AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: ELIZABETH STROUT

The next meeting of the library's book club will be held on Tuesday, April 16th.  We will be discussing Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.


Elizabeth Strout was born in Portland, Maine and spent her childhood in Maine and New Hampshire.  She attended Bates College, graduating with an English degree.  Later, she obtained a law degree from Syracuse University College of Law.  She has published four books, and she won the Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge.


To learn more about the author, you can visit http://www.elizabethstrout.com/?page_id=410







Elizabeth Strout's Novels:

Amy & Isabelle tells the story of Amy Goodrow, a high school student, who falls in love with her math teacher.  When they are discovered, Amy's mother (Isabelle) feels much disgrace.  As a result, she lashes out at her daughter and retreats into silence.  Amy also withdraws.  The two remain in the same household, living side by side, but unable to bridge the distance that has come between them.

Abide With Me takes place in a small town in Maine in the 1950s.  Tyler Caskey, the town's minister, is still grieving the death of his wife.  One of his daughters, Jeannie, is sent to live with his mother; the other daughter, Katherine, has become antisocial.  Tyler turns to Connie Hatch, his housekeeper, when he is told that Katherine should speak with the school counselor which causes the gossip to begin.

Olive Kitteridge is a collection of thirteen narratives that share one main character: Olive Kitteridge.  Olive dislikes the changes in her little town, and in the world around her.  As the townspeople struggle with their own problems, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her own life.

The Burgess Boys is Strout's newest novel.  Two brothers return to their childhood hometown when their sister asks for their help with her teenage son.  Once back home, they must confront their own issues that resulted from the loss of their father which, in turn, shaped their personal and professional lives.


Similar reads to the works listed above:

The Hours by Michael Cunningham
For My Daughters by Barbara Delinsky
74 Seaside Avenue by Debbie Macomber
The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay
Angels in the Gloom by Anne Perry
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
Coast Road by Barbara Delinsky
Duma Key by Stephen King
Sandcastles by Luanne Rice
The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners by Luanne Rice


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