Do you like her? Is understanding her the same as liking her? Olive isn’t always popular with the people she encounters or knows. But one thought I’ve had is that she is very complicated-as most of us are-and her complications are so out there that perhaps people feel connected to her for that reason. Here is the thing: I do not know why Olive Kitteridge has resonated so much with people. I have thought about it, and I do not know why. Why do you think the book-and its idiosyncratic main character-hit such a chord with readers? “Olive Kitteridge” won the Pulitzer Prize, became a New York Times bestseller, and was adapted for a miniseries. She showed up with a force, the way she did the very first time, and I could not ignore her. This time, she was nosing her car into the marina, and I saw it so clearly-felt her so clearly-that I thought, Well, I should go with this. I never intended to return to Olive Kitteridge. I really thought I was done with her, and she with me. But a few years ago I was in a European city, alone for a weekend, and I went to a café, and she just showed up. That’s all I can say.
What made you want to go back to Olive (or move forward with her)? Your story in this week’s issue, “ Motherless Child,” revolves around Olive Kitteridge, who was the protagonist of your 2008 story collection, “ Olive Kitteridge,” and will be the protagonist of a sequel, “ Olive, Again,” which comes out this fall.
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