Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

This is another book that had good reviews. It’s about a woman, obviously Olive Kitteridge, and her character and certain parts of her life story are told through a series of almost short stories. Some of the stories are about her and some about the people whose lives she has touched – girls she’s taught, neighbours etc. It’s quite cleverly done as her rather unsympathetic character unfolds and you piece the story together to come to a grudging sympathy for her after all. Although there are some men in it, notably Olive’s husband Henry, it’s essentially told from a female point of view. There are some sad little vignettes in here - the girl whose mad mother ruins her relationship, the family trying to cope after their son kills his girlfriend – and there’s definitely a theme of craziness running through the characters. Strout comes to grips with all sorts of human difficulties such as the place of love and passion in long and enduring marriages, the role of overbearing mothers in their children’s lives, unrequited passions and other Oprah-style fascinations. But overall it was a dark sort of book that I shouldn’t have read while I had the flu! 2 ½ stars