Elizabeth Strout has strung together a group of short stories that each involve the life events and struggles of various people who live, or once lived, in the fictional coastal village of Crosby, Maine, at the present time. Olive Kitteridge is a common element to these stories; either a character has a recollection of Olive’s role in their life, or the story is about Olive herself. It is a wonderful way to understand Olive, and to feel the spirit of life in Crosby. The natural beauty of the area, and the enjoyment characters take in it, does not compensate for their sadness, melancholy, losses, or problems.

Olive does not realize how her harshness affects those around her, especially her tender-hearted husband Henry, and her sensitive son Christopher. She clearly has the deepest affection for them both, but she cannot control her unforgiving, merciless appraisal of those around her, especially her nearest and dearest. She is also unaware that her callous comments often come out when she is feeling criticized or judged, even if it is unintended or inadvertent. Olive judges harshly any form of weakness or admission of suffering or difficulty, insisting everyone should just move forward regardless of life’s blows. Her criticisms have harmed her relationship with her son, and deeply impaired her relationship with Henry. It is not until Henry suffers a stroke, and lives helplessly in a nursing home, that Olive can nurture him in a sweet, tender way. She treats Henry the way Henry has always treated everyone in his life, although Olive always criticized him for it, accusing him of having to be like by everyone. Olive makes sure no one will like her by being unkind first, never having to worry about rejection by others.

Olive’s emotional armor conceals a woman who has suffered in her youth, developing a heartless manner that shields her from others’ callousness, while also preventing her from enjoying any chance of deep emotional connection with her fellows. Two years after Henry’s death, Olive meets Jack Kennison, a recent widower, whom she previously casually met at the chain drug store that bought out Henry’s pharmacy. Jack is amused by Olive’s dispassionate appraisals of people, while being unafraid of diplomatically and directly informing Olive when she is being too harsh. She occasionally shrinks from such judgement, curtailing her contact with Jack. Circumstance and mutual loneliness bring the two together, although we are left wondering how this relationship will develop. While quite different in several ways, the two can appreciate each other’s viewpoints and intelligence, but most important is the relief they provide each other from loneliness and the sense of life’s lack of meaning in the last years of their lives.

A sequel is due to come out soon, “Olive, Again.” I am very eager to see how Olive and Jack navigate their final decades of life, and whether Olive can reconcile her relationship with Christopher. After you read “Olive Kitteridge”, enjoy the HBO miniseries available on Amazon Prime. Frances McDormand does an amazing characterization of Olive, and I’m eager to see season two of this high-quality production. This has become one of my favorite works of contemporary fiction.