Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
THE EMMY AWARD-WINNING HBO MINISERIES STARRING FRANCES MCDORMAND, RICHARD JENKINS, AND BILL MURRAY

In a voice more powerful and compassionate than ever before, New York Times bestselling
author Elizabeth Strout binds together thirteen rich, luminous narratives into a
book with the heft of a novel, through the presence of one larger-than-life, unforgettable
character: Olive Kitteridge.

At the edge of the continent, Crosby, Maine, may seem
like nowhere, but seen through this brilliant writer's eyes, it's in essence the
whole world, and the lives that are lived there are filled with all of the grand
human drama-desire, despair, jealousy, hope, and love.

At times stern, at other
times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge,
a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town and in the world
at large, but she doesn't always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge
musician haunted by a past romance: a former student who has lost the will to live:
Olive's own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and
Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the
townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper
understanding of herself and her life-sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless
honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition-its conflicts,
its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY
People
USA Today
The Atlantic
The Washington Post Book World
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Entertainment Weekly
The Christian Science Monitor
San Francisco Chronicle
Salon
San Antonio Express-News
Chicago Tribune
The Wall Street Journal


"Perceptive, deeply empathetic . . . Olive is the axis around which these thirteen complex, relentlessly human narratives spin themselves into Elizabeth Strout's unforgettable novel in stories."-O: The Oprah Magazine


"Fiction lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. . . . You'll never forget her. . . . [Elizabeth Strout] constructs her stories with rich irony and moments of genuine surprise and intense emotion. . . . Glorious, powerful stuff."-USA Today


"Funny, wicked and remorseful, Mrs. Kitteridge is a compelling life force, a red-blooded original. When she's not onstage, we look forward to her return. The book is a page-turner because of her."-San Francisco Chronicle


"Olive Kitteridge still lingers in memory like a treasured photograph."-Seattle Post-Intelligencer


"Rarely does a story collection pack such a gutsy emotional punch."-Entertainment Weekly


"Strout animates the ordinary with astonishing force. . . . [She] makes us experience not only the terrors of change but also the terrifying hope that change can bring: she plunges us into these churning waters and we come up gasping for air."-The New Yorker


From the Hardcover edition.