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A review by catsy2022
Olive by Emma Gannon
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Rating: B
Olive is a contemporary fiction about the expectation of motherhood on women as they get older. Olivia (Olive) is friends with three other women, Cecily, Bee and Isla, each through different stages of their lives ending when they're 33ish. Cecily is a new mother at 28, Bee has three kids and Isla is trying for a child with her husband, Mike, via IVF. Outlier Olive doesn't want children and feels isolated from her friends as they reach different milestones.
This book was pretty light in plot given the circumstances. It's more of a slice of life, the characters each go through fights and trials as they try to understand each other. It was a nice read but didn't show me any other perspectives I didn't already have. The background breakup of Jacob and Olive was used to contrast how busy people get and how self-focused we all get as we get older, in that months have passed before anyone has any capacity to ask Olive about her life.
Kind of relatable and a little sad.
Worth a read if you're in this genre focus but nothing groundbreaking. I also found the characters real and enjoyable but like all contemporary fiction now you notice they all have high paying highly flexible jobs that allow them to achieve all their goals. Real people aren't all like that.
Olive is a contemporary fiction about the expectation of motherhood on women as they get older. Olivia (Olive) is friends with three other women, Cecily, Bee and Isla, each through different stages of their lives ending when they're 33ish. Cecily is a new mother at 28, Bee has three kids and Isla is trying for a child with her husband, Mike, via IVF. Outlier Olive doesn't want children and feels isolated from her friends as they reach different milestones.
This book was pretty light in plot given the circumstances. It's more of a slice of life, the characters each go through fights and trials as they try to understand each other. It was a nice read but didn't show me any other perspectives I didn't already have. The background breakup of Jacob and Olive was used to contrast how busy people get and how self-focused we all get as we get older, in that months have passed before anyone has any capacity to ask Olive about her life.
Kind of relatable and a little sad.
Worth a read if you're in this genre focus but nothing groundbreaking. I also found the characters real and enjoyable but like all contemporary fiction now you notice they all have high paying highly flexible jobs that allow them to achieve all their goals. Real people aren't all like that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Death and Eating disorder