Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel OLIVE KITTERIDGE. Many times it has seemed a mystery to me how a book gets selected for a Pulitzer. OLIVE KITTERIDGE may have given me a clue.
In thirteen short stories, author Elizabeth Strout tells us of the people living in a small coastal town. We learn how their lives are tangled together and how lives are influenced by the people of the past, as well as the present. The stories are not in chronological order and the protagonist may change but this gives us a chance to see the action from different perspectives.
Olive Kitteridge, a retired high school teacher, plays a part in each story, sometimes as the main character, sometimes in a very small supporting role. The first story, “Pharmacy” is told through Henry, Olive’s pharmacist husband. Henry comes across as somebody who likes his fellow man and lives a bit vicariously through the newly wed young woman who works for him. Olive comes across cold and uncaring. This set her character for me and the author had to work to make me see anything likeable about her.
As we meet each member of the small town and see the infidelities, the obsession with suicide, the bits of sadness mixed with an occasional piece of happiness, we see intimate glimpses of humanity. We can feel the close, almost suffocating, atmosphere of living in a small town.
The stories are full of people suffering from deep pain, pains that are very relatable to the reader. Elizabeth Strout has the touch to save it from being overwhelming oppressive.
My biggest problem with the book was the number of named characters, ninety, and some names were shared by several characters. I had trouble keeping them straight. Several of the stories will stay with me to ponder over and worry about what happened next. The people were real, dealing with very real, human situations. Olive and Henry will be with me for a long time. Maybe this is what makes a book worthy of winning the Pulitzer Prize.
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