She's back! Olive is, of course, Olive Kitteridge, the main character (and title) of Strout's Pulitzer-winning book. Strout is also the author of the wonderful My Name Is Lucy Barton and Anything Is Possible.
Structured similarly to the earlier work, this latest is a collection of loosely interlinked stories set in coastal Crosby, Maine. While Olive is frequently only peripheral to a story, her narrative is advanced throughout the course of the book, from her widowhood from Henry, her first husband, to - well, you'll have to read it to see where life takes Olive.
I think of Strout as the master of that weird spot in human life that might be called the fulcrum: that place where we wobble and balance between loving and hating, between wisdom and foolishness, between disappointment and hope. The stories are immediately absorbing, and realistically depict characters from across the class spectrum. I love her writing, and while Olive, Again is not quite as strong as her earlier novel, it's still a great pleasure.
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