About this audiobook
‘Thoughtful, funny, and honest’ Elizabeth Gilbert
‘Brilliantly observed’ Sophie Kinsella
‘It'll give a voice to countless women’ Marian Keyes
Olive and her friends have shared every milestone.
From first loves and first heartbreaks to flatshares and the first scary steps into the real world, they’ve been through it all – together.
But in the maze of life, through the winding paths that lead to different choices and different futures, will the bonds of friendship hold strong when Olive needs them most?
Moving, memorable and a mirror for anyone at a crossroads, OLIVE is a love letter to the life raft of female friendship and reminds us how, with a little courage, we can all follow our own paths.
Emma Gannon
Emma Gannon is a Sunday Times bestselling and award-winning author. She is the author of seven books: Ctrl Alt Delete, The Multi-Hyphen Method, Sabotage, Disconnected, The Success Myth, OLIVE and A Year of Nothing. She has written for The Sunday Times, New York Magazine, the Guardian, Oprah Daily, Vanity Fair & more.
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Reviews for Olive
92 ratings13 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a beautiful reminder of the many ways to be happy. The author brings the characters to life and portrays their struggles and strengths in a relatable manner. The book is highly recommended, especially for women, as it explores important themes and offers a refreshing and easy read. While some readers found the ending less interesting, overall, the book is praised for its honesty and relatability.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was such a brilliant read. I loved how relatable the characters were and how it’s such an honest story.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5loved it. The dilemma every woman faces and its incredibly and powerfully portrayed.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved this book! A great listen and totally relatable as a 30-something female myself going through similar stages of life and finding myself not fitting into the so-called expected “norm”. Excellently narrated. Highly recommend.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A honest book about friendships, life transitions. I love the characters in this book—they are beautifully flawed and I feel like I know them. This book tugged on my heartstrings and I can’t wait to read more of the authors work!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The book was okay. I liked the first part but I lost interest towards the end.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this book. There's a freedom in being who you are on either side of subjects Olive shares in this magnificent book. Give to every woman who is choosing to be herself.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really enjoyed this book. The author beautifully brought the characters into life and you could see she took her time to understand each character's struggles, strengths and portrayed those in a very relatable manner. Loved it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such a refreshing and easy read, particularly for women! A lot of things to take away.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing audiobook , enjoyed every second , totally recommend it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5C'était une bonne histoire d’une thématique importante. Je le recommande.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A beautiful reminder that there are as many ways to be happy as there are people. A very real book by a woman about women. Loved it!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/54.5 stars - I really enjoyed this book. I see that from other reviews, some people really didn’t like the character of Olive, but I found her very relatable. I thought the story was a realistic look at adult friendships and the trials that can occur as people move into other seasons of life.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Olive is a thoughtful woman in her early 30s going through some major life changes. She has shared everything with her three best friends since they were tiny but they are becoming distant since she is walking a different path. In the 30s women must make their decision of whether to have children or not.
One of her. friends has three children, one is pregnant, and one is undergoing expensive and painful procedures to try to conceive. Olive has never wanted children and society gives her the impression that something is wrong with her. Women without children are to be pitied or not trusted. If you don’t want them now you will later. There’s constant pressure to have a real family. To make matters worse, Olive's boyfriend of 10 years wants to have children and he’s shocked to find out she seriously is committed to being parentless.
The book explores societal pressures on women to bear children, even pressuring each other. The book explores how life changes affect relationships as we watch the young women struggle with demands of their families, society, and their own needs. It is a thought-provoking book and will elicit a lot of great discussion for book clubs.
I thought it odd though that twice in the book, out of nowhere, she takes shots at vegans. It seemed really out of place. It was a minor diversion though.
She has a casual first person contemporary young voice. Easy to read, like listening to someone telling their own story.
I recommend it for anyone who is pondering the idea of whether to be a parent or not, or wants to understand the dilemma of 30-year-olds trying to decide.