November 2010: Olive Kitteridge (Strout)

Post date: Nov 19, 2010 11:37:25 PM

A group of ten of us (classes '46 to '03) met at Betsey's on Wednesday, November 17 for a lively discussion of Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge. There were definitely different reactions to Olive, from wholeheartedly positive to quite negative, but all of us found the book compelling in various ways. We agreed that the series of short stories was remarkably effective in producing a coherent whole. Many lauded Strout's beautiful writing, and also her clear-eyed presentation of her characters as whole people, with strengths and faults, both large and small. We mused whether Olive was a particularly East Coast/New England character--could or would such a woman be found in California? We also wondered whether the fact that she was a woman made her unwillingness to apologize or bend less acceptable to her community, and to readers.