Chapter 10 of "Olive Kitteridge" opens with former beauty queen, Anita Harwood downplaying her daughter Julie's feelings about being jilted. But we're seeing the Harwoods through the eyes of eleven year old Winnie. Winnie is half sister to Julie, Julie's dad having run off with another woman when Julie was a child. Anita compares Julie's situation to that of prisoners and members of the army. If Julie would only organize her day and keep busy, everything will be o.k. Does anyone else pick up on the possibility of Anita Harwood being a queen of denial?
I like both Winnie and Julie, in this story. I love the way Ms. Strout describes Winnie's growing adulation of her older sister, Julie. The simple of act of Winnie copying her sister by putting her own hands in her pockets and leaning back with indifference is an interesting picture.
Anita, I don't like so much. In fact, I like Olive much better than I do Anita. Olive is really beginning to grow on me. Especially in stories like "Ship in a Bottle" where Olive just pops in through the memories of other characters. Olive made a big impact on a school aged Julie. Olive tells Julie's class (on pg. 287 of the large print edition) "Don't be scared of your hunger. If you're scared of your hunger, you'll just be one more ninny like everyone else." It's something that Julie has remembered and the meaning has changed for her from literally meaning hunger for food to a greater meaning in her life. Perhaps Olive's advice to Julie's 7th grade class gave Julie the power to stay home from church and slip out of town one day.

Each of Strout's stories appears to have at least one secret that becomes revealed. What was the secret in this story? And what or who does the title "Ship in a Bottle" refer to for you? I originally felt the whole Harwood family was a sort of ship in a bottle. Essentially the Harwoods are a family, but separated from the rest of the world by Anita's control and perception of the world. Perhaps Anita is the ship in the bottle. Her husband is building the ship in the basement after all, is he the crafter of the family's ship?

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