A dazzling portrait of one woman's life



Olive Kitteridge – the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning novel

This beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, turned into an Emmy Award-winning HBO mini-series, is an extraordinary story about an ordinary woman’s life, and a vibrant exploration of all that connects us. T he story of Olive Kitteridge will make you laugh, nod in recognition, wince in pain, and shed a tear or two.
'As perfect a novel as you will ever read… So astonishingly good that I shall be reading it once a year for the foreseeable future and very probably for the rest of my life.' Evening Standard

Olive Kitteridge is a complex woman. Described by some as indomitable and by others as compassionate, she herself has always been certain that she is absolutely right about everything. A retired schoolteacher in a small coastal town in Maine, as she grows older she struggles to make sense of the changes in her life.

Through different narratives, telling the triumphs and tragedies of those around her, and spanning years, Olive’s story emerges. We meet her stoic husband, bound to her in a marriage both broken and strong, and a young man pained by loss – whom Olive comforts by her mere presence, while her own son feels overwhelmed by her sensitivities.


Praise for Elizabeth Strout
‘Strout animates the ordinary with astonishing force.’ The New Yorker
'A terrific writer.' Zadie Smith
'So good it gave me goosebumps.’ Sunday Times
'A superbly gifted storyteller and a craftswoman in a league of her own.' Hilary Mantel