“Olive, Again” by Elizabeth Strout

Many people wondered why my daughter Lily was missing from our holiday photos this year. The fact is that Lily decided to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve in San Francisco this year with her dad. When you have divorced parents like she does, sometimes your conviction forces you choose to go with one parent and sometimes the other. Without Lily to hang out with in Dana Point this year, I had a little extra time on my hands, so I put it to use reading this gem of a book “Olive, Again” by Elizabeth Strout. Like many devoted readers of fine fiction, I read Stout’s 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Olive Kitteridge,” the prequel to this latest novel, and also saw the mini-series starring Frances McDormand. In many cases a sequel often feels like a re-hash and in some ways not as fresh as the original. But in the case of “Olive, Again” I think Strout has written a book even better than the first one. Set again in Crosby, Maine, the novel follows the no-nonsense Olive as well as a smattering of other locals in her town, including a retired professor and new love interest. Olive is cranky and sometimes shockingly straight -forward-close-to-rude, in a refreshing way. We also get to see a sensitive side to Olive, a character who fears being alone, but is also so socially awkward when it comes to making friends. In a world where so many people are trying to be glamorous and perfect, I enjoyed spending time with Olive, a real person with good days and bad ones. Olive reminds me of my daughter Lily because they are both authentic people who wouldn’t and don’t waste their time faking anything. That trait makes for a strong character, within the pages of a book, or outside in the real world, too. To buy this book on Amazon, click here.