Olive Kitteridge

Published in 2008, Olive Kitteridge is an unconventional novel by Elizabeth Strout that interlinks 13 tales about the people of Crosby, Maine. The novel is a collection of short stories tied together by the unifying element of titular character Olive Kitteridge. The novel won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and HBO created a mini-series of the book in 2014. Because of its construction, Strout’s novel is less about its plot than it is about its characters and themes and how they fit into Olive’s life and worldview.

Other works by this author include My Name is Lucy Barton, Olive, Again, and The Burgess Boys.

This guide is based on the 2008 Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source material contains discussions of suicide, alcohol use disorder, and eating disorders, and references to self-harm.

Plot Summary

The opening chapter, “Pharmacy,” features Henry Kitteridge, Olive Kitteridge’s husband, who is growing close with his young new assistant, Denise Thibodeau, through their working relationship at his pharmacy. When Denise’s husband, who is also named Henry, is accidentally killed during a hunting trip, Henry strives to assist the hapless Denise adjust to independent life.