Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

I looked at this book on Amazon, and there were more than 300 reviews, and Amazon gave it over 3.9 stars. I was dumbfounded. I wouldn't even give it one star.

I picked the book up in the bookstore, and read the first chapter. It looked good. I bought it. It was not good after the first chapter. The writing style was good, but the plot was non-existent. The book was all over the place, and I never could figure out where it was going.

The title character did not figure prominently in the book until the last half of the book, and even then only sort of. There were several people introduced, then after giving a glimpse of their life, they disappeared. I kept waiting for the great tie-in, and it never happened. Once a character disappeared they pretty much never reappeared.

I kept reading, thinking surely there will be a great coming together of characters and the mystery of why the book even exists would be cleared up. No such thing. I do not recommend it, and am sorry I spent any money or time on the book.