She is back. I was lucky enough to be given a copy of this book for an honest review. I first had to introduce myself to the first book Olive Kitteridge before reading this.

It is similar to the first book but this one feels more like short stories that are intertwined and Olive just plays a small part in the overall novel. A lot of people criticise Olive, but I find her honest, self reflecting and she does a lot of good/kind things in this novel. It just goes to show how much a person is capable of change, even in their 80's. If you want an action novel, this wouldn't be for you, but if you want a novel that is finely tuned to and explores peoples foibles, traits, personalities and human nature, then you will devour this book and all its details.

Everyone lives. Everyone dies. Love is all. Love means different things when viewed from the end of a long life, when you’ve descended into frailty and aloneness.

Olive, Again is beautiful. We see the last fifteen or so years of her life. Her late blossoming romance and second marriage. Her distant and then somehow closer relationship with her son. What happens when everyone you’ve ever known or loved is far away or no longer here.

And you know what, it’s not bad. In fact, it’s strangely beautiful. Life is all about the people we travel beside. Some for longer times than others. Some more impactful. All important. All part of a beautiful whole.

I think Elizabeth Strout is a bit of a genius.

Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout is a lovely collection of stories, all linking loosely and yet all perfectly readable as stand alone short stories. I enjoyed reading about Olive again and recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a well written tale.

I haven’t read the first book Olive Kitteridge, from the synopsis it seemed as though it really didn’t matter as this book would also stand alone. The only problems for me was that I just couldn’t get in to this book at all. Even though the synopsis for this book really interested me, as a book I would enjoy to read. I really really struggles with it.

I only managed to get 11% of the way through this book. I even contacted another blogger that I follow as she also had this book from NetGalley. I read her review and asked her if the book got any better. For my fellow blogger she enjoyed the book, but she said that if I’d got that far and was struggling with it that I would struggle all the way though. As the story carries on virtually the same all the way through. So for me I’m sorry to say that I didn’t finish the book and I can only give it 1 Star. I really, really do not like to not finish a book.

This was an excellent book, moving me close to tears on several occasions. I was reluctant to attempt it initially without reading the first book, but then I saw that it was available as a mini-series on TV and having watched that I was hooked on this beautifully drawn, complex character. An episodic plot spanning several years. but beautifully written, very compact but sublime. A joy to read.

It was lovely to be able to follow plain speaking Olive on in her life and the new relationship. Superby written and very moving at times. I think we all have a little bit of Olive inside us.

I fell in love with Olives character n the first book and this second book certainly did not disappoint! She is a cantankerous woman and a bit of a battle axe, exactly who I plan to be in my later years which are fast approaching! Excellent book!

I found this a difficult read and had tried to read Olive Kitteridge but struggled with both. Hence, I was unable to finish.

‘Olive, Again’ by Elizabeth Strout is a return to the town of Crosby, Maine, and the life of Olive Kitteridge. Strout does it, again. If you loved the first iteration of Olive you will love this one too, it is like slipping into a sloppy pair of comfortable slippers. Olive lives her life, day by day; irascible, impatient with indulgence and self-importance, unsympathetic on the surface; but with a keen eye for those who need help, a kind word, a supporting hand under the elbow. But she cannot stand pseuds and snobs, though she fears she may be the latter.
Strout has such a light touch when handling difficult, deep emotions, set amongst the picture frame of predictable daily life. There are thirteen connected stories. Each feature Olive; in some she is the protagonist, in others she appears in the periphery of someone else’s life, always at a time of turmoil, grief, divorce or trauma. Often the people featured are former pupils from her years as a maths teacher, often they are friends or neighbours. In the course of this book, Olive mourns the death of Henry and struggles alone in the house they built together. She sleeps downstairs on the large window seat though she spends most of each night awake, listening to a transistor radio she cradles to her ear. Jack Kerrison is mourning the loss of his wife, Betsy. Olive and Jack have an on-off friendship, hearing each other’s travails with their children. Olive worries she was a bad mother and that Christopher avoids her, and she doesn’t know what to do to put it right. She is so prickly on the outside, sometimes on the inside too; but she is also empathetic, determined to be herself in the face of frightening change and old age.
My favourite scene is the one where Olive attends a baby shower, reacting with incredulity then impatience as each present is unwrapped and circulated endlessly around the guests who ooh and aah. Olive has a way of cutting through the crap. ‘She thought she had never heard of such foolishness in her life.’
Another 5* book by Strout.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

This novel reintroduces the reader to Olive Kitteridge and a host of new and old characters, some of which will be familiar to readers of her other books. However, it is not imperative to have read Elizabeth Strout’s other works as each chapter stands alone as a study into elements of these characters lives. Most often we don’t know how these are resolved. The author captures a breadth of humanity in the slightest phrases and observations, the most poignant include Olive herself or from others reflecting casually on an interaction they’ve had with her. Often the truth hurts but it can also be freeing. 5 stars.

This is the second book about Olive. I haven’t read the first book but I didn’t feel it matter. This would be a good stand alone book.
Great read and well written

I hadn't read the first book about Olive but it didn't matter. This was an interesting read! Little bit like a collection of short stories within a novel and focusing on all elements of humanity especially, love, loss and death. Wasn't sure about Olive to start with but I love a quirky character so I persevered and so glad I did! She totally grew on me and was left with that awful dilemma of wanting to read on but not wanting it to end too.

Olive Kitteridge is one of my favourite books that I’ve read this year, so I jumped at the chance to read Olive, again

We’re reunited with the small town in Maine where Olive lives, and the lives of the small town folk. Olive continues to startle and move us and Strout truly continues the magic of Olive through to the sequel. ⁣
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Just like the first book, Strout weaves separate stories together in such a natural and moving way. Olive is now reaching her later life and this book focuses on the difficulties of growing older; past regrets, losing loved ones and losing yourself. ⁣
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Strout’s writing is so subtle and honest, she manages to write such multilayered characters who you feel as if you know them personally. Once again I couldn’t recommend getting to know Olive Kitteridge enough.

Loved this book. I'm sure every one know someone like Olive. She tells it as it is but really has a heart of gold. Good strong character.

I really loved Olive Kitteridge and the small-screen adaptation starring the amazing Frances McDormand so I couldn’t wait to read this. I was not disappointed. Olive is such an interesting character. She’s not a particularly nice person but you can’t help love her. This is set some years after the first book with Olive navigating old age. I fell in love with her all over again. What I enjoyed is that Olive, Again doesn’t only focus on her but everyone who touches her life. This is a lovely book. I really hope they adapt this for the small-screen as well.

A joy to read. The life of the wonderfully well written character, Olive, continues as she struggles to make sense of her life, her relationship with her first husband and the distance between her and her son amongst other things. Olive is as opinionated and brusque as ever but also shows a surprisingly compassionate side at intervals. I enjoyed the gentle humour that runs through the book.
I don’t think you need to have read the first book to enjoy this, but I would recommend reading it. Thank you to the author, Elizabeth Strout, Net Galley and the publisher, Viking for an ARC.

I found this very hard to read. The way it was written seemed very disjointed as did the storyline. I was never sure exactly what was happening as it seemed to jump around a bit. Because of this I did not finish this book.

What a pleasure it is to be back in Olive’s company. It’s probably not essential to have read the first book, Olive Kitteridge, but I think it enhances this update on her life. We last met her in her 70s and with her husband Henry recently dead. Now in her 80s she is still a prominent figure in her small town of Crosby, Maine, where not much seems to happen but where, as in all small towns, much is going on behind closed doors. In a series of linked and interconnected episodes we see Olive sometimes centre-stage, sometimes on the periphery, but always very much at the heart of the book as she is of the town. Outspoken as ever, and frequently tactless, Olive comes alive on the page and I found her excellent company as always. It’s a pretty grim book overall, with illness, the trials and indignities of aging, loneliness and loss a constant thread but with Olive’s reaction to them all striking a courageous note. Some of the episodes aren’t as successful as others, admittedly, but most, including those concerning a neighbour dying of cancer, and the ones featuring Olive’s troubled relationship with her son, are powerful indeed, and I found myself able to forgive the occasional false note. A compelling and often moving read about an indomitable, contradictory and one-of-a-kind character.

Olive is back and as grumpy as ever. But running through these interrelated stories is her humanity. As she moves toward her demise she may still not suffer fools but she does want to listen to those with a life to tell. An excellent read which in my opinion is even better than this first Olive book.

Delightful, outstanding, and in a league of it's own!

'Olive, Again' follows the same structure as 'Olive Kitteridge', which was its prequel, both a series of linked vignettes featuring the inhabitants of Crosby, Maine, in which Olive herself features to varying degrees. What a joy it was to spend more time with Olive Kitteridge, as wry and brutally honest as ever! Although many can't abide her brutal honesty and forthrightness, there are a few souls who can look past her gruff exterior and see that essentially she has a kind heart. The grumpy, abrupt maths teacher, is now coming to terms with loss and old age, however, her frosty relationship with her son is thawing, and she has found new love in an unexpected place.

Elizabeth Strout delivered a masterful, unrestrained and exuberant concoction of linked stories about heartache, loneliness, and ageing, never shying away from darker themes such as abuse, toxic families, and the challenges of alcoholism and infidelity. As before, I found her writing terribly authentic, moving, witty and real.

Brilliantly compelling, 'Olive, Again' was a cracking read and a book that I revelled in all the way through, bringing with it no disappointments. It was a huge pleasure to return to the town of Crosby and spend some more time in Olive's company. I was sad to say goodbye but I will cherish the experience. I would love to read more from this gifted story-teller and I am delighted to recommend this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Penguin Books UK/Viking via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.