At the edge of the continent, Crosby, Maine, may seem like nowhere, but seen through this brilliant writer's eyes, it's in essence the whole world, and the lives that are lived there are filled with all of the grand human drama - desire, despair, jealousy, hope, and love.
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 and in the world at large, but she doesn't 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; Olive's 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.
2009 Pulitzer Prize winner in the Letters, Drama and Music category
Sandra Burr's smoky voice, cast with a Maine accent, is perfect for portraying no-nonsense Olive Kitteridge. Burr's range is also large enough to characterize the men, children, and more soft-spoken women Olive encounters. Designed as a collection of short stories, the novel takes Olive from young adulthood to her senior years. She's not featured in every story; in some she makes only brief cameos that serve to depict her small town and its residents. Burr is strong in capturing the comfortable marriage of Olive and Henry, and their strained relationship with their son. Listeners will long remember Burr's characterization of Olive and her struggles with both common and uncommon problems. J.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Elizabeth Strout is the author of Abide with Me, a national bestseller and Book Sense pick, and Amy and Isabelle, which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize. She has also been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in England. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines, including The New Yorker and O: The Oprah Magazine. She is on the faculty of the MFA program at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, and lives in New York City.
