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Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.
At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesnt always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olives own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.
As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.
Chapter 1
Pharmacy
For many years Henry Kitteridge was a pharmacist in the next town over, driving every morning on snowy roads, or rainy roads, or summertime roads, when the wild raspberries shot their new growth in brambles along the last section of town before he turned off to where the wider road led to the pharmacy. Retired now, he still wakes early and remembers how mornings used to be his favorite, as though the world were his secret, tires rumbling softly beneath him and the light emerging through the early fog, the brief sight of the bay off to his right, then the pines, tall and slender, and almost always he rode with the window partly open because he loved the smell of the pines and the heavy salt air, and in the winter he loved the smell of the cold.
The pharmacy was a small two-story building attached to another building that housed separately a hardware store and a small grocery. Each morning Henry parked in the back by the large metal bins, and then entered the ...
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (5/14/2026)
My reading time has been limited because my husband and I will travel next week to attend our grandson's 8th grade graduation ceremony. I did finish The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout. The author continues with her perspective writing style as in the Olive Kitteridge series, but she surp...
-Lynne_G
To what audience would you recommend Won’t Be Long Now? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
...recommending it to my book club as they go for the best seller women's fiction and would definitely give me a hard time. I recently selected a book, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, that I feel is similar for discussion and they did not like it all.
-Lana_Maskus
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (3/26/2026)
...'s not bad. I interrupted listening to The Jungle by Upton Sinclair to start listening to Liar's Poker, as Kim mentioned in her post. I just finished Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and attended my book club discussion. I, who selected it, and the other members present did not care for it. We felt the short story venue and jumpin...
-Lana_Maskus
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (3/19/2026)
...ns-Valdez and enjoyed learning a piece of Black American history. I've just started the book I selected for our local book club discussion this week, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. I'm going to have dedicate all my time to it. The meeting is in two days!
-Lana_Maskus
What are you reading this week? (02/27/2025)
I really like the way Elizabeth Strout writes. Oh, William and Tell Me Everything are in my TBR stack, but my favorite is still Olive Kitteridge.
-Dee_Hatcher

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Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
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