“People mostly did not know enough when they were living life that they were living it.”
I absolutely loved this novel compromised of short stories. Taken from your normal everyday situations, the lush phrases and varied character dimensions created an emotional and heartfelt journey of small-town people experiencing small changes in life that often have the biggest impact. At times, I wanted to eat the words off the page.
An appearance from Olive Kitteridge in each short story is what makes for such an enjoyable read. Her character orbits around her strong personality and unparalleled voice. Each story begs the spirit to rekindle emotions that make us appreciate life, although most stories are sad, melancholy, or starkly realistic.
“…that one of those things getting older was knowing that so many moments weren’t just moments, they were gifts.”
It is deeply expressive to the value of life and how the beauty of the world changes as we do. Respectfully, I do feel like you must be a certain age or experienced certain things in order to truly appreciate this piece of literature to its full capacity.
I recommend this piece of literature for those who enjoy contemporary American fiction, short stories, and psychological literary fiction.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. To read more about this, click here.
