Pulitzer Winner Interviewed…
By Kristen on Jul 28, 2009 in Future Classics...?, Life - a little bit better, Literary News
Now that a few months has passed since Olive Kitteridge was announced as our latest Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, I hope many readers have had a chance to experience this quirky, surprising collection. I read and reviewed Strout’s work soon after the announcement and just loved it. However, I know many of my readers have felt ambivalent about Olive — the character and the collection.
Here’s an interesting interview of the author describing “What It Feels Like to Win the Pulitzer”… My favorite aspects of this interview involve Strout describing the process of discovery involved in creating a character like Olive. She helps us wrap our brain around the wily Olive — why she haunts us long after we’ve finished the collection, even though we struggle to even like her throughout.
If you have a minute, check out the interview and let me know what you think! Strout’s inital reaction to winning: “Oh, it’s OK. Nobody’s dead. Nobody’s dead.”
By the way, if you have already read Olive Kitteridge, you know the format is untraditional. Rather than a straight narrative, Olive is presented through a series of episodes and seen through the eyes of many different characters. Would you read another work set up in a similar fashion? Did you mind that you were not quite reading a novel and not quite reading a short story collection?
Welcome back!
Hmmm…. Is it possible to have loved the book but hated the style? I guess I was so interested in Olive the person that I was willing to push through. I would probably try the style again, but the characters would have to really grab my attention for me to stick it out.
BTW, I was able to find “Beach Trip” at my local library and am loving it – thanks for reviewing it for us!
Julie | Jul 28, 2009 | Reply
Hi Julie! I’m so glad you left a comment so that I know my posts are coming through again…
I definitely think it is possible to love a book and hate the style! Olive was fascinating, wasn’t she?! So glad you are enjoying Beach Trip, too — such a treat!
Kristen | Jul 28, 2009 | Reply
I’m just the opposite–I liked the style, but did not like the book. I thought it was a very imaginative way to tell a story, and I loved seeing the same character through so many eyes. But I really didn’t enjoy the plot and really didn’t like Olive! I’ll concede that she was fascinating, but I just could not feel any sympathy for her pettiness. Maybe that says more about me than about Olive!
Karina | Jul 29, 2009 | Reply
Finally, there’s someone else who understands how much I adored this book. I read every Pulitzer winner and finalist (at least in Fiction) and have for years. This year I did something I little different. Instead of starting with the winner and then reading the two finalists, I went in the other direction. I started with Christine Schutt’s ALL SOULS, then Louise Erdrich’s THE PLAGUE OF DOVES. It took me 3 months before I even started OLIVE KITTERIDGE. For some reason I just kept putting it off. Then I started it, fell in love with it within the first 20 pages and gobble it up in a couple of days.
I wasn’t sure if I would like the style, but I thought it was perfect. Because Olive can be a tough character to take at times, Strout’s style gave us a chance to meet so many more characters and hear their stories. I absolutely fell in love with these people and was sad to see the book end, like I was when I finished the TALE OF THE CITIES series.
Hands down, this is the best Pulitzer winner–hell, the best BOOK–I’ve read in years. I can certainly see why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But since I loathe tea, this is mine.
Jim | Jul 29, 2009 | Reply
I have wondered if my experience teaching (including 7th grade one year, which I loved), softened me a bit toward Olive. I think I empathized with her at times, even when I didn’t particularly “like” her. Thanks for stopping by, Karina!!
Kristen | Jul 29, 2009 | Reply
What a great idea, Jim!! Some year I will try to do the same… I know that the “runners up” must be darn near as good as the actual winner! I also dreaded Olive initially since I did NOT care for Strout’s earlier novel, but couldn’t put it down once I started. Such an interesting melding of genres… Great comment, Jim! Thanks for the idea, too!
Kristen | Jul 29, 2009 | Reply
This is our book club’s selection for October and I am really looking forward to it.
Lisamm | Jul 30, 2009 | Reply
I look forward to hearing what you think! I’ve read quite mixed reviews…
Kristen | Jul 30, 2009 | Reply
Kristen, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that a Pulitzer is by no means an indication of quality necessarily. LOL Though there is one Pulitzer finalist that I recommend wholeheartedly: Marianne Wiggin’s “Evidence of Things Unseen.” Maybe that will jumpstart the process. Because I know you have NOTHING else to read.
Jim | Jul 31, 2009 | Reply
Thank you for the recommendation, Jim! I have not heard of Wiggin’s work — I’ll be sure to check it out… I haven’t been let down by a Pulitzer winner yet, but I haven’t read them all by any means…
Kristen | Aug 3, 2009 | Reply