Weekly Reader: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout; Strong Character Driven Stories With An Unforgettable Protagonist

Weekly Reader: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout; Strong Character Driven Stories With An Unforgettable Protagonist

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


PopSugar Reading Challenge: A book that passes the Bechdel Test (Olive, Daisy, and Nina talk about Nina's health in the story, "Starving.")


Spoilers: You can't forget a lead character like Olive Kitteridge.


The eponymous protagonist of Elizabeth Strout's anthology, Olive Kitteridge is at the center of this emotional strong character driven anthology about life in a small town.

Olive is the nucleus around which this narrative functions. She is a retired math teacher who still runs into and keeps in touch with her former students. She has been married for a long time to pharmacist, Henry Kitteridge which is up and down, more negative these days with Olive's firey temper and Henry's mental infidelities. She has a son, Christopher, a podiatrist who is married to Suzanne, a woman who Olive does not like. She is known throughout town and has many friends and is involved in many organizations.

Olive is stubborn, crochety, argumentative, opinionated, warm hearted, and loving. You love her, then you hate her, then you do both. But above all, you don't forget about her.


Strout earned a much deserved Pulitzer Prize for this wonderful anthology, because she fills it with such memorable rich characters that are recognizable, understandable, and identifiable. The strongest character of course is Olive herself. There are many stories that explore her immediate surroundings. The first story, "Pharmacy" covers her husband, Henry's involvement in the life of his employee, Denise as his compassion for her turns into an unrequited infatuation. Another story, "A Different Road", involves a hostage situation in which Olive says the wrong things to Henry in an argument that haunts them for the rest of their lives.


Olive can be extremely steadfast in her opinions. In the stories, "A Little Burst" and "Security," Olive makes perfectly clear that she does not approve of Christopher's significant others. In fact, many make the argument that she wouldn't like any of the women in her son's life. She befriends a man in the story, "River", but their differing political beliefs almost causes the friendship to end almost before it begins. Olive dominates any conversation and situation that she is in. (Even the accompanying Reader's Guide interview with Strout becomes a two-way interview with Strout and her main protagonist.)


Despite her prickliness, Olive is one that is always willing to help out those in need, particularly younger people. She uses her own experiences with a suicidal father and a family history of mental illness as an aide to help others such as Kevin, a former student contemplating suicide in "Incoming Tide." Her former life as a teacher and current life as a sometimes-busybody gives her a good handle at recognizing the difficulties that another person is going through, even a total stranger. In the story, "Starving," she instantly knows that Nina, a young woman who is new in town, is anorexic so Olive, and Olive's friends, lovers Daisy and Harmon, help get Nina the treatment that she needs.


While Olive is certainly the most engaging, other characters are quite interesting in their own right. Many of them sparkle even in stories where Olive only has a slight mention if at all. Angela O'Meara, the main character in the story, "The Piano Player" knows and plays everyone's favorite song at the local hangout. However, she also suffers through life with her dying mother, a former prostitute, and a joyless relationship that causes her to feel lonely.

Another story "Ship in a Bottle," involves a troubled relationship between a mother and her two daughters. Julie, the eldest has clinical depression and has to watch helplessly as her mother is jilted at the altar by her faithless boyfriend. Even when Olive isn't involved, Strout's gift for characterization is still present.


Olive Kitteridge and the rest of the characters are well-written and brilliant. They leap off the page and go from being characters that are interesting to read about to becoming good friends.