I tend to hate short stories, so the format of the book almost put me off at first. Why hate short stories? Well, if I like the story, I regret that it’s over just as I’m getting pulled in. If I don’t like the story, then I don’t like the story. So a book of short stories is usually a no-win for me, and I avoid such books as a rule.

But the selection in downloadable books is not so hot, and the promise of a novel in stories was at least a little appealing.

So I was not too put out when I had to find my bearings for each new section. The reappearance of Olive in each was gratifying.

As for content, the message that resonated for me is that “people are complicated.” Olive seemed to be kinder to her students than to her family. Then again, she was very dedicated to her husband once his abilities tanked. Her abilities for insight and compassion were all over the map, sometimes strong and other times absent.

I couldn’t help thinking, when she was presented as a difficult and critical wife and mother, how tough a life hers was. She had a teaching job as well as a full time homemaking gig. Her husband ran his pharmacy and came home to be taken care of while he mooned over his young assistant. No wonder she balked at some of his expectations when it came to entertaining and social expectations.

Overall, I found it thought provoking to be presented with very different perspectives on one person. These resonated in my head afterwords as I pondered how to reconcile the different images. So I was happy to have listened to the book.