You know that thing where you go your whole life not hearing a name, and then suddenly, you hear it everywhere. 'Elizabeth Strout' did that to me.  I don't know where I was in 2009 when she won the Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge, or a couple of years ago when HBO made it into a miniseries.  I think her name may have seeped into my consciousness with last year's My Name Is Lucy Barton, but not properly.  Now, she is everywhere for me; being interviewed in the Saturday paper, in bookshop window displays and most recently, on my e-reader with Anything Is Possible.

Anything Is Possible is a remarkable book - it's collection of nine stories but I wouldn't say it's a short story collection.

It's more like a collage... maybe? Each chapter focusses on a different inhabitant of Amgash, a small town in Illinois, but all the characters and their stories are connected- either by blood or association. Strout has also united them in a profound way; each person is straining under the weight of their past (and their present) and is struggling to cope with the complex threads of their lives.

In the story Cracked, Linda Peterson-Cornell is rich, but wretched in her marriage ('ever since her daughter moved away, saying those awful things about her, Linda had slept away from her husband').  In The Hit-Thumb Theory, Charlie, who had 'long ago stopped looking like anyone familiar' is still damaged by his service in the Vietnam War, and has been having an affair with a sex worker - we witness him on the verge of a breakdown.

Sometimes Strout takes the whole story to  extrapolate the characters' vulnerabilities, sometimes she delivers them in short, stunning blows: 'Mr Daigle did not really yell at his kids; in fact, when Annie and Charlene took a bath he often came in to wash them with a washcloth'. Underpinning all these histories is one theme that Strout captures most succinctly in Dottie's Bed and Breakfast: 'She saw Shelly Small as a woman who suffered only from the most common complain of all: Life had simply not been what she thought it would be'.

That life is disappointing is a not a jaunty theme.  In each story, I kept waiting for something (anything) to justify the book's redemptive title.  Eventually it comes; the last line on the last page delivers a pale glimmer of hope. Despite this, Anything Is Possible is not nearly depressing as it sounds.  There's a lot to be said for human resilience.

Strout clearly trusts her readers to draw their own conclusions; I loved the lightness of touch across her story telling. At the same time, she has an amazing eye for detail, which she uses to best affect in describing the crushing poverty affecting many in Amgash, and the subtle distinctions of class:

    Yvonne's sandals, with high cork wedges, made her even taller.  They gave away to Linda the fact that Yvonne had, in her youth, most likely not come from much.  Shoes always gave you away.


Anything Is Possible is not exactly a sequel to My Name Is Lucy Barton, but both novels are heavily interwoven.  In Anything Is Possible, Lucy Barton's success as a writer living in New York hovers over every character who's not managed to replicate her feat of escaping Amgash. In one beautifully written story, Lucy comes back to her hometown. She meets up with her siblings, Pete and Vicky, after years of being away ('Lucy, you left here and you have never once come back since Daddy died'). Somehow Strout makes this reunion tender - although Vicky is antagonistic towards Lucy, Pete notices she's actually put on lipstick -  but also excruciating as they relive their bullied and shameful childhoods.

There is no one particular reason why this book is so brilliant. Partly it's because Elizabeth Strout is an outstanding wordsmith.  Partly it's because she captures people's vulnerabilities so astutely. But it's also because she can render what might otherwise be banal into a fascinating excursion into the modern human condition. 'Elizabeth Strout' may be a relatively new name to me, but it's certainly not one that I'm going to forget.

I received a free copy of Anything Is Possible from Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.  Go read it folks.

I thought My Name Is Lucy Barton was outstandingly good, but I wasn't at all sure about a follow-up which is effectively a series of linked short stories about characters in small-town Illinois who are linked, some closely and some peripherally, to Lucy Barton.  In fact, Anything Is Possible is, in my view, just as good.  

Elizabeth Strout here does what she has been doing so well for so long: she creates completely recognisable, complete and believable characters and examines the important things in everyday life – family ties, love, kindness, selfishness, decency, wickedness, human damage and so on – through their eyes.  In less brilliant hands it could be dull or forced or facile, but Strout has an extraordinarily shrewd understanding of the common complexities of life and the wonderful skill to put these over plainly but with humanity and compassion.  Often, we see people's realisation that they have ended up somewhere they didn’t expect, and their life isn't even quite the life they thought they were in.  We see, too, the understanding that acting to change things can bring difficulty and pain as well, perhaps, as liberation.  As one of Strout's characters sums it up, "she saw [her]as a woman who suffered only from the most common complaint of all: Life had simply not been what she thought it would be."

I love Strout's prose, which has a graceful simplicity to it.  It manages to be extraordinarily evocative while seeming gently straightforward.  It is all in the third person, but the voice of each subject is very well evoked, so what she is writing about is quietly vivid, whether it is kindness or great wickedness – and we get both here, plus a full range of very human characters with their own mannerisms and quirks all laid gently before us with great clarity and insight.  

In one place Strout writes, "she pictured her mother's quick and gracious loveliness to that man on the street."  I think "gracious loveliness" is a fitting description of the quality of this book.  Very, very warmly recommended.

This was such an exquisitely understated and quietly beautiful book. Each chapter is devoted to a member of the town of Amgash, giving the detail and minutiae of a life lived - it's highs and lows, mistakes, loves and losses. The writing is achingly good. Strout can tell us so much in just a few words and one gets the feeling that sometimes, it is what she doesn't say that fleshes out a description. This novel shows the importance of an ordinary life. Each character has a vital role to play and the stories intersect in a manner that demonstrates how close we all are at any time to each other, perhaps without our knowledge. The emotion is raw and honest, but never excessive or maudlin in any way. There is much pity for the people we are shown, but the overwhelming feeling I was left with was hope. Some of the characters have taken the worst possible start and made the best possible version of themselves, and for that we can all be truly hopeful. This is just a stunning book that will stay with me for a long time and I feel that in years to come, I will think to myself, I wonder how the people of Amgash are doing?

Having read and enjoyed My Name is Lucy Barton last year, it was a no brainer for me to pick up this companion read.

This is a collection of interlacing short stories based around the background characters from My Name is Lucy Barton and despite my no re-reads vow I admit I have re-read Lucy Barton purely so I could let you all know whether or not you need to have read Lucy Barton to appreciate this book. The answer is that it helps to have read the first book as Lucy is mentioned constantly, however, this could also be read just as a short story collection. I would recommend reading both in whatever order you like, as the order doesn’t matter.

In this book we explore the history of characters who are only briefly mentioned in Lucy Barton. Here they get their own voices and their own stories. They are no longer reduced to gossip and anecdote. While we spend less time with each character, they are all unique and well rounded.

This book gives us a greater insight into Lucy’s childhood from the point of view of those who knew her as a child. We also learn a lot more about her immediate family and how they were viewed in their home town.

Who would like this? I would recommend this to anyone who read and enjoyed My Name is Lucy Barton, those who enjoy short stories (I don’t normally but I liked this collection), and anyone who likes character-driven books.

Strout’s short stories are about various people in the community of Amgash in the Mid West. She explores what it is like for those who have left and return to visit (like Lucy Barton) as well as what it is like for those people who have never lived away from the town. She is equally sharp in delving into the motivations and ways of thinking in such small communities. Yes, they might be described as tightly-knitted but Strout is able to tease out the sometimes disturbing threads of this “fabric” and show the patterns of love and hate.

It was good to meet up with Lucy Barton from her previous book, who is now a successful novelist who has got through the “crisis” of her eponymously titled book.

Strout is so “truthful” in her writing. She is able to examine the compassion that Tommy feels towards the “damaged” Pete, albeit with a whiff of unwillingness.  She writes about love and passion :
“Annie wondered at this, that her brother and sister…had never known the passion that caused a person to risk everything they had…simply to be near the white dazzle of the sun that somehow for those moments seemed to leave the earth behind”

Then again she is able to look at the secrets and the dark corners of the human psyche in an unflinching way “her family was encased in shame” … “had grown up on shame: it was the nutrient of their soil”

This examination is almost Shakespearian although she is describing individuals in a small town. She is able to dissect the contradictions we all contain  and how these “leak” from our unconscious  sometimes into our actions.


What an author ! There are few of her calibre writing now.

Connected short stories are a particular favourite of mine - so I only have myself to blame for not having started reading Elizabeth Strout's books earlier. And after this absolutely brilliant book I feel a bit stupid. Because I totally, 100 % adored this - and I think I would have liked it even more, had I read her other books first. There are connections there that I would have enjoyed more and scenes that I am sure would have been even more poignant. This is the only reason why I rated the book with four instead of five stars - because it could have been better if I had known some characters differently. I will remedy this as soon as possible though and buy the rest of her books.

Elizabeth Strout has a way of creating brilliance out of ordinary situations and and she tells the stories' of ordinary, real, believable characters. The stories that worked best for me were mostly the ones where nothing drastic happens and you still leave the characters feeling like you know them, know their souls, and - because there is an underlying sadness in every single story - know their pain. But even though the stories told are sad there is a hopefulness here, an inkling of a chance of everything turning out fine in the end. 

Human connection is at the core of this novel and I absolutely loved it for this. Elizabeth Strout excels in depicting families - in all their glory and disfunction and it feels immensely real and relatable. Short stories are a difficult medium to pull this off with, and she does it with an incredible talent.

....I think I have just talked myself into giving this book five stars after all. Bloody brilliant.

This is a sister book to 'My name is Lucy Barton', it develops the characters who feature in the conversations between Lucy and her mother.  I had read 'My name..' so I did have an idea of how Lucy  fitted in with the small town and its people. However I did still find it a struggle to keep up with who was who, and who had done what and who was harboring a grudge.

Characters are sympathetically portrayed and the descriptions of small town life are excellent.  It was a warm and comforting read.  I almost felt the need to draw up a town family tree to pin down how everyone fitted together, and it is this confusion that has left me feeling 'not quite sure' about the book.  I enjoyed it, but I was frustrated.  Maybe I am not meant to read short stories!

Awww....

This book is remarkable, the last moments of it are so heartfelt. The best ending; one of hope and genuine happiness.

I liked this book, as unusual as I found it. I liked the characters, their reflections on the ways of the world they grew up in, their childhoods, and the dreams of youth. There was this confidence and assurance that I admired in them. The integrity in their honest lives and the lessons they had come to learn through their struggles.

This book, I'd say, begins with Lucy Barton. She was raised in poverty but, became this great success. She returns to her roots, to visit and see the world she abandoned in her pursuit of a better life. I plan to read the first for this book: My name is Lucy Barton, perhaps then some riddles would be solved- particularly my questions regarding her childhood.

The reason I gave this novel three stars was because the ARC copy I received didn't seem completely finished. I found that the chapters were loosely connected, they didn't flow smoothly, some characters didn't seem to serve any purpose to the novel, and others weren't explored enough. Again, Lucy comes to mind and Patty too.

I recommend you read the first book if you want to be able to better understand and appreciate this book.

For me, the underlying message of this book is that we can overcome the situations we are born into, just as we can fall from them. I guess, I'd describe it as an anti fatalistic novel that delves into feelings of nostalgia and the significance of family. Yeah, that doesn't sound pretentious at all.

I received this book through NetGalley.

Review to be published on Goodreads on April 27th 2017

'Anything is Possible' by Elizabeth Strout

5 stars/ 10 out of 10

When I read 'My Name is Lucy Barton' last year, I gave it 5 stars. What a pleasure it was to read this book, and to discover that it is even better.

Elizabeth Strout has published here a collection of stories, all relating to various people who appeared in the earlier novel. She shares  the life of this small group of people in a compilation of intermingled stories that form this novel.

Each story has its own virtues. In the first story, 'The Sign', we meet Tommy, who had been the maintenance man at Lucy's school when she was a child. We find, both in this story and later in the collection, just what a kind man he is. 

In later stories, we learn about various facets of different people, and begin to partly understand the nuances of their characters. 

We even meet Lucy Barton herself, in 'Sister'. This story not only reveals further distressing information about the childhood of Lucy and her siblings; it also emphasises how important the ties of family can be.

'Anything is Possible' is an excellent read, and can be appreciated whether or not one has read the earlier novel.

Thank you to Penguin Books (U.K.) and to NetGalley for an ARC.

A perfect read for fans of Strout's My Name is Lucy Barton, this offers some more backstory to that novel, with characters of Lucy's hometown reflecting on her childhood and later career, as well as their own lives. More like a collection of short stories than a novel, each chapter focuses on a different character in Lucy's hometown, showing the complex links between them. Strout's writing is beautiful and subtle, just as it was in Lucy Barton. I really liked this and highly recommend it.
Review to follow on blog.

We return to the home town of the heroine of Strout's last book, "My Name is Lucy Barton,"and in a series of linked stories we hear more about some of the characters mentioned (and sometimes gossiped about) by Lucy and her mother. These are beautiful vignettes of ordinary people, their quiet joys and pain, loves and disappointments, and each section observes key moments that somehow define or reveal deep truths about their lives. We even meet Lucy herself again, further on in life, but still being drawn back to the inescapable ties to her childhood, despite her best efforts to leave it far behind. Strout is a genius at portraying profound observations about people, places and situations in just a few lines, and she never fails to leave me moved and absorbed. I hope this is not her last visit to Amgash, Illinois, or ours.

This is a marvelous book about human nature in all its forms. Strout's simple and direct style is one of my favorites. The book is structured into linked stories from Lucy Barton's town, a colourful mix of individuals with all sorts of lives and regrets mostly, looking for forgiveness and peace of mind. Strout has such a devout sense of reality, through all her words and phrases. I had the same feelings after reading My Name is Lucy Barton. Strout's books may point towards growing up, yet highligting the importance of education and a simple life. Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

A brilliant linked collection of stories, perfect for fans of 'My Name is Lucy Barton'.  I really liked 'Windmills' and its main character Patty Nicely - one couldn't help but feel so sorry for her after the incident with the girl. In 'Mississippi Mary', there is great poignancy between Mary, residing in Italy, and her visiting daughter Angelina. 'Sister' shows what can happen between a very successful sibling, Lucy Barton, and her less-privileged brother and sister - but also how tables can turn quite unexpectedly. 

I loved this collection and believe Elizabeth Astro to be a much-needed voice of 21st Century American literature.

Companion to novel to Lucy Barton, this is a series of vignettes based on the characters Lucy knew in her home town. Apart from knowing Lucy the one thing they seem to have in common is misery, often exacerbated by a dysfunctional sex life. The episode with each character is so short that it's difficult to engage with them, just as you are getting to know them Strout jumps to the next one and rarely returns to follow up. I found the novel ultimately disappointing with a slightly unpleasant aftertaste that there are so many unhappy people in one small town.

Every single story was captivating. Strout effortlessly links each story together in a beautifully fluid manner.

It's good to be reminded that we never really know what is going on in someone else's life when we are on the outside looking in. Strout helps the reader climb in through a window and become ensconced in the life of the character.

I have only recently discovered Elizabeth Strout but have found a new favourite author, so I was delighted to receive an advance copy of this to read - thank you Net Galley.  

This collection of stories echoes her earlier book -  My Name is Lucy Barton - and we get to meet many characters from Lucy's memories in the hospital.  The characters are so carefully and truthfully written that it's possible to believe we could travel to Illinois and meet them all.  Love, loss, and living are the themes Elizabeth Strout deals with so sensitively and eloquently.  I found myself re-reading certain sentences, such is the depth with which she manages to infuse just a few words.  I cannot praise or recommend these enough and only wish I had her gift of language to be able to convey its excellence.

Many people have recommended I read Elizabeth Strout's novels. I now know why. 
This book is strangely compelling, characters that feel real, living varied lives but all interlinked.
It didn't matter that I had not read the previous novels, there was just enough back story provided for explanation.
I was fully drawn in by the writing and characters and was sorry when I reached the end of the book. 
I will now be seeking out Strout's other books.

Anything is Possible is a companion piece to My Name is Lucy Barton, in the first novel we are given glimpses of Lucy's past, the poverty she and her family endured and the small town from which she fled.  Now Lucy is a well known author and she is returning home to visit her brother Pete.  However, this is a novel not only about Lucy, it is about the people who knew the Barton's, it is about their way of life then and now, it is about relationships, kindness, forgiveness, remembrance and also about the darker side of life, judging others, mean spiritedness, jealousy, trauma and all that makes us human.

Strout has a gift of telling a multilayered story simply, effectively, emotionally and beautifully.  Her plotting flows like a skater on ice, leading us gently through her novel and her narrative although easy to read delves deep into what makes us human.

It's curiously satisfying to come across Lucy Barton and other characters, discussed by Lucy and her mother, as you read this companion to "My Name is Lucy Barton". The short stories or episodes interweave  the characters, revealing mores sides to each individuals story. Poverty, loss and family ties are common themes. These imagined characters feel all too real as a result.  Really beautiful writing that is sometimes unbearably painful to read.