I read the whole book, but I was tempted to stop several times. For me, there were too many characters and it made for a confusing read. I'd rather have a book where I do not have to concentrate so hard to keep track of who is doing what. I really did not care for it much and really could not recommend it.

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This book appeared on my wish list for a long time. I was excited to receive my copy and eagerly began reading. My excitement began to wane after the first couple of chapters. I appreciate what the author attempted to do through the use of multiple viewpoints, but generally found the story to be quite flat and the characters rather predictable.

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This review would probably get me banned from most book clubs in America but, truth be told, I thoroughly disliked this book. My opinion..... A boring book about boring people. I only finished it because we DID read it for our book club. As always, it was a lively discussion, but only one of our members enjoyed it. After hearing the rave reviews, I was at least relieved that I wasn't the only one who didn't like it.

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I was looking forward to reading this book due to the great reviews I had encountered. It was on several "best of the year" lists. I really did not like it, yet couldn't put it down. Does that make any sense at all ? I felt that its central theme was, "life sucks and then you die" and this book really depressed me. But it also made me think. Hard. About relationships I have had and am having. It is superbly written. Short story format, which I haven't read since college, but Olive is at least mentioned in every story and it is an interesting way to reveal a character. You will NOT forget Olive for a long time.

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My book club read this book. While we had widely varying opinions as to how we felt about Olive and the other characters, we all agreed that this is an extremely well-written book, compelling and difficult to put down until the book is finished. This lent itself to one of the best discussions we have had in several months. I couldn't stop reading the book, even though it is not happy or uplifting - I had a sense of sadness throughout the book. Again, it is very well written, and the technique of telling a series of stories from various viewpoints works. Some are from the vantage point of other members of the community and Olive is a small part of the story; in many others, the story is told from her point of view. This lets the reader discover aspects of Olive's life and personality that you would never learn if the entire book was told from Olive's perspective.

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I really started out liking this book but as it went on I found Olive to be a depressing character that I just couldn't find any endearing qualities about. It was a different kind of book and I'm sure many people will enjoy it more than I did.

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Several short stories that are interconnected. Some of the stories I enjoyed but not all.

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Slow book.

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This book is about an odd , fairly miserable woman who has very little empathy for others. Yet, somehow she is a person who tugs at our heart. We all know someone like this. In addition, the book has an odd ending. It gets a 4 on average, which I consider very good. It was not my cup of tea, however, so my rating is a 2.

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This took me forever to read because it was an audiobook that I kept forgetting to turn on. I found it, at times, tedious, and wondered where it was headed, but looking back at the entirety I will say I mostly enjoyed it and am glad I read it. I liked the way it ended as well. Olive was not so very likeable and not so very happy, but I think much of the point is that none of us is 100% different from her. We're giving, helpful, cheerful, stingy, grumpy, and illogical. Sometimes we aren't sure why we feel or act a certain way or why other people do. Our kids are loved, enjoyed, and tolerated, and sometimes we don't enjoy them at all (and back at us from them). Most people I know seem more likeable and less unhappy than Olive, but she did learn some things along the way. I don't generally enjoy reading stories about people who are so unhappy. Recent characters I felt that way about are Eleanor Oliphant and Britt-Marie. But overall I'm glad I read those books and this one also.

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I have generally been happy with pulitzer prize winning books. I loved both Lonesome Dove & The Road so I thought I'd give this a try.

I'm not one for short stories, but I enjoyed this book. Olive Kitteridge is in each story, sometimes as a centerpiece character & in others a tertiary character. Olive was at times difficult to like & other times funny. Whatever was going on, I found her always compelling. Most of the stories and their characters, I thought, were captivating in their own way. The stories were written with great rhythm & not remotely boring. Ultimately, I felt I got a snapshot in time of the various people in Olive's life and they were often sad, troubled, unhappy but there were also times of joy and love. Even though the positive moments were fleeting, the life many of the characters lived were written in an honest and real manor. I felt these people and their circumstances could really have happened...lost loves, old age, angry children, infidelity, suicidal ideation, new love, grief & just plain neuroses.
I cannot say that this book was my favorite, but it was different, interesting, intriguing. Yes, sad at times, but also uplifting and inspirational in how people picked up & carried on. Some may view this book to be about aging, family or even love. I believe this book's about perseverence-never give up.
I feel a review of the narration is important too since we rely so heavily on the narrator's interpretation of the book. I thought Sandra Burr's narration was quite slow. However, I thought her timing perfect. Listening to her read, I was not distracted but captivated by her. She did not read the book in any particular accent. However, when she did the voices, she used the Maine accent. She also sounded youthful or old when needed. She managed the men's voices quite well too. there were many times that her interpretation of the characters' voices punctuated my positive experience, & made it seem more real.

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