Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge, #1)

by Elizabeth Strout
Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge, #1) cover
Good Books rating 4.5
Technical
  • ID: 5695
  • Added: 2025-10-24
  • Updated: 2025-10-24
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
goodreads.com · Unknown · 2025-10-24
excellent 4.50

The Beggar Maid is a collection of short stories that also functions as a novel, following the life of Rose and her stepmother Flo. The stories jump around in setting and perspective, each packing their own punch while creating a larger picture.

The Beggar Maid is a unique collection of short stories that also serves as a novel, which is why it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The stories follow the life of Rose and her stepmother Flo, jumping around in setting and perspective. Each story stands on its own, delivering a powerful punch, while also contributing to a larger, more comprehensive picture of the characters' lives. The collection is a testament to Alice Munro's skill in crafting compelling narratives that are both intimate and expansive.

Quick quotes

    The Beggar Maid is a collection of short stories that also passes as a novel

    Here we will follow the life of Rose and her stepmother Flo

    The stories here will jump around in setting and perspective, each packing their own punch while creating a larger picture.

oku.club · Unknown · 2025-10-24
profound 4.50

The reviewer praises Alice Munro's ability to transform ordinary life into profound art, highlighting her skill in dissecting human nature and creating deeply moving stories. They appreciate Munro's unique perspective and her ability to capture the complexities of human relationships.

The reviewer is deeply moved by Alice Munro's writing, noting her ability to take the most ordinary aspects of life and transform them into something extraordinary. They appreciate Munro's keen insight into human nature and her ability to capture the complexities of relationships in a way that is both profound and relatable. The reviewer also notes that Munro's writing is not just about the surface-level details of life, but about the deeper, often hidden aspects of human experience. They are particularly impressed by Munro's ability to create characters that are both deeply flawed and deeply human, and to explore the ways in which these characters navigate the challenges and triumphs of life. Overall, the reviewer is highly recommended Munro's work to anyone looking for a deeply moving and thought-provoking reading experience.

Quick quotes

    Trasforma un aneddoto in arte. Trasforma un dettaglio in una dimensione vasta, aperta, profonda. Trasforma il brutto in Bello.

    This is a small town book. Rose and Flo are very, fallibly human: so their hearts are as crooked as corkscrews.

    Munro's prose is as sharp as a knife, but her words caress your scarred wounds in ways you would never have anticipated.

hardcover.app · Unknown · 2019-12-28
brilliant 4.50

The reviewer finds Alice Munro's stories brilliant for their unique structure and deep character exploration, particularly in 'The Beggar Maid'. They appreciate Munro's ability to capture complex emotions and relationships, though some stories leave them with unanswered questions.

The reviewer has been increasingly drawn to Alice Munro's writing, finding her stories brilliant for their unique structure and deep character exploration. In 'The Beggar Maid', Munro follows the life of Rose, a character who experiences both hope and disappointment in love. The reviewer particularly appreciates Munro's ability to capture Rose's inner life and the complex emotions she experiences. However, some stories, like 'Who Do You Think You Are?', leave the reviewer with more questions than answers. Despite this, the reviewer is eager to read more of Munro's work, finding her stories to be a rich and rewarding experience.

Quick quotes

    Writing is the only thing I can do.

    The two stories that were the strongest to me were Providence and Simon’s Luck.

    The surprise was that she so much wanted, required, everything to be there for her, thick and plain as ice cream dishes, so that it seemed to her it might not be the disappointment, the losses, the dissolution, she had been running from, any more than the opposite of those things: the celebration and shock of love, the dazzling alteration.

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