Olive Kitteridge cover art

Olive Kitteridge

Fiction

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Olive Kitteridge

By: Elizabeth Strout
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
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About this listen

 WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • The beloved first novel featuring Olive Kitteridge, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of My Name is Lucy Barton and the Oprah’s Book Club pick Olive, Again

“Fiction lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. . . . You’ll never forget her.”—USA Today

“Strout animates the ordinary with astonishing force.”—The New Yorker

One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of the Century

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post Book World, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, People, Entertainment Weekly, The Christian Science Monitor, The Plain Dealer, The Atlantic, Rocky Mountain News, Library Journal

At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life—sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition—its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.

The inspiration for the Emmy Award–winning HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins, and Bill Murray Anthologies Anthologies & Short Stories Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Marriage Heartfelt Short Story

Critic Reviews

“Perceptive, deeply empathetic . . . Olive is the axis around which these thirteen complex, relentlessly human narratives spin themselves into Elizabeth Strout’s unforgettable novel in stories.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

“Fiction lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. . . . You’ll never forget her. . . . [Elizabeth Strout] constructs her stories with rich irony and moments of genuine surprise and intense emotion. . . . Glorious, powerful stuff.”—USA Today

“Funny, wicked and remorseful, Mrs. Kitteridge is a compelling life force, a red-blooded original. When she’s not onstage, we look forward to her return. The book is a page-turner because of her.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Olive Kitteridge still lingers in memory like a treasured photograph.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Rarely does a story collection pack such a gutsy emotional punch.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Strout animates the ordinary with astonishing force. . . . [She] makes us experience not only the terrors of change but also the terrifying hope that change can bring: she plunges us into these churning waters and we come up gasping for air.”—The New Yorker
All stars
Most relevant
I had to read this because it was a Pulitzer Prize winner. Being about the same age that I am now I could relate to her frustrations people feel being in a their 70’s. I took have given up on what we may change and am trying to enjoy what we still have:

I know a woman just like Olive!

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A tender examination of a life, interconnecting with others, and regrets. Beautiful and thoughtful attention to detail that leaves just enough unsaid. A book to be savoured and reflected upon.

I miss Olive now I have finished.

I loved this

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Elizabeth Strout has created a thoroughly believable and flawed character whom one comes to love throughout this performance.
I loved every moment of this ‘listen’ and unlike some of the books in my library, it will stay with me.
I thoroughly recommend !

Getting to know Olive

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I really don't know what I think. I am always perplexed when I read a book that comes so highly recommended, I keep wondering if I missed something everyone else got. It was okay but nothing that would stay with me. Well written just not very interesting.

I was bored

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I am in my 30ies and I enjoyed it tremendously.
The performance was excellent. Though lots of people found it depressing, I think it is still life-asserting.

Very powerful

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