here and plenty more. Life, in all its Glory and ugliness is what is on these pages, and Strout does them justice.
ARC from Random House.
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
If you've read Olive Kitteridge, you'll be immediately familiar with the structure of Olive, Again; individual chapters that read like stand-alone short stories, but which build into a deep character study of a single woman. Olive is older. She's a widow who has a tense relationship with her son
While this can be read on it's own, why would you deny yourself the pleasure of following Olive from the beginning? There are some surprises in this sequel, but it's written in the same quiet, unvarnished way as the first book.
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and his family, whom she rarely sees. After her last visit to see them, they have not invited her to return and if you've read Olive Kitteridge, you'll know why. As Olive figures out how to live life alone, she interacts with the folks of Crosby, Maine and the surrounding towns, she learns both how to be lonely and how to let people into her life. It's a lovely story, and Elizabeth Strout's love for her out-spoken and prickly creation is evident. While this can be read on it's own, why would you deny yourself the pleasure of following Olive from the beginning? There are some surprises in this sequel, but it's written in the same quiet, unvarnished way as the first book.
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LibraryThing member sleahey
Strout has an ability to capture small town life, in Maine in particular, that is both endearing and haunting. Returning to Olive Kitteridge, we are quickly reminded about her crusty yet somehow sweet persona, which has mellowed a bit as she has aged but still erupts with her tendency to speak her
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mind. As with the earlier novel, each chapter is a self-contained short story, some with only a brief mention of Olive. The well-rounded portrait of both the characters and the community is greater than the sum of the parts, and leaves a lasting impression. For this Maine reader, the authentic local touches just added to my interest--I haven't thought about Cottles for years!--and avoided the condescending "quaintness" of many regional works. Show Less
LibraryThing member dawnlovesbooks
I haven’t been this excited about a book in a really long time. What could be better than the return of Olive Kitteridge? She hasn’t changed much. She still has that witty honesty about her and people still seem to talk to her about the serious things in life. She is a lonely widow now and,
Then the reader finds another lonely soul in Jack Kennison. He spends evenings looking out his window pondering his life. “Jack sat back and looked at the light that was changing on the trees. These long, long evenings; they were so long and beautiful, it just killed him.” “He was just an old man with a sloppy belly and not anyone worth noticing. Almost, it was freeing.” “He understood that he was a seventy-four-year-old man who looks back at life and marvels that it unfolded as it did, who feels unbearable regret for all the mistakes he made.”
He goes on to say, “What frightened him was how much of his life he had lived without knowing who he was or what he was doing. It caused him to feel an inner trembling, and he could not quite find the words-for himself-to even put it exactly as he sensed it. But he sensed that he had lived his life in a way that he had not known. This meant there had been a large blind spot directly in front of his eyes. It meant that he did not understand, not really at all, how others had perceived him. And it meant that he did not know how to perceive himself.”
Jack and Olive develop a relationship that helps soothe the loneliness they both suffer from. They are both widowed and they both have unhealthy relationships with their children. They both seem to be questions who they really are and what their lives have meant.
As the book goes on, we get glimpses into the lives of other people who live in Jack and Olive’s neighborhood and their stories intersect with Jack and Olives. As usual, Elizabeth Strout knows how to write about life and humanity and the things people go through with amazing insight and beauty.
Near the end of the book Olive is reflecting back on her life. She says, “But it was almost over, after all, her life. It swelled behind her like a sardine fishing net, all sorts of useless seaweed and broken bits of shells and the tiny, shining fish.” “The billion streaks of emotion she’d had as she’d look at sunrises, sunsets the different hands of waitresses who had placed before her cups of coffee- All of it gone, or about to go.” “I do not have a clue who I have been. Truthfully, I do not understand a thing.”
The book can be summed up with these quotes: “It should never be taken lightly, the essential loneliness of people.” “Maybe you fall in love with people who save your life, even when you think it’s not worth saving.”
I adore Olive and wish there were was a whole series of books with her as the leading lady. I laughed out loud. My heart hurt. I didn’t want it to end. Well done, Elizabeth Strout!!!
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“Her knowledge of this unhappiness came to her at times, but usually when she was alone.” She often reflects on her marriage with her dead husband saying that, “a stone wall had separated them but also provided unexpected dips of moss-covered warm spots where sunshine would flicker between them in a sudden laugh of understanding.” It’s almost as if it took his death to make her realize his value and her love for him. Then the reader finds another lonely soul in Jack Kennison. He spends evenings looking out his window pondering his life. “Jack sat back and looked at the light that was changing on the trees. These long, long evenings; they were so long and beautiful, it just killed him.” “He was just an old man with a sloppy belly and not anyone worth noticing. Almost, it was freeing.” “He understood that he was a seventy-four-year-old man who looks back at life and marvels that it unfolded as it did, who feels unbearable regret for all the mistakes he made.”
He goes on to say, “What frightened him was how much of his life he had lived without knowing who he was or what he was doing. It caused him to feel an inner trembling, and he could not quite find the words-for himself-to even put it exactly as he sensed it. But he sensed that he had lived his life in a way that he had not known. This meant there had been a large blind spot directly in front of his eyes. It meant that he did not understand, not really at all, how others had perceived him. And it meant that he did not know how to perceive himself.”
Jack and Olive develop a relationship that helps soothe the loneliness they both suffer from. They are both widowed and they both have unhealthy relationships with their children. They both seem to be questions who they really are and what their lives have meant.
As the book goes on, we get glimpses into the lives of other people who live in Jack and Olive’s neighborhood and their stories intersect with Jack and Olives. As usual, Elizabeth Strout knows how to write about life and humanity and the things people go through with amazing insight and beauty.
Near the end of the book Olive is reflecting back on her life. She says, “But it was almost over, after all, her life. It swelled behind her like a sardine fishing net, all sorts of useless seaweed and broken bits of shells and the tiny, shining fish.” “The billion streaks of emotion she’d had as she’d look at sunrises, sunsets the different hands of waitresses who had placed before her cups of coffee- All of it gone, or about to go.” “I do not have a clue who I have been. Truthfully, I do not understand a thing.”
The book can be summed up with these quotes: “It should never be taken lightly, the essential loneliness of people.” “Maybe you fall in love with people who save your life, even when you think it’s not worth saving.”
I adore Olive and wish there were was a whole series of books with her as the leading lady. I laughed out loud. My heart hurt. I didn’t want it to end. Well done, Elizabeth Strout!!!
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LibraryThing member browner56
Olive Kitteridge is one of the great curmudgeons in modern literature. With her judgmental nature and direct, plain-spoken manner borne of her upbringing in a small town in coastal Maine, she instantly became a character who readers could relate to, if not exactly ever come to like. Olive said and
That background is important to understand because with Olive, Again, Strout picks up Olive’s history roughly where the first book ended. Written about a decade after the original, this sequel is also structured as a series of interconnected short narratives, some involving Olive as the main focal point and others in which she is a minor presence in someone else’s story. To be sure, though, this is very much Olive’s tale, as from the outset we find her widowed by her first husband Henry and retired from a career as a middle school math teacher. The book then relates the main events in her life over the next few decades, including a second marriage, a deepening relationship with her estranged son, and an ultimate move into a rest home as her health begins to fail. As before, much of this development involves some heartbreaking themes, such as suicides, failed marriages, dementia, professional betrayal, and the like.
For those who loved Olive Kitteridge—and I am definitely in that camp—this new book is a most welcome chance to deepen our understanding of a complex, flawed, and very human character. Olive still has many of the same rough edges and she remains her own worst enemy when it comes to interacting with friends, former students, and strangers alike. But, I also found her to be far more empathetic this time around and, dare I say it, even a little more humorous than before. The word “mellow” should never be used to describe Olive, but she is definitely moving in that direction. Of course, all of this is to the author’s great credit; Strout is a truly gifted writer whose deep insights into human nature—particularly with respect to the aging process—are captured so beautifully on every page. I am not sure if we have now seen the last of Olive, but it has been an absolute pleasure to accompany her on her journey to this point.
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did things that we all probably want to say or do ourselves on occasion, but usually never end up having the courage to try. In Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout’s perceptive and melancholy novel in which Olive is introduced to the world, the author offers a truly affecting character study of an aging woman attempting to make sense of her own life as well as the impact that she has on the lives of the people around her.That background is important to understand because with Olive, Again, Strout picks up Olive’s history roughly where the first book ended. Written about a decade after the original, this sequel is also structured as a series of interconnected short narratives, some involving Olive as the main focal point and others in which she is a minor presence in someone else’s story. To be sure, though, this is very much Olive’s tale, as from the outset we find her widowed by her first husband Henry and retired from a career as a middle school math teacher. The book then relates the main events in her life over the next few decades, including a second marriage, a deepening relationship with her estranged son, and an ultimate move into a rest home as her health begins to fail. As before, much of this development involves some heartbreaking themes, such as suicides, failed marriages, dementia, professional betrayal, and the like.
For those who loved Olive Kitteridge—and I am definitely in that camp—this new book is a most welcome chance to deepen our understanding of a complex, flawed, and very human character. Olive still has many of the same rough edges and she remains her own worst enemy when it comes to interacting with friends, former students, and strangers alike. But, I also found her to be far more empathetic this time around and, dare I say it, even a little more humorous than before. The word “mellow” should never be used to describe Olive, but she is definitely moving in that direction. Of course, all of this is to the author’s great credit; Strout is a truly gifted writer whose deep insights into human nature—particularly with respect to the aging process—are captured so beautifully on every page. I am not sure if we have now seen the last of Olive, but it has been an absolute pleasure to accompany her on her journey to this point.
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LibraryThing member detailmuse
About this book, Strout writes that it never occurred to her to write more stories about Olive. And yet, when a few years ago one of the stories in this collection popped out of her nearly fully formed, Strout realized, “I was not done with Olive at all. And she was not done with me.” What good
These linked stories pick up in Olive’s life soon after the original collection left off, and they progress linearly over the next couple of decades. In some, Olive merely pops in. In some, other characters from the original collection appear, or characters from Strout’s other collections (hello again, Burgess boys!). In many, Olive is the lead character (and with kudos to the fabulous performances in HBO’s adaptation of Olive Kitteridge, I constantly found myself picturing Frances McDormand). The stories have funny moments (particularly Olive’s over-the-top abruptness), but tend to be prickly and reflective in dealing with relationships and aging.
More than the original, this collection left me wanting even more stories. Perhaps one day, Olive will publish her memoirs?
(Review based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher.)
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news for us readers!These linked stories pick up in Olive’s life soon after the original collection left off, and they progress linearly over the next couple of decades. In some, Olive merely pops in. In some, other characters from the original collection appear, or characters from Strout’s other collections (hello again, Burgess boys!). In many, Olive is the lead character (and with kudos to the fabulous performances in HBO’s adaptation of Olive Kitteridge, I constantly found myself picturing Frances McDormand). The stories have funny moments (particularly Olive’s over-the-top abruptness), but tend to be prickly and reflective in dealing with relationships and aging.
More than the original, this collection left me wanting even more stories. Perhaps one day, Olive will publish her memoirs?
(Review based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher.)
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LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
It might not be accurate to describe Olive Kitteridge as an old friend. But most readers, I think, will be glad to see her again. She is a difficult woman to like, despite two men in their time having fallen in love with her. She is honest, to a fault. Direct. Unflinching. Yet she is often tripped
Although subtitled, “a novel”, once again Strout presents Olive and the other inhabitants of Crosby through linked short stories. In many of these, Olive is front and centre. But in others she appears only peripherally. In each, the protagonist learns something hidden about themselves, even if that bit of knowledge is already evident to everyone else. Olive learns that she has been a bad mother. She discovers that she is snob (though an inverse one). She is surprised, often, by these epiphanies. And sometimes they make her sad. Indeed, it might be said that sadness pervades this book, as Olive transitions from being old to being elderly. But one of her final epiphanies is that she doesn’t have a clue who she has been, that she does not understand a thing. Which rather throws the earlier insights in doubt. And that doubt is about the most human trait that Olive possesses. It’s why we are so glad to spend time with her again.
Although not as subtle or, I think, as powerful as the earlier presentation of Olive, this is nonetheless a book well worth savouring. You may find it makes you a touch sad as well.
Recommended.
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up by blind spots, especially when it comes to self knowledge. She still has a lot to learn, as do, it turns out, most characters in this epiphanic novel. Revelations, large and small, are the order of the day in Crosby, Maine, with a tendency toward self-revelation.Although subtitled, “a novel”, once again Strout presents Olive and the other inhabitants of Crosby through linked short stories. In many of these, Olive is front and centre. But in others she appears only peripherally. In each, the protagonist learns something hidden about themselves, even if that bit of knowledge is already evident to everyone else. Olive learns that she has been a bad mother. She discovers that she is snob (though an inverse one). She is surprised, often, by these epiphanies. And sometimes they make her sad. Indeed, it might be said that sadness pervades this book, as Olive transitions from being old to being elderly. But one of her final epiphanies is that she doesn’t have a clue who she has been, that she does not understand a thing. Which rather throws the earlier insights in doubt. And that doubt is about the most human trait that Olive possesses. It’s why we are so glad to spend time with her again.
Although not as subtle or, I think, as powerful as the earlier presentation of Olive, this is nonetheless a book well worth savouring. You may find it makes you a touch sad as well.
Recommended.
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LibraryThing member DonnaMarieMerritt
If you've read Olive Kitteridge, you're going to want to follow up with this one! She's still as "Olive" as ever, but is discovering more about herself and has more insights into the lives of others as moves into her senior years. Thirteen more delightful stories.
LibraryThing member linda.a.
For a number of years the Pulitzer Prize winning Olive Kitteridge had been on my mental list of “must read” novels for a number of years but it was only when a friend bought me a copy of Olive, Again that, thinking I really ought to read them in sequence, I finally got around to reading it. In
Olive, Again picks up the thread of Olive’s life not long after the first story ended and, as in the first novel, comprises a series of linked vignettes featuring residents of the small town of Crosby, Maine. A number of the characters are familiar from the previous book but the reader’s insights into their lives and experiences is deepened by the author’s acute observations of how people behave in a whole range of scenarios, how previous firmly-held views and beliefs can change when individuals face new challenges and how this then affects those around them see them. There wasn’t one character in the book which wasn’t finely drawn and entirely credible and the author captured so evocatively the fact that, behind closed doors, there are often individuals living lives of quiet desperation. Although the titular character of Olive sometimes appears only on the periphery of some of these stories, her presence is, to a greater or lesser degree, central to each of them, with each of the stories adding to the reader’s understanding of this flawed, complex character.
Olive herself is self-aware and honest enough to recognise that there are many ways in which she too has changed over the years, although often seeming surprised that this has happened! There are many ways in which she has mellowed but, essentially, she has never lost that acuity which has always defined her interactions with others, and neither has she lost her ability to show remarkable compassion towards people who are, in one way or another, suffering.
In my review of the first book I reflected on my huge admiration for the author’s ability to “transform a collection of vignettes into such a satisfying whole, managing to combine moments of profound sadness, loneliness, regret, cruelty, anger, and loss with so many moments of caring tenderness, deep empathy, long-lasting love, loyalty, reconciliation and, ultimately, a message that no matter how messy and confusing it is, life is worth living to the full, no matter what your age.” Those observations feel equally valid for this sequel, which has at its heart so much about the realities of ageing, with some keenly observed, sympathetic reflections on its associated challenges, a subject which is seldom treated so honestly (if at all!) in fiction writing. Olive may not like what is happening to her body but, as always, she’s prepared to face the challenges head-on, no “going quietly” for her!
I’ve grown to love Olive Kitteridge! She’s such an endearing character (not that she would necessarily recognise or approve of that description!) and I’m already feeling bereft of her company; even in those moments when I felt frustrated by her sometimes self-destructive behaviour, I always felt able to believe in her innate goodness … and I thoroughly enjoyed her waspish sense of humour. So, I find myself hoping (although probably in vain!) that this isn’t the last we’ll hear of this wonderful character, as well as the residents of Crosby, Maine!
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one way I regret that I’d deprived myself of such a “gem” but the huge advantage of the wait has been that I wasn’t faced with having a long wait for this sequel! Olive, Again picks up the thread of Olive’s life not long after the first story ended and, as in the first novel, comprises a series of linked vignettes featuring residents of the small town of Crosby, Maine. A number of the characters are familiar from the previous book but the reader’s insights into their lives and experiences is deepened by the author’s acute observations of how people behave in a whole range of scenarios, how previous firmly-held views and beliefs can change when individuals face new challenges and how this then affects those around them see them. There wasn’t one character in the book which wasn’t finely drawn and entirely credible and the author captured so evocatively the fact that, behind closed doors, there are often individuals living lives of quiet desperation. Although the titular character of Olive sometimes appears only on the periphery of some of these stories, her presence is, to a greater or lesser degree, central to each of them, with each of the stories adding to the reader’s understanding of this flawed, complex character.
Olive herself is self-aware and honest enough to recognise that there are many ways in which she too has changed over the years, although often seeming surprised that this has happened! There are many ways in which she has mellowed but, essentially, she has never lost that acuity which has always defined her interactions with others, and neither has she lost her ability to show remarkable compassion towards people who are, in one way or another, suffering.
In my review of the first book I reflected on my huge admiration for the author’s ability to “transform a collection of vignettes into such a satisfying whole, managing to combine moments of profound sadness, loneliness, regret, cruelty, anger, and loss with so many moments of caring tenderness, deep empathy, long-lasting love, loyalty, reconciliation and, ultimately, a message that no matter how messy and confusing it is, life is worth living to the full, no matter what your age.” Those observations feel equally valid for this sequel, which has at its heart so much about the realities of ageing, with some keenly observed, sympathetic reflections on its associated challenges, a subject which is seldom treated so honestly (if at all!) in fiction writing. Olive may not like what is happening to her body but, as always, she’s prepared to face the challenges head-on, no “going quietly” for her!
I’ve grown to love Olive Kitteridge! She’s such an endearing character (not that she would necessarily recognise or approve of that description!) and I’m already feeling bereft of her company; even in those moments when I felt frustrated by her sometimes self-destructive behaviour, I always felt able to believe in her innate goodness … and I thoroughly enjoyed her waspish sense of humour. So, I find myself hoping (although probably in vain!) that this isn’t the last we’ll hear of this wonderful character, as well as the residents of Crosby, Maine!
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LibraryThing member Doondeck
Great to be back in touch with this remarkable woman.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2019-10-15
Physical description
304 p.; 9.5 inches
ISBN
0812996542 / 9780812996548