Comments from the Book Discussion Group at DeSoto Library regarding our March 2011 selection:

(Note: Our February meeting was cancelled because of the blizzard.)

Olive Kitteridgeby Elizabeth Strout

Below is a summary of the group's collective observations of this work.

Olive Kitteridge is a series of vignettes that feature various inhabitants of the town in Maine where Olive Kitteridge has lived her entire life. While many of the stories center around Olive and/or her family, some merely mention the title character in passing. The narrative as a whole, however, reveals some deep and painful truths about Olive and her impact on the lives around her.

The group expressed a range of feelings about Olive, describing her as "hard," "cold," "mean," and "angry." Others thought she might have been viewed differently if she had been a man. All thought the final chapter revealed a different view of Olive. A few members felt there were other books more worthy of their time invested than this selection.

Comments from the Book Discussion Group at DeSoto Library regarding our January 2011 selection:

Out Stealing Horsesby Per Pettersen

Below is a summary of the group's collective observations of this work.

Out Stealing Horses is, for the most part, an internal dialogue of a man-- now in the twilight of his life--reflecting on his boyhood in Norway during World War II and the emotional impact of his father's abandonment as well as where he has arrived in his journey across the years.

The group's reaction to this novel was mixed. Some found it "wonderful," while others said they "kept waiting for something to happen and it never did." All agreed that the overall result reflected a male personality and outlook. Discussion centered on how different members viewed the events in the narrative and the impact of those events on the narrator.