Papciak,+Brooke

Brooke Papciak Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge has as salty a personality as her first name suggests. In Elizabeth Strout’s novel, //Olive Kitteridge,// thirteen short stories collectively form a vibrant montage that conveys messages about living life. Olive herself is the thread that connects all of the narratives, although not each one is about her. In some, her name is only mentioned in a fleeting memory. Strout’s ability to present closely related themes that link to one main idea, even through so many stories, sets her apart. After finishing this, the reader may just look upon the world from a new perspective. Considering the many characters introduced in //Olive Kitteridge//, most should find at least one person or situation to relate to.
 * __The Review __**

The novel is set in the small, coastal, and fictional Crosby, Maine. The life of Olive and her family, which consists of her husband and their only child, is highlighted and explored. The conflict lies in the struggle between Olive and her son to understand each other and seek common ground. Olive also deals with the tragedy that falls upon her husband.
 * __The Book __**


 * Characters: **
 * Olive Kitteridge— **She is a retired seventh grade math teacher who has a multi-faceted personality. She can be brash and outrageous, but at other times she is extraordinarily caring. Olive seems to be a familiar face to most of the townspeople.
 * Henry Kitteridge— **Once a pharmacist, Henry is a friendly man who is loved for his gentle nature. Some fail to see how Henry puts up with his starkly different wife; however, it is out of love.
 * Christopher Kitteridge— **Olive’s greatest source of discontentment is her son. After loving and raising him, he does not grow up to be the man she had expected him to become.

Aside from being a writer, Elizabeth Strout, born in 1956, is also an educator. She has taught English and literature at several colleges in New York. In total, she has written three novels.
 * __The Author __**

Her previous two were… //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Amy and Isabelle //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">(1999) //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Abide with Me //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">(2006)

Awards include… Heartland Award (1999) //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Los Angeles Times //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Book Award for First Fiction (1999)


 * __<span style="color: green; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 22pt; line-height: 115%;">The Style __**

<span style="color: green; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">**Character Development:** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Strout has a talent for describing characters; instead of flatly listing traits, she leaves her audience to discover more about a particular personality. Despite the length of the anecdotes not allowing the lesser characters time to really develop, attention is focused on the main characters' growth and transformations. Readers definitely learn the type of person Olive is through the things she says and does. It is not difficult to feel the disappointment and sense of loss right along with her. The author explains her style in saying, " . . . The way I chose to construct the book--I did that to give people a break from the full-front effect of her, and also because it helps me, and I think it helps the reader, understand that we're all more complicated that [sic] we appear" (Elzabeth Strout qtd. in "Elizabeth Strout").


 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16pt;">Action: ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt;">Certain episodes are action packed, but most are deliberately focused. This strengthens the way the book is meant to be digested; a journey through life does not happen only in rushed instances.


 * <span style="color: green; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Dialogue: ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When thought back on how much actual conversation was used, I remembered there being large sections predominately of dialogue. When I went back to check, however, I realized the actual speaking is frequently interrupted by background information. The sentences are mostly short; making such an impact that they become what are remembered. It is the essence of the words being said that makes them powerful. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt;">


 * <span style="color: green; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Reaction: ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In my opinion, the book was good overall. It caused me to think about people and the connections between them. You may pass by a neighbor or an acquaintance in the grocery store, but you will never know them nor understand them unless you make the effort to. The person you learn about might inspire, confuse, or even teach you something. This book is also about taking time to embrace each day with the understanding that there will be highs and lows, but the best thing is to try to enjoy living in the present.

<span style="color: green; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">“While the individual stories can be read as chapters, or maybe chambers of the novel's heart, they successfully stand alone. Both compassionate toward but unsentimental about her characters, Strout has crafted stories in which classic plot twists alter characters, enlarging some, diminishing others” (Cummins).

“ . . . Strout makes a reader feel protective, even tender, toward Olive – despite her prickliness. . . . Each of the 13 tales serves as an individual microcosm of small-town life, with its gossip, small kindnesses, and everyday tragedies. Not all the minor characters stand out the way Henry and Olive do, and there are a pile of them to keep straight by the end” (Zipp).

“ . . . As the stories continue, a more complicated portrait of the woman emerges. . . . By its very structure, sliding in and out of different tales and different perspectives, it illuminates both what people understand about others and what they understand about themselves” (Thomas).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">Works Cited <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Cummins, Ann. “//Olive Kitteridge// Stories Come Alive.” Rev. of //Olive Kitteridge//, by Elizabeth Strout. //SFGate//. Hearst Communications, 2010. Web. 22 May 2010. <[]>. “Elizabeth Strout.” //Contemporary Authors Online//. Web. 26 May 2010. <[|http://infotrac.galegroup.com]>. Strout, Elizabeth. //Olive Kitteridge//. New York: Random House, 2008. Print. Thomas, Louisa. “The Locals.” Rev. of //Olive Kitteridge//, by Elizabeth Strout. //New York Times//. New York Times, 4 May 2008. Web. 16 May 2010. <[]>. Zipp, Yvonne. “A Prickly Protagonist with a Tender Heart.” Rev. of //Olive Kitteridge//, by Elizabeth Strout. //Christian Science Monitor//. Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2008. Web. 22 May 2010. <[]>.