Kirkus-Style Review
A Review of Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth
Strout
Olive
Kitteridge is a former school teacher, mother to only child Christopher, wife
to husband Henry, and a person who knows exactly how she thinks things and
people ought to be and behave. Although Olive Kitteridge is the titular character
of this novel, she is not the central character in most of the book’s chapters,
but rather she turns up at some point in each by way of her relationship to its
primary characters. At times funny and heart-warming, but at many times distressing
and sad, Olive Kitteridge does not
shy away from a realistic portrayal of life. As Olive and the other characters
move through their lives, many heavy topics including illness, infidelity, estrangement
between family members, and death are at the forefront of their struggles. This
novel does not gloss over the hardships of life, but rather illuminates them in
gut-wrenching ways. But, importantly, the beauty of life is also illuminated
when relationships and nature provide meaning, comfort, and purpose for those
afflicted by such hardships.
For the
most part, each chapter provides the reader with new insight into the person of
Olive and how she interacts with and affects those around her, and each story
feels needed and relevant. The exception to this is the chapter Criminal, which feels a bit out-of-place
and does not add enough insight into Olive to justify its inclusion in the
novel, although it’s a perfectly fine story on its own. Although the novel moves
overall in a chronological fashion toward Olive reaching older age, the
chronology of specific chapters and events is not always clear. The uncertainty
of the timeline has the potential to be off-putting, but it is also a very
effective mode of storytelling for this particular novel. The structure of the
novel mirrors the fact that events of the past, present, and future are all
intertwined in a person’s life. By the end of the novel, the reader and Olive
are both left to contemplate all that has transpired and where life will take
Olive in the future, and many readers will probably be curious to know where
that will be.
Strout, E. (2008). Olive Kitteridge. New York:
Random House Trade Paperbacks.
That's so fascinating- I don't think I've ever heard of a story where the main character only appears through others' perspectives. That's such an interesting approach to character study. A lot of books will show how other people perceive someone but then the person usually gets a POV chapter (or more) to share their own perspective. Do you ever get to see anything from Olive's perspective? I see the movie all the time at work but this definitely makes me want to read the book! Great review!
ReplyDeleteThank you! You do get to see things from Olive's perspective a few times (I think there were either two or three chapters where she was truly the main character of the chapter, but in all the rest she wasn't. All the chapters were told from a third-person perspective, but in those couple chapters where Olive was the true main character you were told more directly what she thinking/experiencing). I thought it was a super interesting way to learn about a character and I've never read another book like it, so I liked how unique it was!
DeleteI read this for book club a few years ago. You did an excellent job outlining the uniqueness of the book, it's main character, and summarizing it in a way that makes people want to read it! Great job and full points!
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