Oh Olive! The fact that this sourpuss of a character grew on me is a testament to Ms. Strout's writing ability. However, I must admit that this was a more enjoyable read for me than the first installment of Olive Kitteredge. Olive softened in her old age, and became a joy to get to know. Elizabeth Strout made me laugh, made me cry, and made me truly ponder how I treat my children, my husband, and the rest of my family and friends.
Olive Kitteridge lived her life never holding back judgment and was unapologetically blunt. Her ability to judge social cues was absolutely lacking. By the same token, she was incredibly astute and amusingly witty. While Strout provided her readers with an abundance of cringeworthy moments, these were softened by tender instances of realization, and were what ultimately endeared me to dear old Olive.
Once again, we are presented with a melange of stories written about a myriad of characters, some familiar and some newly introduced. At first glance the stories seem so random, until one realizes a theme of loss and loneliness, and their connection back to Olive.
Strout does a good job of continuing Olive's story with enough of a subdued summary that even readers who didn't read the first novel can enjoy it.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for gifting me with the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review. Look for this great read to hit bookshelves on October 15, 2019.
*** as an addendum, I should have pointed out that there are some highly sensitive topics that made me uncomfortable at times. One such story dealt with a young girl who cleaned the house of an older couple, and exhibited some very disturbing behavior in front of the husband. So although the novel really was an excellent read, I thought this is something I should mention.
Read 8/15/19
No comments:
Post a Comment