It Started in a Supermarket Carpark.......
I was reminded recently of the time I sat in a supermarket carpark talking to Elizabeth Strout live on the radio!
It was after her book Olive, Again! had been published and she was a guest on Radio 2 BookClub talking about it. Our Reading Group had been chosen to discuss it and parts of our conversation was recorded and played on air -and then they wanted one of us to ask the author a question live on air. I can’t remember what the question was now but I do remember how surreal it felt on a busy Saturday afternoon – in a carpark, talking live on Radio 2 – if only for a short time!
Of course I became a fan of her books after this and have avidly followed her as the subsequent books have followed. Her two stand out protagonists are Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton with a number of books featuring one or the other becoming popular reads over the years. They are two very different characters with My Name is Lucy Barton telling the harrowing story of Lucy’s childhood and eventual reconnection with her mother. Subsequent novels follow Lucy’s life as she herself becomes a successful author. Anything is Possible and Oh, William! are followed up with Lucy By the Sea which sees her being whisked away to the coast of Maine by William, who by now is her ex-husband, as Covid lockdowns take hold of the world.
Olive Kitteridge on the other hand is a collection of interlocked stories introducing us to Olive, a retired school teacher who approaches life with an ironic wit as she copes with a struggling marriage and poor mental health. It is followed by Olive, Again where the now widowed Olive unexpectedly finds love again with Jack –also told through a collection of short stories. They do not always feature Olive at their centre but she is always present in some capacity. Through this trope we are introduced to the lives, and stories, of a wide and varied cast. Now, coming soon, is the newest publication Tell Me Everything – a touching amalgamation of the lives of both Olive and Lucy.
In Tell Me Everything Lucy is still living in Maine with William and is introduced to Olive who by now is quite elderly and living in sheltered accommodation nearby. Lucy is introduced to Olive and begins regular visits where they take it in turns to share stories of ordinary people they have met over the years, celebrating their lives and acknowledging the extraordinary in us all.
The added extra in the novel is the character of Bob Burgess, a married, retired lawyer who features in an earlier book The Burgess Boys and who, in this novel, has taken to walking regularly with Lucy along the coastal paths, something they started during Covid. Against advice he takes on the curious case of defending a man accused of murdering his mother, investigating and getting to the bottom of what actually happened. Over time Bob finds himself falling in love with Lucy as his relationship with his wife deteriorates.
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At the centre of all of Elizabeth Strout’s books is the acknowledgment that we all have a story, and that everyone’s story is worth telling, and worth sharing. Her conversational and frankly unique style makes the novels easily accessible and her skill at revealing even the most complex characters through these stories has won her many accolades over the years.
My question is though, will we see Olive again in another story or is this her swansong? The author herself has said that Olive will not die on her watch – but has not said if she will base another novel around her.
I hope that Lucy reappears though –I feel that her story is not yet over.
