Olive, Again (Oprah's Book Club)

A Novel

By: Elizabeth Strout

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times Best Seller

Oprah’s Book Club Pick

Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout continues the life of her beloved Olive Kitteridge, a character who has captured the imaginations of millions.

“Strout managed to make me love this strange woman I’d never met, who I knew nothing about. What a terrific writer she is.” (Zadie Smith, The Guardian)

“Just as wonderful as the original...Olive, Again poignantly reminds us that empathy, a requirement for love, helps make life ‘not unhappy.’” (NPR)

Named one of The Ten Best Books of the Year People and one of The Best Books of the Year by: Time • Vogue • The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • Vanity Fair • Entertainment Weekly • BuzzFeed • Esquire • Real Simple • Good Housekeeping • The New York Public Library • The Guardian • Evening Standard • Kirkus Reviews • Publishers Weekly • BookPage

Prickly, wry, resistant to change yet ruthlessly honest and deeply empathetic, Olive Kitteridge is “a compelling life force” (San Francisco Chronicle). The New Yorker has said that Elizabeth Strout “animates the ordinary with an astonishing force”, and she has never done so more clearly than in this book, where the iconic Olive struggles to understand not only herself and her own life but the lives of those around her in the town of Crosby, Maine. Whether with a teenager coming to terms with the loss of her father, a young woman about to give birth during a hilariously inopportune moment, a nurse who confesses a secret high school crush, or a lawyer who struggles with an inheritance she does not want to accept, the unforgettable Olive will continue to startle us, to move us, and to inspire us - in Strout’s words - “to bear the burden of the mystery with as much grace as we can.”

Praise for Olive, Again:

“Olive is a brilliant creation not only because of her eternal cantankerousness but because she’s as brutally candid with herself about her shortcomings as she is with others. Her honesty makes people strangely willing to confide in her, and the raw power of Ms. Strout’s writing comes from these unvarnished exchanges, in which characters reveal themselves in all of their sadness and badness and confusion.... The great, terrible mess of living is spilled out across the pages of this moving book. Ms. Strout may not have any answers for it, but she isn’t afraid of it either.” (The Wall Street Journal)

©2019 Elizabeth Strout (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Kimberly Farr, who performed Elizabeth Strout's previous Olive Kitteridge novel to fine effect, does it again.... Farr has the plain accents and often abrupt speech down pat. She hints at personality without overplaying, and reads the stories with sympathy. They are full of tragedy and joy and life's flotsam and jetsam. Prepare to savor every word." (AudioFile Magazine)

“In the first chapter of Elizabeth Strout’s Olive, Again...the man who will become Olive’s second husband writes, ‘Dear Olive Kitteridge, I have missed you and if you would see fit to call me or email me or see me, I would like that very much.’ Jack Kennison might be speaking for fans of Strout’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Olive Kitteridge, which inspired an Emmy-winning HBO mini-series and now this sequel. However, like its iconic heroine, this book is capable of standing alone.... [Olive] is as indelible as the ink on Jack Kennison’s paper. If you know Olive, you know how she would respond to the hoopla: with an eye roll and an ‘Oh Godfrey.’ It’s good to have her back.” (Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times Book Review)

“Strout dwells with uncanny immediacy inside the minds and hearts of a dazzling range of ages: the young (with their confusion, wonder, awakening sexuality), the middle-aged (envy, striving, compromise), the old (failing bodies, societal shunning, late revelations).... I have long and deeply admired all of Strout’s work, but Olive, Again transcends and triumphs. The naked pain, dignity, wit and courage these stories consistently embody fill us with a steady, wrought comfort.” (The Washington Post)

“In thirteen poignant interconnected stories, Strout follows the cantankerous, truth-telling Mainer as she ages, experiencing a joyful second marriage and the evolution of her difficult relationship with her son. In her blunt yet compassionate way, Olive grapples with loneliness, infidelity, mortality and the question of whether we can ever really know someone - ourselves included.” (People (Book of the Week))

She leaves me with a heart that feels tender

Elizabeth Strout has an amazing way of painting a character so that you feel completely bound up with her - as if you have always known her.

I loved this book

Olive is flawed and complicated and it takes her entire life for her to become self aware and it’s relatable. I love how outspoken and principled she is. And so confident. I wish there was a third book.

Love this book and the narrator

This book is so beautiful narrated. I could listen to it over and over. Love it!

Expect tears to flow

Heartwarming, heartbreaking…Olive makes quite an impression in her later life. Elizabeth Strout has shown how her character can grow and adjust…searching for the meaning of it all. I wonder whether Ms. Strout knew my grandmother, because Olive reminds me of her.

Thank you.

Too much time spent on minor characters and tedious dialogue

I liked the time spent with Olive. I think disliked the long diversions away from Her story

did not like the narrator

good stories
a nice character but the narrator just left me putting the book down

Aging, loss, rededemption, wisdom and humor-great!

Fantastic narrator--she nailed it with Olive's voice and her narration in general is superb, I want to seek out books narrated by her. Fantastic book because the writing and characters are superb. It has many layers, all of which offer epiphanies for the characters, and for the reader as well. Loved it!

Wonderful!

This is the first time that I’ve ever used Audible and stayed for the entire book (I’ve tried once before). The narrator was amazing and the book really resonated with me and made me think about some changes that maybe I should make in my own life. Thank you so much! Now I think I’ll go back and read the first Olive book. Love that character!

Mishmash

I really purchased this because the reviews were wonderful. I don’t share their enthusiasm. I found this book to be a series of fragments of a group of people and a small town. I tried, I really tried to keep going hoping it would get better, but, in my opinion it did not. After several tries I got half way through but just couldn’t continue. It was very hard for me to follow yet alone find entertainment in this book. Totally fragmented. More like a gossip show. Back it goes. The narration was very good, but, I do not recommend this book.

Olive...quite a character!

Elizabeth Strout has made Olive come to life again, & she’s still a pip! There are many things I liked about Olive, Again. Above all, it’s the skill the author displays in developing Olive’s character, & the evolution she undergoes as she ages, that unfolds to the reader in such a believable way. Strout has wonderfully captured the revelations & feelings many elderly people reflect upon at the end of their lives. Although my mother is not like Olive in any way, she often talks about her memories: her parents, my dad, my brother & I as children, & important life events in most conversations we have now. It’s her reflection & summation of the joys & hardships at the end of a long life. Olive voices these very same thoughts through Strout’s talented writing skills. She realizes she was lucky in many ways . She also is able to gain insights into her faulty thinking & poor behavior, acknowledging that she may have actually been wrong!
Olive, Again is one of those rare, special books that comes along once in great while. It’s a five star read!