In Olive Again we get to be with matter-of-fact, prickly Olive as she continues her journey into old age. We meet her friends and acquaintances along with all her grumblings about almost everyone. She has a heart of gold and is extremely good at keeping that hidden. We share her fears and her sometimes loneliness. And we observe her as she finally begins to know herself.

So much of the book is about Olive’s – and others’ – regrets. Olive said we all have regrets. I think she’s right. Some things can never be repaired or undone, so we must live with those regrets.

I thoroughly enjoyed the love scattered through the book, especially that of Olive and her two husbands and son. There are many other examples as well. It isn’t the x-rated or sappy kind of love, just ordinary, everyday love. The writing is superb. It made me smile in some places and chuckle in others.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I absolutely loved it. If you’ve read Olive Kitteridge and enjoyed it, Olive Again is a must read. You’ll love it too.

I read Stout’s first “Olive Kitteridge” novel many years ago and loved the interweaving of stories and of course, Olive, herself. “Olive, Again” also takes place in the same small town in Maine where Olive Kitteridge has been a math teacher for years. She’s now retired, widowed and in her 70’s. She’s lived in the same town for so long and knows everyone she encounters from past students to neighbors to friends and enemies. This book is also a series of interconnected stories in which we learn about the lives of the townspeople and about Olive through her interactions with them.

Olive is still blunt and curt but also reveals a softness underneath and a willingness to reflect on her actions and words in a way she couldn’t when she was younger. We find Olive dealing with getting older and losing her independence. She spends more times thinking over memories from the past and analyzing them..

While I enjoyed reading this book, I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I had gone back to read the first book to reacquaint myself with Olive when she was younger. The depth of her growth and contrast in her ability to relate to others would have been even more insightful.

Olive’s journey continues and if you are a fan, you will join her. The roots of her self awareness, or lack of, are explored and her nuanced character is still surprising readers. This is a beautifully written book that will linger as we all discover, there is a little Olive in all of us.

Interesting to Olive fans to find out how she ends up. Not quite as good as the earlier works—some storylines within the book about other characters seem a little lacking. Classic Olive with her stark honesty is always fun to read but she does grow and acknowledge her frailties. Good depiction of aging.

Magnificent. Superb. I have not been able to get this sequel to Olive Kitteridge out of my head. I don’t have enough superlatives to describe how compelling the book is. I think Elizabeth Strout is destined for another Pulitzer for this. It was so vivid and the language so rich. It simultaneously lifted and broke my heart. Through the tales of others, Olive ties it all together in her large persnickety personality, She is a beauty soul and witnessing her journey truly enriched my understanding of human nature at its purest and rawest level. I loved it and will recommend to all. Thanks so much to Netgalley for the ARC. This was definitely my best read of 2019!

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 Random House for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth Strout has never disappointed me and she doesn't here either with more from Olive Kitteridge and her neighbors. Many of the chapters could be stand alone short stories, they connect with Olive only briefly at times but it all flows to give the feel of her personality and story-line. A great book group choice for sure.

Olive's back and is now in the golden years of her life although her husband Henry has died, she rarely sees her only son, and she's often lonely. Although that changes as Olive meets Jack, a widower with his own regrets. In Crosby, Maine we meet a wide range of engaging characters, some former students of Olive's.
Through the other characters we get a clear view of what life is like in this small town, and we learn how one's business is everyone's business. Olive is loved by many, feared and misunderstood by some, and always has something to say. Opinionated and caring, she's a character of many facets who is memorable, even after the book is finished.
I received this lovely book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and I feel fortunate to have been given this opportunity.

What a wonderful book! Thank you, Elizabeth Strout, for letting us visit once again with the eccentric, but painfully truthful Olive Kitteridge and other denizens of Crosby, Maine.

Written with humor and pathos, this picks up Olive’s life as she ages and faces so many situations that resonate with us all either through experiences with parents or our own advancing conditions.

As with Olive Kitteridge, some chapters focus on Olive, others are interwoven vignettes about people who have crossed paths with Olive as students of hers, co workers, neighbors, or fleeting acquaintances.

This is truly a don’t miss book.

With Olive, Again, Elizabeth Strout delivers exactly what book clubs across the globe have been wanting – more of that surly and cantankerous, but remarkably lovable, Olive Kitteridge.

Strout returns to Crosby, Maine and picks up where Olive Kitteridge left off, offering Olive a second chance at marriage, family relationships, friendship and community. Described as a novel but (as before) told in connected stories, we get a glimpse of the people of Crosby and with context afforded by the span of time.

Within these pages:

Olive gets a pass on not having brought a gift to a shower when she delivers the baby of one of the guests in her car.
A young girl amasses a small fortune by capitulating to a voyeur, but then loses it to a poor choice for a hiding place.
Olive tries to renew a relationship with her son and his wife and explores if perhaps their son, Henry – named for Olive’s deceased husband – is the key to a new start.
A daughter comes to terms with the secrets her parents kept, the reality of unhappiness in marriage (including her own) as well as the unsavory source of the inheritance her father leaves her.
What Olive considered is a brush with fame via a local semi-celebrity turns into the ultimate betrayal.
A civil war re-enactor finds peace for the war in his home by dividing it with yellow duct tape. However, he and his wife find themselves in an usual place – on the same side of the battle – when their youngest daughter announces she’s starring in a documentary about her very unusual career.
Even when Olive isn’t front and center of the narrative – but especially when she is – we see her wrestling with an unappreciated bent toward truth-telling and letting others attend to meeting her emotional needs. We also see Olive reaching out with compassion to those who are slighted by others.

Finally, just before signing off, Strout offers her loyal readers a cameo from a prior novel, which I loved.

Because of HBO’s miniseries of Olive Kitteridge, I could not stop picturing Frances McDormand as I read Olive, Again. If you haven’t seen it, it is well worth the time. It is as if Olive was created for her, and I hope we’ll see a second miniseries from this group of stories.

It isn’t often that returning to a well-loved character will live up to its original affinity – and for this reason, I’m typically not a fan of sequels. Olive, Again is anything but disappointing. Rather, the maturation of Olive and her circle will deepen discussions and broaden the analysis of life and death, love and animosity, and the struggles that we call the human experience.

Bravo, Ms. Strout! And on behalf of book clubs around the globe, thank you.

How do you write a sequel to a Pulitzer Prize winning novel? It is probably a rare occurrence and may never have even happened before. But Elizabeth Strout takes on the challenge and is triumphant. Now that gets me wondering if a sequel to a Pulitzer Prize winning book has ever won a Pulitzer Prize?

I was thrilled to see the story of Olive Kitteridge continue into a second volume and jumped at the chance to read it. Not surprisingly, Elizabeth Strout did not disappoint. While she is a brilliant storyteller, she never ceases to amaze me with her insight into human nature.

It was delightful to be able to visit again with Olive and the inhabitants, both old and new, of Crosby, Maine. The structure of the book is the same as previously — short stories which feature Olive while others focus on other people living in Crosby. But once again, Olive is the thread that ties all these stories together.

Olive continues her psychological evolution, becoming more self-aware and gaining a better understanding of herself. She comes to to appreciate universal truths about the human condition. Her growing insight into herself comes from many sources.

Olive sees some of her flaws in others and then makes the connection to herself — for instance, she sees her daughter-in-law yelling at her son in front of others and realizes she did the same thing to her husband.

She reflects on her past, recognizing her mistakes as well as her psychological shortcomings. Olive realizes that she has become a somewhat better person over time and regrets that Harry was unable to benefit from it.

She overhears her daughter-in-law describe her as narcissistic, looks it up in the dictionary but cannot see how it applies. Later, she comes to understand that she talks a lot about herself and encourages her companion at the time to take over the conversation, assuring her that she’ll return to talking about herself.

Olive contemplates moments of regret, wishing she could have done things differently. She realizes that she was unkind to her husband in his final years and she feels remorse. Also, she comes to understand that her relationship with her son is lacking in so many ways,

It came to her then with a horrible whoosh of the crescendo of truth: She had failed on a colossal level. She must have been failing for years and not realized it. She did not have a family as other people did.

Olive reads a poem about herself written by the Poet Laureate, a former student of her’s who she recently met up with, and while dismissing it at first, she comes to see the truth in it. She is positively amazed that the author, knowing so little about her, had more insight into her than she did.

Many characters in this book wonder who they are and how others perceive them. We meet them when they are reflecting on their lives and questioning their identity. We learn how fragile those identities can be. For example, one character learns later in life that contrary to what he believed at the time, he was not responsible for a tragic event. While relieved, he feels that he has lost a little bit of his identity.

The writing is just as wonderful as Olive Kitteridge — the world is richly described and the characters have tremendous depth.

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.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group/Random House and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was excited for this book, but went in with low expectations because I liked Olive Kitteridge SO MUCH, and couldn't imagine a follow up being nearly as good. Immediately, this one had the same feel and I'm pleasantly surprised to discover I may have liked this one MORE!

Elizabeth Strout is a phenomenal story-teller. Even her side characters have depth and backstory. This is another collection of stories about every day life. They're all about connection and community, and human nature. Olive is older now. She's still a bit crochety, but she's trying to be a better person, and she has a lot of love to give. Here, we follow her through her days as her path crosses with other folks in her small town. Olive was a teacher for many years, and we see how even brief interactions she's had with them influenced their lives.

The writing is rich and emotional. Strout's characters are ordinary yet fascinating at the same time. Their stories are woven together here in the same moving way as the first book.

If you haven't read Olive Kitteridge first, you definitely should. If you have, you will love this one. I highly recommend both for readers of literary fiction and short stories.

This novel had that magic mix of being very readable yet explored human stories in a way that was anything but light. It was not always a happy read, but it was very enjoyable.

This is an unusual book in that there are many points of view through time changes leaving me a bit confused at times but it didn’t matter. Why? Because each section is so well written and interesting Well worth my time

Once again I have spent a delightful few days enjoying Olive., “Olive, Again” does not disappoint the reader. Elizabeth Strout with her wonderful warm insights into human nature brings forth the best and the worst in humanity. We love Olive for her strengths and we empathize with her for her weaknesses. The story is in alternating chapters showing Olive aging from mid life to old age. The other chapters deal with her relationship to her community and surroundings in the world of rural Maine. I found the chapters that dealt with her directly to be the strength of this book. The alternating chapters that dealt with her neighbors I found to be somewhat weak in their connection to the main storyline. Some of these connections so remote that they seemed vignettes of another story yet to be told.
All in all I say kudos to Elizabeth Strout for giving us yet another delightful novel.

Delightfully acerbic Olive Kitteridge is somewhat mellowed by age in this sequel to the eponymous work.

Olive, Again is also a series of interconnected short stories featuring Olive, Crosby, Maine, or characters from Strout’s various works. While Olive has retained her blunt, outspoken—and sometimes ornery—ways, she has been gentled by loss and the realization that she may have driven some (e.g., her only son) away with her forthrightness. Her underlying kindness is very much evident in this new book, which is less about Olive and Henry (who is, after all, dead) and more about community, and caring for those who are part of your community, whether or not you agree with them, or even like them.

Beautifully written, occasionally heart wrenching, and frequently hilarious, Olive, Again is in my opinion, even better than the Pulitzer Prize-winning Olive Kitteridge. #NetGalley #OliveAgain

I fell in love with Olive Kitteredge from the moment I opened the first book and loved getting to see more of her world in Anything is Possible so it only makes sense that Olive, Again is also getting rave reviews. It is sad to think about Olive getting old bit her views on life and death are on point as always. If you loved the first Olive book then this one is a must read! I hope Ms. Strout has a little more Olive left for us in the future!

Thank you for the publisher for providing me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5

Olive Kitteridge has become an iconic figure in American literature, her vituperative, downer personality reverberating to a Pulitzer Prize some ten years ago and several Emmy awards when Strout's first book with her was made into a fantastic (and fantastically cast) HBO miniseries. Despite being the most unlikable of characters, someone who verbally abuses those who love her and sees little joys in a life impacted by tragedy and likely mental health issues, Kitteridge still manages to engender sympathy.

In the follow up to the classic, Strout once again structures it as many interlaced stories, some with Olive at the centre and others at the periphery, but even more than the first she is the star. As life as a widow takes hold and the unwinnable trek toward death take hold, Olive begins to consider her life and her attitudes, her treatment of others, her now dead husband Henry and her somewhat estranged son, and she begins to self-reflect and take responsibility for her bitterness and what it must have done to others. Despite those she has crossed continue to be skeptical about her, she manages to grow, find love, and try to find meaning in old and new friendships. As we approach the twilight of her life, Olive remains cantankerous but also more rounded, a better person, and we are happy to have journeyed with her as she has grown.

Strout remains a remarkable conveyor of the intimate meanings of life, taking the small moments in life and uncovering them for their profundity. Her writing is economical, no wasted word, but also takes its time to slowly reveal the secrets below the surface of the ordinary life, how difficult ordinariness can be, with its suffering, its loneliness, but also how wonderful and rewarding even the smallest joy can bring to the mundane. Strout hits it out of the park again and hopefully this one will not disappoint the loyal followers of Olive Kitteridge.

What a beautiful book. Strout manages to present largely unsparing characters who still yearn for connection, for a cure to loneliness. Every person in this book has a depth of emotion that’s simply remarkable.

Olive’s awakening into an understanding of herself (or at least acknowledging how far away that understanding is) is particularly incisive and heartbreaking. The evolution of her feelings about the men in her life was surprising and completely earned.

You don’t have to had read Olive Kitteridge to enjoy this book, but I loved having my copy handy to remind me who appeared in the prior novel.

I haven‘t read the prequel to this book but I enjoyed Olive, Again. This collection of stories is set in Crosby, Maine and has either as the main or a peripheral/onlooker character, Olive Ketteridge. The stories show regular people caught in their own struggles, daily events, and power dynamics in different relationships. The stories have a sad undercurrent.