Forthright and surly, Olive Kitteridge, a math teacher in small town, coastal Maine, makes at least a small appearance in each chapter of this compilation of short stories. Each chapter can stand alone and introduces the reader to Olive's family, friends, and neighbors. Her husband tolerates her outbursts and critical nature without really understanding what makes Olive....well, Olive. Her son, as an adult, follows his therapist from West Coast to East Coast to work through his own issues as "the son of Olive Kitteridge". Friends often find Olive impossible and annoying and most of her students are a bit afraid of her. Olive is miserable and makes those around her miserable. Several times, she is thrown into situations where, in spite of herself, she does the world some greater good. There were moments when I found myself laughing at something Olive said (or something that she did) but I tend to have an odd sense of humor. As a whole the book was overwhelmingly depressing.When I first began reading OLIVE KITTERIDGE, I thought immediately of Eudora Welty because Elizabeth Strout seemed to put more into creating characters and setting, than she did into creating a strong plot. While Welty's writing leaves me feeling light and happy to have been introduced to strong characters so that I am forgiving of meandering and weak plots ( such as in Delta Wedding), Strout's writing, just as brilliant in my opinion, left me feeling depressed and unwilling to read the sequel.I really couldn't come up with a single friend that I would encourage to read this book.Note/Trigger Warning: There is frequent mention of suicide and suicidal thoughts throughout the book.Only one star out of five for me on Goodreads.
