Not quite a book recommendation

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Overall, I would give this book a "meh," complete with shoulder shrug. It isn't a bad book, it just isn't that great. I think it's a combination of the expectations of a Pulitzer Prize and having come off of a book that I loved.

But ... I really want to find someone who has read this book to talk about it. Because while I didn't love it, I want to make sure that I didn't miss something, that the problem is with the book and not me. All very insecure, I know, but I blame my post-Comparative Literature major state.

The book is a collection of thirteen short stories all set in rural Maine and all having Olive Kitteridge as a character, at least in passing. Olive was a school teacher in the community for years and years, and is a woman who may come off as larger-than-life, due to hear size and her strong personality, but she is also very human.

The stories are moments in lives lived, but seem to focus more on the sad moments, or the bittersweet, or the heartbreaking moments than the happy ones. And while as story tellers, we choose to tell the interesting stories, the most beautiful stories are the ones with good moments as well as the sad or bittersweet parts.

I guess the good thing about this book is that nearly a week after finishing it, I am still thinking about it and wishing to talk about it. But for all that, I prefer talking about books that I like, rather than just ones that I've finished.