Olive Kitteridge must be one of the most memorable characters to ever have been written about in literature. This is marketed as a novel (as indeed the original was) but it would be more accurate to describe it as a series of short stories all of which have Olive as a character . Most of them are from her point of view but a few are from other characters' viewpoints and allow us to see Olive from the exterior.

In this volume, Olive is ageing. Her husband Henry is dead and she marries for a second time. Her relationship with her only child, Christopher is distant - one of the most poignant stories is one where she meets up with him and his family after a break of over three years - and she reflects that she has not been either a good wife or mother. In short she has a poor view of herself and wonders who, in fact she is. Yet when we see her in others' eyes we do not get such a bleak view. Yes, she is a difficult woman but there is love there for her and respect. There is so much truthfulness and understanding in the depiction of Olive that it almost hurts to read about her.

I love Elizabeth Strout's writing and it is lovely to meet characters from her other books such as Amy and Isabelle and the Burgess 'boys' again.

I can't recommend this highly enough. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book. Olive is not a cuddly character but I would love to have met her! The book is almost a collection of linked short stories, with Olive as the link. The book tells stories of older people, their relationships with their spouse and children, their failures. It is sensitively written, and very moving at times. It gives great insight into growing old, and should help younger people to be more empathetic.

Olive is back again and as wonderful as she was before. Olive, Again is another remarkable creation from Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout. I loved this just like I’ve loved her other works. It begins beautifully, tugging on heart strings, with light, relatable comedy. Olive is older now and observant of all around her. She’s critical and harsh and no one is safe. She is well know but not always we’ll liked. Strout’s style of writing, quick wit and clever turn of phrase has let to another remarkable work. It’s excellent just like her other. I’d recommend to all!!

I absolutely adored this book. It is rather surreal at times, whilst remaining firmly rooted in reality. Olive is a brilliant character whose singular take on the world gives it a newness and peculiarity I love. It’s episodic without being fragmented. I found the meditations on ageing and dying rather hopeful than bleak. It was funny and heartbreaking and an absolute joy to read.

Absolutely loved the first book and was so pleased that another had been written. I was worried it’d be a bit of a damp squib but thankfully I was wrong- this is fantastic. The way the author captures human emotion is not only believable but it’s touching and will leave you with many emotions.
100% recommended.

I had watched the serialisation of Olive Kitteridge on Sky with Frances Mcdormand playing Olive. I really enjoyed it and was pleased to be given the opportunity to read the follow up novel. Olive is still feisty and quirky into her later years and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her. This book is so well written and touches on the complexity and ups and downs of human nature and families. Olive is contrary and kind and awkward all rolled into one. Just loved it.

I read Olive Kitteridge on the recommendation of this group (on librarything), and this sequel was for me as wonderful as sitting down with an old friend and finding that you can have the same easy conversations you did the last time you got together. If you haven't already read OK, go and do that now. Then come back, and delight in Olive remaining herself, even as she gets older, more fragile, and more dependant on others.
Highly recommended.

Olive Kitteridge is back but if you haven’t read the first novel stop reading this and find a copy, you’ll enjoy this much more if you get to know her and the people whose lives intersect with hers from the beginning. Still crotchety and socially awkward Olive somehow manages to touch the lives of so many people she meets, bringing forth little snippets of their stories in a series of seemingly unconnected episodes. I’m not quite sure why I enjoyed it so much, like other books by Elizabeth Strout there is very little happiness and the overwhelming sensation was one that life has more bad things than good, especially when you get old. And yet I wanted to keep reading to the end because, although none of the characters and events were particularly likeable, especially the story about the young cleaner, Strout has such a keen eye that I almost felt I was there watching them.

Meeting Olive again is like meeting an old friend, someone who can be grumpy but who is ultimately very likeable. Olive is now elderly, and Strout once again creates a series of stories that deal with a range of human situations and emotions, set in the one town in Maine. It is well-written with a good deal of poignancy as well as hope and some joy.

I was really looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint. Poignant stories about people facing life's challenges in a small town in Maine.

A new Elizabeth Strout novel is always welcome in my hands, and a revisiting of her forthright heroine, Olive Kitteridge, is even more welcome! She really reminds me of my Great Aunt, who was a retired teacher, albeit one who lived in Newcastle-upon-Tyne rather than Crosby, Maine - a stickler for tradition, doing things 'the right way' and someone with a terrifying bark that was way worse than her bite, with a warm heart under the prickly exterior.
Olive Again, revisits smalltown life in Maine, with Olive not getting any younger. As with the first installment in the series, Olive features in every story, but isn't always the focal point - sometimes she plays a very minor bit part, sometimes she's front and center.
Olive Again sees her continuing to navigate her rocky relationship with her son and most of the town of Crosby for that matter! It also sees romance, loss, unlikely friendships and the inevitable passage of time. I won't share any spoilers, suffice it to say this is a hugely welcome return to the world of Olive, a world I want to keep visiting for years to come.

When this sequel was announced it was somewhat unexpected (for me at least). The original book was so good, and Olive such a well drawn and fascinating character that I was slightly hesistant about the idea of a sequel arriving over a decade later- there are plenty of examples of such follow up works looking like a pale imitation of the previous book. This is not the case here- this is a worthy successor to the original. It is a beautifully written work.

Olive Again. Hurray!! This book is fantastic, I just never wanted it to end. Elizabeth Strout is a master of observational writing that makes me laugh and sometimes shed a tear and it was great to spend time in Olive's company again. The book revists Olive where we left her in Olive KItteridge, Henry has died and Olive may have a nascent relationship with Jack Kerrison, a curmudgeonly ex Harvard lecturer. The narrative follows Olive as she negotiates the last decades of her life and we meet lots of her fellow Crosby town residents, each with a heartbreaking, poignant or hopeful story to be revealed. Characters from other Strout novels are revisited such as Isabelle (from Amy and Isabelle) and the family from the Burgess boys. and we also find out how Christopher, Olive's son is faring.. It's really great to see how things are panning out for them all.
Oh Godfrey! as Olive would say, I was so pleased to read this book, just so well written and observed. Fabulous.

I didn’t realise that this was a sequel so the first few chapters were quite difficult to get into. However, after that the book flowed so much more. Elizabeth Strout’s writing is so powerfully visceral, so full of feeling without sickly sentimentality, that every character’s story hit me hard and offered some kind of wisdom. Olive, Again is a beautiful novel, and, as Olive says about her son, many times the writing and characters felt like a needle in my heart, and I will carry Olive with me for a long time.

If, like me, you loved Olive Kitteridge, you will not be disappointed in this sequel, Olive, Again. All the stars for this one! In this novel we meet an older aging Olive and an array of characters in Crosby, Maine. Characters from Strouts other novels also make an appearance. Extremely sad at times, the stories are enormously entertaining in a quiet, tender and emotional way. The writing is superb and Strout yet again does not waste a word. A truly skilful author and a perfect follow up to Olive Kitteridge. Loved it! Highly recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley & Penguing Books (UK)

How to describe this sequel to ‘Olive Kitteridge’? If you’ve read and loved the first book, you’ll love this one too. If you haven’t, this second book would stand alone but you’ll miss out on the pleasure of catching up with established characters - Elizabeth Strout gives a little of their back stories here (thankfully not overly much). It also features characters from her other novels - the Burgess boys, Amy and Isabelle - all considerably older now. I would say that the two Olive books are similar, certainly in structure - a series of short stories really, in some of which Olive is centre stage and in others she is a peripheral player, just as before.

The tone is darker, though. Olive is in her 70s now, friends and family are falling away, she is conscious of her own decline and she can’t help wondering what she has been doing with her life, regretting much but remaining hopeful of learning to do better, to understand herself and others better. She is hard on herself but in my opinion and to quote Jerry Skyler, ‘she’s doin’ excellent’. She is not as active as she once was, but that doesn’t prevent her having a profound effect on many of those around her, in her forthright, ‘Olive’ way. I found the stories poignant in all different ways - people facing challenges, struggling with poverty, abuse and, most of all, loneliness.

The writing is sublime, as ever. One passage that struck me particularly:

‘The truth is that Olive did not understand why age had brought with it a kind of hard-heartedness toward her husband. But it was something she had seemed unable to help, as though the stone wall that had rambled along between them during the course of their long marriage - a stone wall that separated them but also provided unexpected dips of moss-covered warm spots where sunshine would flicker between them in a sudden laugh of understanding - had become tall and unyielding, and not providing flowers in its crannies but some ice storm frozen along it instead. In other words, something had come between them that seemed insurmountable.’

Elizabeth Strout writes the most gorgeous, densely populated stories and can convey so much in often tiny gestures or brief exchanges. I became completely immersed in the little town of Crosby, Maine and its people. I could read any amount of them and still want more.

The long awaited follow up to Strout's bestselling Olive Kitteridge, Olive, Again chronicles another decade of Olive's life and those around her in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine, and it does not disappoint.

As one may expect given Olive's advancing age, Olive, Again sees our stubborn and headstrong protagonist confront the realities of ageing - partners and friends dying and the deterioration of one's health, along with the restriction of freedom and lifestyle change which comes with the latter of those. All of this is very well done and in no way saccharine (as these things often can be), but it's the nuanced observations of people and relationships that won me over in the end... not that I needed much winning over. I especially loved Olive's friendship with Isabelle who she meets in the assisted living facility and the tender moments that arose between them.