“Olive, Again” by Elizabeth Strout : Review

“People are always telling you who they are if you listen.”- Elizabeth Strout

 With her deep and unique understanding of her characters and their inner lives in Olive, Again, Elizabeth Strout came up with the quite engaging and fascinating story of her marvelous fictional character, Olive Kitteridge, who first appeared in her 2008 novel, Olive Kitteridge, which won a Pulitzer Prize as well. However, both novels share the same heroin but are complete in themselves and it’s not necessary to read the previous book to understand the later one.

 Olive, Again was published by Random House on October 15, 2019. The novel is based on thirteen short stories which though are interrelated but are quite complete and different in their narratives. In most of them, Olive is the central character, however, sometimes she is at the periphery of her neighbor’s lives.

Elizabeth Strout seems to want the other people of the community a part of this story as well. So, all of them have their own stories and point of view. All of these characters provide a depth and great understanding of who we are as human beings and how we treat each other.

The genres that are employed in Olive, Again are romance and domestic life. It can also be considered a saga as it provides a detailed description of Portland, Maine, where the writer herself has spent her childhood. Maine is a small coastal town that has one of the nation’s oldest populations and thus, it is not densely populated.

Though Olive Kitteridge is the protagonist, however, Jack Kennison, Olive’s son Christopher and Jack’s daughter Cassie are also the central characters in the novel. Olive and Jack both are widowers, who are trying to figure out what to do with their lives now as they miss their life partners but still want to live their lives fully and happily. Olive’s son Christopher lives in New York and Olive’s alone to reach the other people around her. No doubt, Strout has done a fantastic job in making ordinary life events seem extraordinary, and even mundane and ordinary incidents in the story seem to move us because of their complexity as well as beauty. So whether it’s a young orphan girl who is suffering from poverty and loneliness, or a young woman in labor pain, a hopeless cancer patient or a sad and melancholic poetess, and even a nurse to whom Olive doesn’t seem to have any affection for certain reasons, Strout’s character Olive seems to move us and at the same time amaze us through her dexterous dealing with such events. Her words and actions, especially at this old age of hers are a source of happiness, guidance, and even understanding for the other characters around her.  

As she is now in the middle of her seventies and eighties, now she seems to become more lonely and sad as time passes. Jack’s view about her is that,

“People either didn’t know how they feel about something or they chose never to say how they  felt about something.”

 Perhaps loneliness and nostalgia are what seems to be the most common feature of all the characters.

“There’s no goddam person in this world who doesn’t have a bad memory.” (Olive Kitteridge)

 Most of the old people have remained in Maine and their children have flown away in other states. Some of them feel sad or maybe hurt as Oliver says, “Kids are just a needle in the heart.”

It provides numerous life-changing lessons such as that all the relations that we have are a blessing for us so we should accept them with their good and bad qualities. All the characters seem to be sensitive and desperately desire their loved ones’ affection and care. Significance of the familial ties is being reminded again and again,

“How easily they took it for granted, to be one another, to be talking.”(Jack Kennison)

 It’s the simple, lucid, and engaging style of the narrative that has played a huge role in its popularity. When you read it, you feel transported to the very place of its narration. The beautiful and detailed description of the characters, weather, and the surroundings are what attract the readers the most in the novel. Frequent flashbacks and a nostalgic atmosphere make it more memorable. Elizabeth Strout also seems to provide nature in the form of symbolism as the weather outside depicts the inner lives of the characters as well. As for the audience, this story seems to be a perfect blend of different narratives which bring a large number of readers for it, no matter what age they are, they can associate their domestic lives with the characters in the novel. Strout herself claimed that she always has an ideal reader in her mind while she is writing.

Olive, Again division in short stories is what makes its reading quite interesting and saves the reader from the monotonous and boredom. Also, simple but important topics like parenting, family, love, and domestic life play a huge role in its success. So, I will certainly recommend this novel for people of every age to read and cherish the simplicity and the beauty of the story. It proves to be a good time and money-investment because you learn as well as enjoy it. Absolutely worth reading!

M.Nazir