Having read all three Elizabeth Strout novels, I’d place Olive Kitteridge behind the other two. Do not get me wrong, Strout is still an exceptional writer, weaving you into each chapter and describing things beautifully.

You know that feeling when you’re just starting a book? Getting acquainted with the characters? Trying to remember their names, their personalities, what they look like and the surroundings are just coming into focus? This entire book has that feeling because essentially each chapter is a different story. With the exception of Olive, you never hear about a character beyond one chapter. It’s as if twenty books were collected, a chapter ripped from each, and placed in this single book. You’re introduced, learn the character and are drawn to their story and then it’s onto somebody else, never to return and find any conclusions.

I just did not like the separation between story lines. True, this is meant to be a small town collaboration, with Olive as the center character, but sometimes it was a stretch. One particular chapter only mentions Olive once, in a fragment of a sentence that just mentions Olive was the character’s teacher in school. Sometimes it just didn’t seem the connection was enough to warrant that particular character’s inclusion of the story of Olive and ended up being more of a distraction than an addition.

There are also a lot of overlapping details and re-telling of facts. Each person knows Olive, so you hear numerous times her description and certain facts in her life, concerning her marriage or her son. At the end you are very connected to Olive and it is a wonderful character and story. I just have difficulty with the way it is told, through the many unconnected characters you never re-visit with and the stark division in each chapter with no real flow or explanation in the jumps.

I do love Elizabeth Strout and her novels are very heart-felt and beautifully written. I am still a fan and will continue to read her future works. I just place this at the bottom of the three read so far. I’m glad I read it, but also glad that it was a library check-out and I didn’t spend the $25 because it’s not a book I think I’d re-read often.