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The House On Olive Street
The House On Olive Street
Author: Robyn Carr
When novelist Gabby Marshall dies, she leaves a letter asking her four closest friends, all writers, to organize her literary remains. In the process, they take refuge from their own lives in Gabby's cozy home in Sacramento, Calif. Unsentimental spinster Elly fears her highbrow friends won't accept her suitor, Ben, a loving but unsophist...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9781551665450
ISBN-10: 155166545X
Publication Date: 11/1/1999
Pages: 408
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 53

3.8 stars, based on 53 ratings
Publisher: Mira
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

dbs avatar reviewed The House On Olive Street on + 329 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
This is a great book about a group of five friends. The friend who was the glue that held them all together dies unexpectedly, and while the others try to untangle the messes of their lives, they reflect on what she meant to them and what she brought to their lives. Sounds soppy and introspective, but its not. The characters are lifelike, the situations realistic, and yes, everyone ends up with a hopeful, if not happy ending, but by that time, you are rooting for them.
reviewed The House On Olive Street on + 317 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
A poignant and funny story of how the death of a friend draws 4 women, each with problems of her own, together. Each becomes stronger with the support of the others. Great read!!
reviewed The House On Olive Street on + 929 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I didn't realized this was one of Carr's earlier books. This is very different from her Virgin River series. It isn't really romance. It is more about four wrtiers who are picking up the pieces of their lives after the death of a friend, who was the glue to their group.

What amazes me about this book is that the characters are not perfect. They do selfish things, think mean thoughts, and are frustrating. Yet, I couldn't put it down. There were parts that are very difficult to read like Beth's denial with her abusive husband or Ceola's manipulative ways. At the end, these four ladies had to find a way to cope with their loss, not just of their friend but their own lives. This story is more about growth than anything else.

I enjoyed the characters' stories even though I can't say I liked them. It was a good read and I shed a few tears. It's not a feel good novel but the end was satisfying.
cranbery avatar reviewed The House On Olive Street on + 530 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This was a wonderful story of true friendship! Did not want it to end!
reviewed The House On Olive Street on + 80 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I like Carr's writing, but I liked her other books better than this one. It had too many characters to keep track of throughout the novel, and a couple of plot lines also appeared in Blue Skies (a cheating airline-pilot husband, domestic violence), lessening their impact here. Mostly I am sorry that I have read all of Carr's novels that I have gotten my hands on, and now I have none to look forward to.
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Readnmachine avatar reviewed The House On Olive Street on + 1474 more book reviews
There's a pretty long-standing trope in women's fiction wherein four or five long-time female friends get together at some critical point in the life of one or more of them, and -- usually with the help of a great deal of wine -- solve each other's problems so that everyone lives happily ever after.

Carr is undeniably dusting off this reliable formula in "The House on Olive Street", but she handles the story with such panache that it pops and bubbles and turns left almost every time the reader is expecting it to turn right.

Five women, writers all, have had a long-standing friendship that is shaken when one of them dies unexpectedly, charging the eldest member of the group to handle her literary affairs and sort out her personal effects. What starts out as a sad obligation grows into a combination scavenger hunt to reconstruct an unfinished autobiographical novel and a "crazy women's summer camp" as circumstances push one group member after the next into taking up residence in the house on Olive Street.

Things look like they might get terribly predictable and just a wee bit sappy about three-quarters of the way through the book, but Carr still has a few plot twists up her sleeve and manages to create a satisfying ending without getting mawkish about it.
reviewed The House On Olive Street on + 55 more book reviews
Good story about friends...Love Robyn's writings.
reviewed The House On Olive Street on
As with all of Robyn Carr's books, I loved it, but it was the first one,that I can remember, that I hated to end.
Great Book!
reviewed The House On Olive Street on
Poked along at first ... flowed a lot better as I got farther into the book. Nice stories of casual friends building deeper relationships through a shared experience. I really liked the ending with the surprise arrival from the past.
reviewed The House On Olive Street on + 52 more book reviews
I enjoyed this story more than I thought I would. The characters are completely and compellingly drawn, and the plot is entertaining and interesting. Worth a read! This is my first novel by Robyn Carr, and I now look forward to reading more from her.


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