4.5 stars

I have really enjoyed Strout's books, and in this pinnacle work, she puts our favorite characters from series past into the same novel. 

The premise is that Lucy Barton is visiting Olive Kitteridge at her assisted living facility to talk about unrecorded lives - those small (and big, disguised as small) moments of people's lives and stories they want to memorialize. Bob Burgess from the Burgess Boys, who wasn't my favorite Strout character before but moved up high in my rankings in this one, features prominently here when a local man Matt Beach is suspected of killing his mother. Bob is such a good man who is dealing with his feelings for Lucy Barton while taking on the case. Don't go thinking that this turns into a murder mystery because it does firmly stay in the literary fiction lane throughout.

Like much of Strout's works, her vignettes can be small, sometimes no longer than a short paragraph. There is so much vivid humanity in this novel. And what I really appreciate about Strout's writing is that she explores fraught parent/child relationships and also unexpected friendships. 

While it's been a while since I've been in Strout's world, I could easily sink back into being with these characters. A couple times when new families (or maybe they were very minor characters from previous books) were introduced, it got a little overwhelming to keep everyone figured out. So it might be good to take some notes.  

If you are a fan of Strout's past series, then do check this one out! I don't feel that this is a good novel to start with Strout if you haven't already read her. This won't be as meaningful, in my opinion.