Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Stout

Stories	Characters
Pharmacy	Olive and Henry Kitteridge Son – Christopher Denise and Henry Thibodeau Jim O’Casey Jerry McCarthy Daisy Foster
Incoming Tide	Patty Howe Kevin Coulson
The Piano Player	Angela O’Meara Malcolm Moody Walter Dalton
A Little Burst	Christopher Suzanne (Dr. Sue) - wife
Starving	Harmon and Bonnie Daisy Foster Nina White
A Different Road	Olive and Henry Doctor and nurse Robbers: Blue-Mask and Pig-Face
Winter Concert	Jane and Bob Houlton The Lydias – Alan and Donna Granger (Bob had an affair, visited woman in FL)
Tulips	Louise and Roger Larkin Doyle – son, killed wife Henry – stroke, in nursing home
Basket of Trips	Marlene Bonney – husband Ed (deceased) Ed Junior and 2 daughters Kerry – cousin – had affair with Ed
Ship in a Bottle	Anita and Jim Harwood Julie – 21 – wedding canceled by finance Winnie – 11
Security	Christopher Ann – 2nd wife – pregnant Theodore – in preschool Annabelle Sean O’Casey
Criminal	Rebecca Brown Reverend Brown – father David – boyfriend
River	Jack Kennison – widower Henry – died

For discussion:

1. Did you like Olive and Henry?  What overall picture did you develop of Olive and Henry throughout the book?
1. Do you think Olive was a good mother to Christopher?  Discuss the following quotes from the book:
2. Page 71, wishing she would say the following to Sue:  “...deep down there is a think inside me, and sometimes it swells up like the head of a squid and shots blackness through me.  I haven’t wanted to be this way, but so help me, I have loved my son.”
3. Page 157:  left Christopher sleeping in his crib and went down the street to talk to the neighbor.  
2. Discuss the relationships between the husbands and wives in the stories:
1. Olive and Henry
2. Harmon and Bonnie (“Starving”)
3. On page 68 Olive describes life as a series of “big bursts” and “little bursts.”  Do you think this is a good description?
4. In the story “A Different Road,” discuss Henry and Olive’s reactions during and after being held hostage at the hospital.  Will they recover?  Discuss Olive’s feelings toward the boy (page 124).
5. Why did Olive damage Suzanne’s sweater and steel her bra and shoe on the day she married Christopher?
6. How would you react if you had spilled down your shirt like Olive did in “Security” and your children did not tell you?   What was Olive’s reaction and why did she react that way?
7. On page 257, widowhood is described as a “contagious disease,” and women whose husbands were still living tended to avoid widows.  Can you relate?