So here is another book of short stories (which I am trying to grow to like) but in this case linked to each other and linked through connections to Lucy Barton. I think it's better if I read Lucy Barton before giving a full review, but it was a good read.

Elizabeth Strout's ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE is another excellent novel from the author of OLIVE KITTERIDGE.

The novel - set in the same region as MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON - examines the lives and experiences of a cast of small-town characters, as they cope with love, loss, and life. Strout brings her excellent eye for personalities, relationships, and excellent prose. A really great read. A must for fans of the author's work.

Highly recommended.

I'm not sure why I chose to review this book. I didn't like Olive Kitteridge, and I don't like short stories. I didn't read the first book in this collection either. There's no doubt Strout is a fantastic writer, but I just dont' connect with her style or get her stories.

EXCERPT: Tommy knew many things as a result of being the janitor in that school for more than thirty years: he knew of girls' pregnancies and of drunken mothers and cheating spouses, for he overheard these things talked about by the students in their small huddles by the bathrooms, or near the cafeteria; in many ways he was invisible, he understood that. But Lucy Barton had troubled him the most. She and her sister, Vicky, and her brother, Pete, had been viciously scorned by the other kids, and by some of the teachers too. Yet, because Lucy stayed after school so often for so many years, he felt - though she seldom spoke - that he knew her the best. One time, when she was in the fourth grade, it was his first year working there, he had opened the door to a classroom and found her lying on three chairs pushed together, over near the radiators, her coat as a blanket, fast asleep. He had stared at her, watching her chest move slightly up and down, seen the dark circles beneath her eyes, her eyelashes spread like tiny twinkling stars, for her eyelids had been moist as though she had been weeping before she slept, and then he backed out slowly, quietly as he could; it had felt almost unseemly to have come upon her like that.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Short story collection Anything Is Possible explores the whole range of human emotion through the intimate dramas of people struggling to understand themselves and others.

Here are two sisters: one trades self-respect for a wealthy husband while the other finds in the pages of a book a kindred spirit who changes her life. The janitor at the local school has his faith tested in an encounter with an isolated man he has come to help; a grown daughter longs for mother love even as she comes to accept her mother’s happiness in a foreign country; and the adult Lucy Barton (the heroine of My Name Is Lucy Barton) returns to visit her siblings after seventeen years of absence.

MY THOUGHTS: Elizabeth Strout always creeps up on me and takes me unawares. She is a master of making the ordinary extraordinary, of taking the everyday minutiae of life and revealing their hidden depths and nuances, of highlighting the gaps between perception and reality.

The common thread between all ten of these short stories, is Lucy Barton, of 'My Name is Lucy Barton', which was the first book I had ever read by this author. These stories are set in the town of Amgash, Illinois, where Lucy grew up. They are about other members of her family, people she knew, and people who knew, or knew of, her.

The characters are complex, and not always nice, the relationships difficult, the plot intricately ordinary. This could be any community, anywhere in the world. There is luck, good and bad, plenty and poverty, opportunities taken, and wasted, love reciprocated, and unrequited, affairs, deceit, blackmail, abuse, and bravery, so much bravery, although it is mostly not recognised as such.

I was sad to close the cover on this book (or, if I am being honest, to put away my earbuds). But I will be back to visit with Ms Strout soon. I have Olive Kitteridge in my sights.

****

THE AUTHOR: Elizabeth Strout is the author of several novels, including: Abide with Me, a national bestseller and BookSense pick, and Amy and Isabelle, which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize, and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in England. In 2009 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her book Olive Kitteridge. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines, including The New Yorker. She teaches at the Master of Fine Arts program at Queens University of Charlotte.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

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This is a wonderful book, it is my first Elizabeth Strout and I am just so impressed. A beautifully written collection of 9 short stories set in Illinois with glimmers of Lucy Barton the title character from Strouts other series. A wonderfully compelling story showing we all have our own stories to tell.

Elizabeth Strout is such a wonderful writer and she makes the people inhabiting this small town come alive. Each of their stories, though separate, are woven together beautifully. She revisits a few familiar characters (such as Lucy Barton) and the feelings of her characters are so real that I truly related to them. Anything she writes is worth reading - even more than once since you may discover nuances that you didn't notice the first time around. I loved this book.

I always love Elizabeth Strout's work, and this particular work was one of her best. Despite the hope the title provides, you're wound through a tight web that, at the end, leaves you hanging.  The prose is excellent, and the characters memorable.  There could have been some light editing, but in general, I highly recommend.

Elizabeth Strout has a very particular and intriguing voice. Her works aren't really like anyone else's. This book, like My Name Is Lucy Barton, explores personal tragedy and joy in equal measure.

This book was an interesting look at relationships and how they affect our lives, and it was easily relate to as well.

A series of short stories about characters whose lives interconnect, who - if you're lucky enough to have read Strout's earlier novels - you will already recognise. Strout's writing is taut, transparent (you forget that you're reading!), deceptively uncomplicated. The characters real - at least they feel it - their world likewise (it's set in small-town America), their hopes and struggles relatable. I found the novel - because it is, in my view, a sort of novel - beautiful and unforgettable, parts of it achingly moving. If you haven't already read Strout, buy Olive Kitteridge and start there. Then read this. I loved it.

Lucy Barton revisited. Unforgettable characters and unforgettable dialogue. Characters grapple with shame in different ways. Homosexuality, adultery, being poor, being fat, success. Through chapters telling the stories of different characters that are somewhat related, this book stays with you.  I am glad the Author wasn't finished telling their stories.

Copy provided by publisher and NetGalley

These stunning short stories and characters reminded me that with a little kindness and compassion Anything is Possible. I highly recommend.

Having not read My Name is Lucy Barton, I wasn’t sure if I’d have an understanding of the characters and setting. Fortunately, this book stands on its own. Richly detailed, with characterizations that could only be written by an astute observer of people. So wonderful.

I really enjoyed this book by Elizabeth Strout.  Ms. Strout's characters are strong.  This book can be read as a standalone or after Strout's My Name is Lucy Barton book.

Loved this collection of short stories!  Great characters.  Clever writing tied them all together.  What an amazing author.  I have enjoyed all her previous books. Look forward to reading her next one!

A big thanks to netgalley for this read! This was a book I read slowly and savored. It’s the first I’ve read from this author, and I look forward to checking out more of her work. Highly recommend!

Now this is the "Olive Kitteridge" feel that I've been wanting!  I just could not get into "Lucy Barton", but this one I thoroughly enjoyed.  I really like this style (that O.K. used too) where each chapter could stand alone as its own short story, and yet all the characters are masterfully woven together throughout.   The detailed and colorful descriptions of the setting just elevated it for me too.  More like this one, please, Ms. Strout!

I loved this book! It is well written and just flows, the only problem was I got so caught up in the book I stayed up til 2 reading. Can’t wait to see what the author writes next

Anything is Possible

by Elizabeth Strout

I will preface this, in an attempt at full disclosure, by admitting I am a fan of Elizabeth Strout. I heard her speak at our library lunch after Olive Kittredge came out, and at the time I was not sure if she would be able to top the success of that book. At the event, I grabbed copies of Amy & Isabelle and Abide with Me, which I greedily read not long after. There is something soothing and almost intoxicating about Strout's writing; she draws you in effortlessly, lulls you into complacency, and then shatters it all with a painful reality you might not have even imagined. Her characters are, at first glance, nondescript, often eking out a meager existence; but in her caring hands, they are stalwart, earnest, and beautiful. When Lucy Barton reappeared in this book, it was like catching up with an old friend, and I'm sure I judged her siblings harshly because I defended her. And that is the heart of it, really. I care about these characters. Strout pulls away the curtain, and we see what makes these people tick; we care about them because she makes us care, her words inspire empathy. And, given the state of things around here right now, we could all use a little more of that. 


For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — Because Elizabeth Strout wrote it.
Reminded me of… Strout's characters sometimes make me think of Carolyn Chute's, but only if she was severely edited. (Chute tends to be a tad verbose, where Strout is spare.)
For my full review — click here

ust stellar, as always. Elizabeth Strout, how I love thee!

This amazing collection of 9 short stories revolves around the community of Amgash, Illinois, the hometown of Lucie Barton, the leading lady of Strout's previous novel ("My Name is Lucy Barton"). You don't necessarily need to read "Lucy Barton" first to tackle and enjoy this collection, but I highly recommend it. Lucy's backstory does illuminate several of these narratives.

Strout's characters are all loosely connected in some way across these nine stories and Lucy Barton makes a welcome appearance in one of them. Strout's writing is perfection as always, but where these stories really shine is in her incredibly perceptive eye for humanity; our flaws, cruelties, kindnesses, loneliness, redemptions and all of the messes we make living our lives. Life is often not what we expected or planned for in our youth, but we find ways to adapt, survive and carry on.

This reminded me a lot of Kent Haruf's books, so if you are a fan, you will probably enjoy these stories - although "enjoy" might not be the right word. Some of the stories are pretty dark, but there is always a glimmer of salvation - because, after all, "Anything is Possible."

I read this twice because I loved it so, but it also helped me make connections between the many characters that I missed the first time through. A real gem; I highly recommend this or any of Strout's works.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC of this lovely collection. My review is based on the hardcover version, however.