Elizabeth Strout's Olive, Again only confirms her as one of my favorite contemporary writers of literary fiction.

The temperamental Olive in her later decades demonstrates qualities that only come with experience and self-reflection, enabling her to be an instrument of grace to others. She is still a straight-shooter who sees things unvarnished, her truthfulness sometimes abrasive.

The stories in this book revisit characters from Strout's fictional world of Crosby, Maine.

This was a hard story to read. At age 67, my husband and I have undergone several surgeries this year. I am all too aware of the brevity of life and how we allow ourselves to be propelled through the years impassively until some change in our abilities stops us up short. We reconsider our mistakes; our view of the past and its relationships become torqued with new understanding. We wonder how we could have allowed love to become a battleground, fear to fence us from our dreams. We become invisible, an unwanted portend to others of their own inevitable future. We recognize that we are strangers to each other--and are incomprehensible even to ourselves.

What kind of life can we live in these ever-shortening days? The answer is in the line that had me in tears: "I think our job--maybe even our duty--is to--" Her voice became calm, adultlike. "To bear the burden of the mystery with as much grace as we can."

Life is a mystery. People are a mystery. There are no answers, no easy to follow instructions to guarantee success and happiness.

Like Ranier Maria Rilke wrote in his Letters to a Young Poet, we must "be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked doors and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.."*

I don't know if Olive's story is completed. And I am not sure I want to follow her to her end. It's all too close to home. Strout is a fearless writer who dares to confront us with things that disturb our equilibrium. We recognize ourselves in her characters.

I read a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

I wanted to love this but I just really struggled to connect. Olive, Again is a collection of short stories, bringing to life the people and community that surrounds Olive Kittredge. I found it to be a lot darker and lonelier than Olive Kitteridge and missed it concentrating more on her. Her personality is unique but really came to life for me and I just struggled to find that same feeling while reading Olive, Again and didn't find any of them particularly fascinating or memorable. I do appreciate Strout's ability to bring everyday stories to life and the compassion she has towards her characters in her writing was definitely one of the highlights of this book for me. Her writing is honest and undramatic and I may just be an outlier with my reaction to this one!

I loved being with "Olive, Again!" A mesmerizing continuation of this beloved story of Olive Kitteridge. and her journey through life. Always observant and direct, flawed and funny, Olive continues to find herself awed by all around her - people and places. It's a joy to be with Olive and observe the world through her eyes - always honest and authentic. A must read for fans and those who struggle in her world - not to be missed!!

The great thing about Elizabeth Strout are her realistic scenarios. With characters like the couple who split their home in half, to the brothers whose wives don’t get along, she knows the feelings that are kept private. Olive, herself, shows us the vision of growing old and how friendships can be formed at anytime in a life.

Olive Kitteridge is a retired math teacher living in the small coastal town of Crosby, Maine.
In a series of connecting stories, Olive and her fellow residents contend with the complexities of life.
Two years after her husband Henry's death, Olive is facing loneliness as she grows older.
She meets widower Jack Kennison and they eventually marry.
She tries to develop a closer relationship to her son Christopher and his family.
Through it all, she maintains her blunt, irascible, opinionated yet empathetic personality.
Written with humor and compassion, Elizabeth Strout is such a brilliant and gifted storyteller.
One of my favorite books this year!
Thank you to Random House Publishing for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

Olive is a complicated character and these linked stories show her navigating later life fiercely. Loved Elizabeth Strout’s storytelling.

This highly anticipated follow-up to Olive Kitteridge was a wonderful read. Ms. Strout is a master at capturing feelings and putting them on the page. Her writing is so succinct. This book was a pleasure. The stand-alone chapters were compelling and if they weren't from Olive's point of view, they always circled around to her somehow. Very enjoyable and will probably be selected for our book group (after the holds list goes down).

Reunited at last. Ten years after Elizabeth Strout won a Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge, she has put the band in Crosby, Maine back together with Olive, Again — and it feels so good. Mostly. A touch unsatisfactory only because I wanted more. More of Olive and less of other characters. More of a novel and less of short story collection. But, still, it was a fantastic visit with an old friend. Best paired with a glass of white wine and a lobster roll. XO, Tara

Another triumph for Elizabeth Strout and her beloved Live Kitteridge. If you have read the Original blockbuster bestseller or HBO series Olive Kitteridge, then meet this loveable curmudgeon from Crosby Maine> Olive is a former middle school math teacher who is hardnosed, judgmental quirky perhaps autistic, and has no trouble saying whatever she thinks to whomever she tinks his this small northeastern town of Crosby. Yet she is also witty and compassionate when she needs to be and that is what makes this character so real and loveable and what brings her to live both then and now 11 years later. Strout has woven a true masterpiece in a series of short tales that also bring back a number of old characters and yet the problems of opioid addiction and economic neglect today are masterfully woven into the equation. You will love this book whether you have met Olive before or want to meet her for the first time. As always Strout's characters make us feel right at home.

Eleven years have passed since I read Olive Kitteridge and it was one of my favorite books which I have kept on my bookshelf. Unfortunately, this book did not wow me. I didn't feel the same connection to characters or compassion as with Strout’s first Olive book. I expected another meaty story about tough yet likable Olive who is a number of years older now, but she is too often left on the periphery.

Juddering, stuttering, along goes Olive, brutally honest and often off putting. Person to person, vignette to vignette, the theme of whether a life has been honestly lived repeats. So many imperfect people with ordinary problems which dwarf their ability to bear their burdens gracefully or any other way. The exploration of loneliness and the lack of answers, well isn’t that what life is about?

Olive Kitteridge attempts to teach life’s lesson of knowing who you are, listening to yourself and never forgetting who you are. Knowing you can love deeply and also knowing that it can be temporary. Knowing that all love should be taken seriously and then admitting that she has no clue who she has been and that she doesn’t understand a thing. Isn’t that what life is about?

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a copy

Olive, Again is the first book I've read from Elizabeth Stout and I guarantee it won't be my last. Yes, that does mean I missed the first book in this series, but I don't think my enjoyment of this book was affected much if at all by that omission. I'm sure that my appreciation of the book would have been deepened by the background from the first book, Olive Kitteridge, but Olive, Again stood well on its own.

Elizabeth Stout is an incredible storyteller. The characters in Olive, Again are written so honestly and human with a depth that's hard to describe. Olive Kitteridge's character reminds me of a few complicated people from my own life I've had the pleasure of knowing - those who grate personalities with those around them, perhaps coming off too blunt, rude, or intimidating, but who are ultimately kind, genuine, and extremely sensitive to others' pain. Stout expertly conveyed these layers in Olive, but also writes her other characters with the same care.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Elizabeth Stout, and NetGalley for allowing me early access to an electronic ARC for me to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

What to say about Olive, Again, and what to say about Olive herself and the town of Crosby, Maine and all the locals and summer people we have come to know through the pen of Elizabeth Strout. Well, they are real and individual; most, but not all, evolve over the course of the two Olive books (if they are indeed included in both). They surprise me! Yes they do, and frequently, with their struggles, needs, loves, hates, memories, insights (and lack of same).

And for Olive, yes, this is the book that needed to be written even though I didn’t know it needed to exist at all. It completes so much, not only for the reader, but for Olive herself. I believe that Olive has become real for me in a way, so this book, these stories of her town, her acquaintances, her life, was important. And Olive is the same woman, yet also becoming somehow different. Slightly more open perhaps. Occasionally listening longer or better. Even she wonders about herself. I leave this for you to discover. Is it the result of her getting older, cumulative life experiences; who really knows.

As in the original book, Olive is not present in every story and is on the periphery of a few. But in OK2, Olive is a commanding presence in several stories which leads to our observing insights about her life, feelings, family and relationships.

I encourage everyone who loved Olive Kitteridge to read Olive, Again soon. You will be very glad you did. And those who haven’t read Olive Kitteridge should read it before reading Olive, Again. The books and stories are deeply connected.

5*

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGgalley, Random House, and Elizabeth Strout for the opportunity to read this wonderful novel, a follow-up to her Pulitzer Price winning book, Olive Kitteridge. 5 glorious stars for the chance to spend time again with Olive!

Olive is now in her 70s, her first husband has died, she is estranged from her son, and she is lonely. But she's still Olive - brutally honest and very opinionated. Each chapter centers on another character with ties to Crosby, Maine, but Olive always makes an appearance to string the entire book together. We watch as Olive grows older and has to navigate a world that is increasingly harder for her.

I just loved this book and could see both myself, my children and parents in this book. It will give you insight to all generations and maybe make you think just a bit how small interactions can make big differences. Highly recommended!

Olive, Again gave me so much to think about. Olive remains her usual, honest self. For the most part a totally enjoyable personality. I especially love her nick names for people and how she manages to do the right thing so much more often than she messes up. Some of the side stories depressed me but mostly because they were so real in the depiction of normal every day people. Real life and real death. And like Olive, I feel I do not understand a thing.

I wish I lived in Crosby, Maine! Perhaps then I’d personally know Olive Kitteridge. In, fact, I probably would – it’s that kind of small town. I think I’d like Olive. I hope she’d like me. We’re two older women who speak our minds; we’d probably be like stone on stone, flashing and sparking – and sharpening each other.

Olive, Again—which by now you know is a follow-up to Elizabeth Strout’s phenomenally successful Olive Kitteridge and is similar in structure to that first book—is a series of connected short stories about the people of one small town in Maine. Also as in the first book, not all of the stories focus on Olive, although the very best are the ones that do.

I was particularly moved by Motherless Child, in which Olive’s son and his family pay her a visit at what is (at least as implied to the reader) her invitation, to try to mend relationships. But Olive goes about it awkwardly, as you would expect from Olive. Although both Olive and her daughter-in-law attempt to be pleasant, there are uncomfortable moments; the connection between Olive and her son has its up and downs, and is a decidedly bumpy ride; her relationship with her step-grandchildren is uncomfortable from both sides. Strout draws all of these people so adroitly that my heart cried for all of them.

As Olive ages in this new book, the years pass far too quickly, and Olive shows her vulnerability more than she did in her first outing with us. In so doing, she makes it far easier to like her –even to love her. Anyway, I know that—by the time I finished Olive, Again—I loved Olive and was sorry to know that I won’t be visiting her again.

I received my ecopy of Olive, Again by request through NetGalley. This did not affect my review. Olive, Again was published October 12th and if you live on either American coast, you may be able to catch the author on tour up until December 3rd. You can find a list of upcoming events at https://www.elizabethstrout.com/appearances

What a great character Olive is and one that I think many older people can identify with. Not necessarily being like her in that she was often brusque and unfriendly and believed she wasn’t a good mother to her son, but how introspective she was.
The story actually starts with Jack, a rich guy who lost his wife only months ago and ponders what to do. He is lonely. He has one daughter who “doesn’t like him” and he admits he was not a good father.
Similarly Olive has lost her Henry. She has one son Steven who she says doesn’t like her.
She wanders around her house wondering what on earth she is going to do now.
They meet, Jack eager to get together, Olive resisting, reluctant, but finally decides loneliness is not for her. In their eighties, a delightful union of two onerous old people, but happy to have each other’s company. They talk about what they could, should and wished they had done in the past, and also make an attempt to talk to their children.
I particularly liked the last chapters in Olive’s life and I recommend you all get to read them. A thought provoking book.

Political Stereotyping Ruined This Book
This book is an interesting study in the life of a woman and the lives of women in general. This is not a 'feel-good' story. It is more than a little depressing. There was no closure to anything in this book. I kept thinking that it would get better or have a point. And then the book went all political. It was spouting political rhetoric and had all sorts of evil political prejudice. I read books for entertainment if I had wanted political bashing I could watch the news. I almost stopped reading it right there I should have. This book was a waste of time. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

I confess I don't remember much about the original Olive Kitteridge novel, except it was quirky, Olive was a difficult character, and I liked her.

Olive, Again is even quirkier, a series of chapters containing characters who mostly connect through Olive. Olive is honest to a fault, blunt, impatient, self-centered but she grows on you. She has a way of cutting through to the heart of a matter with a kind of awkward grace.

So much that seems random in this book actually proves not to be. I believe Elizabeth Strout is a careful writer and I believe she sets ups scenarios and wisdom for us to find. The stories are about loyalty and love, forgiveness and acceptance. And there's a strong thread of dark almost flannarian humor which runs through -- check out the story about the young dominatrix.

Wonderul life, unforgettable characters. Thanks to the Publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest reviews.

I love Olive! I was so glad to see her back again in a new collection of stories. Elizabeth Strout does a masterful job of writing and making all these characters come alive on the page. They're quirky and funny and sad. The experiences are universal - things most of us will go through in our lives. The stories blend seamlessly as we get to know various people in Olive's world.

This book is a little jewel

I can't wait for the next collection!!