REVIEW: Olive by Emma Gannon

Title: Olive
Author: Emma Gannon
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: June 2020
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN

Description: The debut novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author, Emma Gannon.

Independent.
Adrift.
Anxious.
Loyal.
Kind.
Knows her own mind.

OLIVE is many things, and it is ok that she is still figuring it all out, navigating her world without a compass. But life comes with expectations, there are choices to be made, boxes to tick and – sometimes – stereotypes to fulfil. And when her best friends’ lives start to branch away towards marriage and motherhood, leaving the path they have always followed together, Olive starts to question her choices – because life according to Olive looks a little bit different.

Moving, memorable and a mirror for every woman at a crossroads, OLIVE has a little bit of all of us. Told with great warmth and nostalgia, this is a modern tale about the obstacle course of adulthood, milestone decisions and the ‘taboo’ about choosing not to have children.

My Thoughts: Though I enjoyed the story overall and found the subject matter interesting, it took much too long to finish. I did not have any solid connection to the characters, so I had a difficult time mustering up any empathy for them. For the most part, they all come across as very self-centered and selfish, rather than embracing their life choices and being the supportive “best” friends that the reader is led to believe they are.

The decision to have children or not is a very personal choice and, for some, they are not given a choice, as one of the characters is dealing with infertility issues. Olive decides she does not want to have children but her three best friends, Bea, Cecily, and Isla all do, so it feels quite uneven as the lives of Olive’s best friends seem to take off in a different direction, which leaves Olive isolated. After she and her long-term boyfriend end their relationship, Olive does not feel she can talk to her friends about it because the break-up was because Olive chooses child-free, and Jacob wants to start a family.

The issue of whether to have children or not causes walls to go up between Olive and her friends as they all stand firm on their beliefs and choices, rightly so, but somehow a line has been drawn and there is an unspoken expectation that sides must be chosen. Most of the story centers around each character defending their choice and the resulting conflict and strain it brings into these friendships.

My Final Verdict: Life is not always a picnic, being an adult is not all it is cracked up to be and interpersonal relationships are a lot of work. I recommend this story to readers who enjoy stories that have realistic issues and conflict that the characters must face. Sometimes life is messy, sometimes it is amazing, and this story was a good reminder that nothing in life worth having ever comes easy.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Olive from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.