Olive Kitteredge by Elizabeth Strout

Oh, this was so good! I endured lots of "fixing" of my hair to keep two little hands busy while reading the last chapter. The book is a collection of 13 short stories, and in all Olive Kitteredge makes varying degrees of an appearance. Calling it a collection isn't really the right word as the order seems more organized and intentional. Elizabeth Strout's language, subtle writing and compassion for her well-developed characters makes this my favorite read in a while. Lines like, "Each of his sons had been his favorite child," that I just loved and immediately knew what she was describing. The book is, at times, sad -- suicide, death, loneliness -- in telling the stories of so very real and human characters in a small coastal town in Maine. The last story/chapter was a little more hopeful, not really a happy ending, but a good ending.