“The two characters that I have written who are older are Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton. It’s interesting because as I wrote them it was their character that was most important to me, and their age was simply a piece of that character. So even though I knew I was writing about older people I didn’t think about that in a way, except to make sure they were always who they were.”
The Guardian: On my radar: Cultural highlights
A few things I've been looking at, listening to, and doing these past months during the pandemic for comfort, entertainment, and even a little joy.
“On my radar: Elizabeth Strout's cultural highlights,” The Guardian, October 31, 2020.CBS This Morning: Oprah’s Book Club Reveal
In case you missed my appearance on CBS This Morning with Oprah!
“Oprah’s Book Club Reveal,” CBS This Morning, November 7, 2019.Oprah's New Book Club Pick: Olive, Again
“My latest pick is Elizabeth Strout’s Olive, Again,” Oprah says. “Ah, Olive. She teaches us so much about loneliness, judgment, aging, and loss. And empathy, too. I’m in awe of Strout’s ability to convey so much in so few words.”
Oprah has done so much to support readers and writers over the years. I am really thrilled and honored that she chose OLIVE, AGAIN as her next Oprah’s Book Club pick.
“Oprah's New Book Club Pick: Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout,” Oprah.com, November 7, 2019.The Guardian: A moving tour de force
“Olive, Again is a tour de force. With extraordinary economy of prose – few writers can pack so much emotion, so much detail into a single paragraph – Strout immerses us in the lives of her characters, each so authentically drawn as to be deserving of an entire novel themselves. Compassionate, masterly and profound, this is a writer at the height of her powers”
Hannah Beckerman, “Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout review – a moving tour de force,” The Guardian, November 3, 2019.