This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009. HBO produced a 4 part miniseries, based on the novel in 2014. It is a collection of short stories that take place in a small town in Crosby, Maine. The stories all feature Olive Kitteridge. She is a retired Math teacher who is married to a pharmacist, Henry who finds loyalty in his marriage to be both 'a blessing and a curse.' She has one son, Christopher.
As I perused the reviews of this book, they are mixed. Many people disliked it and were upset that it won the Pulitzer. Others agreed with me, that it is a remarkable book, worth rereading.
Olive is the quintessential person you don't want to encounter when troubled, or in any sense, vulnerable in any way. Elizabeth Strout presents the lives of these characters in snapshots, from Olive's perspective, which can be ruthless at times. At her son's wedding which is being held at her house, she overhears the bride, "Dr Sue" speaking unfavorably about Olive's dress and is critical of Christopher, stating she understands he has had a "hard life especially since, he was an only child."
Olive's claws come out and she is incensed.
In Olive's world, this is her interpretation of the course of events, "Oh it hurts-actually makes Olive groan as she sits on the bed. What does Suzanne know about a heart that aches so badly at times, that a few months ago, it almost gave out, gave out altogether? It is true she does't exercise, her cholesterol is sky high. But all that is only a good excuse, hiding how it's her soul, really, that is wearing out."
Olive then proceeds to invade her son's bureau, once a place for "boy's socks and t-shirts, the drawer is now filled with her daughter-in-law's underwear-tumbled together, slippery, lacy colorful things. Olive tugs on a strap & out comes a shiny pale blue bra, small cupped and delicate." She balls it up and "pokes it down into her roomy handbag." Olive then proceeds to take a black magic marker and smears a black line down the arm of one of her sweaters.
I found the book to be both hysterical and tragic. She's awful-the proverbial victim, who tramples over everyone she meets, often with one phrase or a word. Olive Kitteridge goes for the juggler every time, when anyone crosses her path-even innocently. She is an unhappy person who lashes out at others, rather than taking a hard look at herself. She does soften .. a bit....over time.
But, I think it's a remarkable book that is beautifully written. Elizabeth Strout, captures the flaws and vulnerabilities of people and like Olive, fixates on them, to drive the point home. It's the narrative of the human condition, the struggle, the pull to be good, with all of our flaws, at times, they slip out and onto other people.
In the end, as an elderly widow, her final resignation, "It baffled her, the world. She did not want to leave it yet."
Ms. Strout will be returning to this lovable character in "Olive Again: A Novel" -Release Date October 15, 2019
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