Olive, Again is the second book in the Olive Kitteridge series by award-winning, best-selling American author, Elizabeth Strout and it follows on almost directly from the first book. Strout again takes us into the lives of the people of Crosby, Maine, over a period of xx years, ordinary lives occasionally punctuated by extraordinary events that bring great joy or sorrow or excitement. Having connected with Olive Kitteridge, recently-widowed Jack Kennison is disappointed when all contact suddenly ceases. Luckily, that’s not through any sort of offence but a series of miscommunications and an electronic hiccough. But while he’s on his own, he does make an effort to reconnect with the daughter from whom he’s estranged, and he reaches out to his late wife’s college crush, to be given an unpleasant surprise. When he does reconnect with Olive, he also has a disturbing encounter with traffic cops to relate, while she shares her disdain over a baby shower she attends that culminates in delivering a baby. Olive visits a friend in a nursing home, observes that the home of a troubled local family takes the life of the husband when it is destroyed by fire, and finally invites her son, his wife and their children to visit. She meets, for the first time, her (mostly) delightful two-year-old grandson, Henry, named for her late husband, but has to endure the presence of the boy’s step-siblings. She revels in reconnecting with her son but, what she witnesses from his wife when she reveals her plan to marry has her considering her own occasional public behaviour towards her husband. Others whose lives intersect, sometimes only fleetingly, with Olive’s include young Kayley Callaghan, a late-in-life child who grieves the loss of her dad, feels ignored by her mom, visits a former neighbour in a nursing home, and works after school cleaning homes for Crosby’s matrons. She secretly shares something with one of their husbands that would attract disapproval. When she comes to deal with the aftermath of her father’s death in the housefire, Suzanne Larkin seeks the support of his lawyer, Bernie Green, and they find common ground and give each other strength. Tom Coomb is surprised to find that his wife, Cindy, suffering from her chemo, actually wants visits from Olive Kitteridge. Denny Pelletier worries about how quiet his grown children are until he encounters one of their classmate in a very bad way, and hears about the tragic fate of one of his own school mates; Civil war re-enactment enthusiast, Fergus MacPherson is told by his daughter that she’s the subject of a documentary, but the topic is very upsetting. Olive has a pedicure, goes for a drive to Shirley Falls with Jack and is supportive when he has an uncomfortable encounter with a former lover. At the point when she has been widowed for a second time, for four months, she unexpectedly breakfasts with a Crosby student who became US Poet Laureate, which impresses only some she tells. She feels a distinct loneliness, a sadness emanates from this woman. Only later does she learn that she’s the subject of a poem. She observes “When you get old, you become invisible… it’s just that you don’t count anymore, and there’s something freeing about that.” Strout gives the reader an update on the Burgess family when Jim and Helen visit Crosby: Jim misses Maine, Helen hates it. To his dismay, Bobby’s wife Margaret fails to conceal her dislike for Helen, too much alcohol is consumed and bones are accidentally broken. One of the protagonists from Amy and Isabelle also appears. Olive has serious medical issues that warrant several visits from her son, and a kind of reconciliation, and eventually accepts that living alone in Jack’s house is no longer feasible. She ends up where she always dreaded going, and finds the other residents irritating until she connects with a newcomer. By the time she is eighty-three, there are continence and mobility issues, but she and the one friend she has at Maple Tree Apartments look out for each other. Memories, though, Olive has many, and begins to document them… Olive continues to be a bit of an enigma: many in Crosby think her an old bag and wonder that anyone else would marry her; she is still direct to the point of rudeness, never suffers fools, manages to unwittingly estrange those she cares about to the extent of her own heartbreak (kids are just a needle in your heart, she later observes), yet has an ability to perceive when others are struggling, knowing when to step up, and what is required. Perceptive, funny and sad in equal measure.

Delightful, outstanding, and in a league of it's own! 'Olive, Again' follows the same structure as 'Olive Kitteridge', which was its prequel, both a series of linked vignettes featuring the inhabitants of Crosby, Maine, in which Olive herself features to varying degrees. What a joy it was to spend more time with Olive Kitteridge, as wry and brutally honest as ever! Although many can't abide her brutal honesty and forthrightness, there are a few souls who can look past her gruff exterior and see that essentially she has a kind heart. The grumpy, abrupt maths teacher, is now coming to terms with loss and old age, however, her frosty relationship with her son is thawing, and she has found new love in an unexpected place. Elizabeth Strout delivered a masterful, unrestrained and exuberant concoction of linked stories about heartache, loneliness, and ageing, never shying away from darker themes such as abuse, toxic families, and the challenges of alcoholism and infidelity. As before, I found her writing terribly authentic, moving, witty and real. Brilliantly compelling, 'Olive, Again' was a cracking read and a book that I revelled in all the way through, bringing with it no disappointments. It was a huge pleasure to return to the town of Crosby and spend some more time in Olive's company. I was sad to say goodbye but I will cherish the experience. I would love to read more from this gifted story-teller and I am delighted to recommend this book. I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Penguin Books UK/Viking via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Thank you to the publishers for this review copy, I absolutely love Elizabeth Strout's writing. Olive is such a fantastic character that I feel I could read her for ever! Most definitely recommended to all.

Strout’s short stories are about various people in a small community in the Mid West. She is very sharp in delving into the motivations and ways of thinking in such small communities. Yes, they might be described as tightly-knitted but Strout is able to tease out the sometimes disturbing threads of this “fabric” and show the patterns of love and hate. Not all the stories are about Olive directly but most touch on Olive tangentially and throw fresh light on her character We have met Olive before and the new novel follows Olive through the ageing process and no she doesn't "mellow" in her old age . She can be as "difficult" as formerly. Her first husband Henry has died but Olive's grief is expressed in a very "Olive" way. Other stories illuminate softer sides of her character. The visit of her son and his family was a stand out chapter for me showing she is able to look at the motivations, secrets and the dark corners of the human psyche in an unflinching way. This examination is almost Shakespearian although she is describing individuals in a small town. She is able to dissect the contradictions we all contain and how these “leak” from our unconscious sometimes into our actions. What an author ! She's really in the top flight of contemporary authors. Tracey Exeter High Street

I loved Olive Kitteridge, but this one is even better! Strout is a wonder of a writer, exploring themes such as family, death, love, grief, loss, loneliness, and so much more. She manages to make the littlest thing big and you can just tell she knows her characters inside out. A beautiful story that I can't wait to read all over again. I hope there's more to come.