Halfway through 'Olive Kitteridge', and I already feel like Elizabeth Strout has dethroned my last favorite novel (The Wedding People by Alison Espach). This book is a gem ¢â‚¬â€�thirteen interconnected stories revolving around the unforgettable Olive Kitteridge. Strout's writing style reminds me of Anne Tyler: she elevates the ordinary into something extraordinary, revealing how we're all subtly bound together, much like the game ¢â‚¬Å“Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. ¢â‚¬ �

Each joy, hurt, sadness, and fleeting moment feels tied to a larger communal story, one that we all help create ¢â‚¬â€�whether we mean to or not. I just adore Strout. She even weaves in one of my favorite poets, John Berryman, with the line: ¢â‚¬Å“I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve made this awful pilgrimage...I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve come back for more... ¢â‚¬ � That one line encapsulates so much ¢â‚¬â€�the return to pain, the search for meaning, the sheer persistence of living.

Olive Kitteridge herself is a character built around this tough business of life. She ¢â‚¬â„¢s flawed, sharp, and often difficult ¢â‚¬â€�but deeply human. Strout doesn't shy away from showing her rough edges, and in doing so, she makes Olive unforgettable.


This is a book that quietly changes you. Happy reading, friends.

~Heather