Olive Kitteridge

 This book by Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer prize for fiction. it is a group of short stories about a women named Olive and her life in a small town in Maine. It is told from several points of view. I liked this book, except for one problem; it is a little sad. Olive comes across as rather melancholy and a little bit nuts. A story works best for me when I like the characters and Olive is tough to like. The general feel of the book was a bit depressed, I thought. But the writing is excellent and the characters are very well drawn. It is a worthwhile read.

South of Broad

Well, I've been slogging through "South of Broad" for the past week. I had so looked forward to this  and couldn't wait to read it. I loved Conroy's other books but this one didn't do anything for me. The characters were all miserable people.  The protagonist was a totally unrealistic person- a teenage boy who would clean up a sick old man on his own with no complaints? Please. The plot was not all that much either. There was the search for the long lost brother and there was the homicidal dad and that was about it. I did like the hurricane scenes. I know some people loved this book but it was a disappointment to me.