![]() In a particularly devastating scene, Olive recognises for the first time her own inadequacies as a mother: “She saw behind her closed eyes the house, and inside her was a shiver that went through her bones. Having not seen him for three years, she invites him and his family to stay. Regrets – especially those concerning family – permeate the novel, not least Olive’s troubles with her son, Chris. In the opening story, Jack Kennison – a retired Harvard academic whom Olive befriended at the end of Olive Kitteridge – ruminates on his strained relationship with his gay daughter, the death of his wife and much else in the way of life’s regrets. The 13 tales, told from a range of perspectives, explore Strout’s preoccupations with grief, loneliness and familial torments. But beneath the hard carapace – and this is where part of Strout’s genius lies – is compassion, empathy and vulnerability, as Olive starts to feel aware of her own mortality. ![]() It is two years since Olive’s husband, Henry, died, and grief has not mellowed her: she is still brusque, unforgiving, formidable. Like its predecessor, Olive, Again is made up of interconnected stories all set in a small town in Maine. ![]()
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