I loved this book! It was like being told stories by a friend. And I identified so much with Olive it almost scares me!
I thought the writing was phenomenal! I loved the characters that were so full of personality and so real.
I have to give this a 5 star because the book moved me so!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC of this book. All options are my own.

Based on the description and the reviews of another book by this author, I was really looking forward to it. I could not get into this book. Multiple attempts and it did not keep my attention.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Do I dare review a book I couldn’t finish? This was a sad and somewhat disturbing book centered around main characters who are mostly elderly, isolated and alone having experienced loss of loved ones through death, dementia or emotional /geographic distance. A repeating occurrence involving a voyeuristic old man and a young teenage girl added to the reason I finally put the book down and said ‘ nuff of this”. I was not anxious to discover any further “ surprises” in this book. Not my cup of tea.

Strout does not disappoint with this companion to Olive Kitteridge. She deftly captures ordinary real life with all its heartbreak, humanity, and simplicity.

"The iconic Olive struggles to understand not only herself and her own life but also the lives of those around her in the town of Crosby, Maine.."
Elizabeth Strout is a great observer of human nature and an exquisite storyteller.

Such a delight to revisit Live, again ;). Quirky and endearing, she has quickly become a favorite character

Reviewed for The Coachella Review:

Elizabeth Strout’s third novel, Olive Kitteridge[1], was published in 2008 and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009. In 2015, the book was adapted into an award-winning miniseries with Frances McDormand playing the title role of Olive, a character who seems to have been written with McDormand in mind. Readers and viewers alike were delighted by the character of Olive. Now, Olive Kitteridge returns in Strout’s seventh and most recent novel, Olive, Again[2]. Imagine my delight to find that this new book is an even more engaging, moving, and meaningful read than the original.

[Please read the rest of this review at http://thecoachellareview.com/wordpress/2020/02/12/book-review-olive-again/]

Having read and enjoyed Elizabeth Strout’s novel, Olive Kitteridge, years ago, I was delighted to see that there was a sequel book called Olive, again. I was happy to be able to read about Olive’s life as she grew older and more feisty. Her character was so likable despite her brutal honesty and sometimes harsh responses to others. As Olive grew older she experienced loss and loneliness and I felt totally empathetic towards her. Her friends and neighbor’s lives added to the interest the story held for me. I believe I have read all of Elizabeth Strout’s books and she never disappoints me.

The novel in stories is phenomenal, and does more than just follow up to the great award winning original. The book is luminous and delightful and I loved the book from the first page to the very end.

Always the wise and lovable character Olive. This is another fun read and character driven story. It took me way too long to realize I had this book on my list from NetGalley! Fun read, thanks!!

As always, a beautiful read from Elizabeth Strout. I am so glad we got to see more of Olive! I absolutely loved Olive Kitteridge, so this was a pleasure to get to see her story and her influence spread further.

I read the first Olive book a few years ago and enjoyed it so I was pretty excited to get my hands on this, but to me.. it fell a bit short. I liked it but not as much as the first. Maybe it was a change in myself personally and my reading style, but I just felt myself NOT liking Olive and just being annoyed. I still enjoyed the story and would never NOT recommend it but I just wasn't the biggest fan myself.

Loved It! WIll be doing for book club next year! My ladies will love revisiting their old friend Olive

What is it about Olive that makes me love these books so much? Reading “Olive, Again” was like reconnecting with an old friend. Olive can be a little brash, but there’s so much of her to love. Her story is so authentic and relatable, and watch her growing pains is cathartic. Author Elizabeth Strout has such a way of observing human relationships and telling stories that we can all learn from. These books (I do recommend you read them in order) are so simple, yet teach us so much about ourselves.

I personally loved the Olive books, and would recommend them to most of my friends, especially mothers.

#OliveAgain #NetGalley

Oh, I loved Olive the first time, and I loved her even more again. This author makes simple things so fascinating. Her look at this common woman and her acquaintances is brilliant. I need to get busy and read the rest of Elizabeth Strout’s books - I enjoy them so.

I am grateful to NetGalley for providing this ebook in return for an honest review.

I loved getting to revisit Olive in Olive, Again. This sequel did not disappoint. Olive is still the consummate curmudgeon, but there's something about her that I just can't help but love. Maybe it's the loneliness she is experiencing throughout this book, her vulnerability as she ages, but my heart ached for Olive while reading. I love Strout's unique way of weaving stories of others living in Crosby, little stories that seem separate from Olive's but in truth are just further extensions of her feelings of loneliness and loss. Most stories are linear, focused from one POV, but Strout's style gives the book so much more depth.

If you enjoyed Olive Kitteridge there's no question that you will love Olive, Again.

Fans of Elizabeth Strout can assuredly pick up a new novel by her without checking the summary, especially if it’s once again (see what I did there…) about her most interesting character Olive Kitteridge. Told from the perspectives of her fellow townspeople whose lives intersect with hers in a profound way, as well as from her own, it’s reminiscent of Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (way back in the day, but such a classic work), providing nuances not accessible from a single point of view, especially one as focused as Olive’s. Endearing she is not, but fascinating she is, so complex and surprisingly wise, even compassionate, in unexpected ways—Olive has her lovers and haters; no one is on the fence about this lady. This book could stand on its own, though it is definitely buttressed by its predecessor Olive Kitteridge. Unfortunately for OK’s fans, this may be her swan song. Dismayed at the fast forwarding of the latter half of the book, this Dear Reader saw the end coming too soon, losing Strout a precious star. I received a digital copy of this story from one of my favorite authors from the publisher Random House through NetGalley.

I do not have a clue who I have been. Truthfully, I do not understand a thing.

Olive is coming to terms about her life thru the life of others. She seems to know the truth of others but as she stumbles thru life with others in their rudeness, grace, insecurities, and all around being human, she finds does she really know who she is. In some ways this prose reminds me of a Seinfield episode a show about nothing but really is about everything. Olive says what she thinks of her neighbors, former students, family, and the two husbands. Which in retrospect, are men that seem totally different from each other. I personally think Jack seemed to understand her the most. Her relationships are a journey of self-discovery and is always in a humorous light.

If you like a prose about the human emotional plight we find ourselves in but never ever to be able to articulate, you may find yourself saying to Olive metoo#.

A Special Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Olive Kitteridge is back again in the sequel to Strout's first book bearing the main character's name.

Returning to the town of Crosby, the book begins not long after the first book ended, with Olive alone after the death of her husband, Henry. She meets (re-meets) Jack, striking up a friendship with him, which follows along with more chapters of the people in the town and Olive's thoughts and feelings of them.

Like the first book, I'm still not sure how I feel about Olive. I like her, yet I don't like her. I feel like I'd be irritated by her in real life, yet I still want to keep reading to see where her story is going.

For those who read and enjoyed the first book (I mostly did), the follow up is equally enjoyable.

Always enjoyable, Elizabeth Strout is a writer with a keen eye for detail and sobering intellect for character development.