Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Thirteen short stories make up this novel about the people of a small town in Maine. The first story is about Olive's husband Henry and the last is about Olive herself. In between are stories entirely unrelated to the Kitteridges, but in which they might be mentioned as they are all living in a small town. So you pick up some clues as to what Olive is like before you see her with all her flaws in the last story. Overall the book gives you a sense of how isolated we are from knowledge of our neighbors' struggles, but also how connected we are. Paradox. Excellent fiction.