Debra B. reviewed on 6/15/2010 + 2 more book reviews

I've always loved the work of Sherwood Anderson who wrote Winesburg, Ohio another short story collection held together by one character. Strout used this technique with great skill and touches as did Anderson on the depth of human misery and potential. I guess maybe I'm becoming more and more aware as I grow older that people are never just one thing, but more a big ball of conflicting things. I loved that this sometimes hard demanding woman began to have her hard edges sanded away by her life and that she is always more compassionate and caring for others than she is of her husband and son. Olive Kitteridge is at once a compassionate yet brutal woman and the truth she shares in the final words of the book,is compelling-- life is always worth living if you jump in no matter how old you are. The more I think about this book, the more I love it. It made me think and not just digest a story with a good feeling in my tummy. That is always the mark of a great book and not one that will be cast aside with sand in it's cover for our children to haul to the dump in years to come.

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