Olive is the protagonist of Olive, Again, though not all of the stories feature her as a main character. In the stories about other people, Olive appears somehow, either physically or in another character’s mention. In this collection, Olive is in her seventies and eighties. The book traces her life as she remarries, moves into Jack’s home, and then into a senior assisted living apartment.

Olive was born and raised in Maine. She has lived her adult life in Crosby, the fictional town at the center of the narrative. She is a tough, no nonsense woman, irritable and quick to attack. However, as her husband Jack discovers, her brusqueness hides an anxious, sensitive person. When her son’s infant dies, she “cried like a newborn baby” (26), yet she hides this from others. Olive is interested in the world around her, and is keenly insightful about life’s big questions. When she is told, after her heart attack, that she had actually died, she responds: “I think that’s awful interesting” (242).

Olive confronts and grapples with her personal shortcomings, most importantly the realization that she abused both her husband and son. She delves into her past and the events that shaped her, such as her father’s suicide and her mother’s abuse.