“Anything Is Possible” by Elizabeth Strout
I’ve been smitten by Elizabeth Strout since I read OLIVE KITTEREDGE, and even more enamored since taking a class from her a few years ago. The woman can write. Her characters are expertly drawn as are the dynamics of their relationships. Awhile back, I read MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON, and though it was not my favorite Strout novel, it was good enough.
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE is the followup to MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON, and it’s way past good enough. It’s wonderful.
Lucy Barton, from a poor, abusive family, is a famous writer in New York now, and has left behind her family members, friends, and the townsfolk of Amgash, Illinois to pursue her career. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE is the story of those people and how their lives merge and form patterns that cause them grief and sometimes gain them fulfillment and relief. It is a quiet book in many ways, following the everyday lives and dreams of ordinary people, making their situations extraordinarily interesting. Lucy herself is beautifully portrayed. No character in the book is simple, and Lucy is no exception.
As a therapist who sat with and listened to hundreds of people, I developed an ear for strong, natural dialogue, and do a pretty good job of writing it myself. The dialogue in ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE is astonishingly good—lots of short, pithy conversations, often with a word italicized just right for emphasis. The internal dialogue is great too. Strout writes what people think more convincingly than any writer I know. I kept shaking my head as I read, saying “Wow. Just wow.”
I expected a bit more at the end of the book, and was momentarily disappointed, but then realized the ending was in line with the rest, and it wouldn’t work for it to deviate from the overall tone.
I don’t think people who favor plot-heavy stories will be impressed by ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. But if you like character driven novels and real, true interactions and conflicts, you’ll love it. Kudos to Elizabeth Strout for turning out a small masterpiece.
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE is the followup to MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON, and it’s way past good enough. It’s wonderful.
Lucy Barton, from a poor, abusive family, is a famous writer in New York now, and has left behind her family members, friends, and the townsfolk of Amgash, Illinois to pursue her career. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE is the story of those people and how their lives merge and form patterns that cause them grief and sometimes gain them fulfillment and relief. It is a quiet book in many ways, following the everyday lives and dreams of ordinary people, making their situations extraordinarily interesting. Lucy herself is beautifully portrayed. No character in the book is simple, and Lucy is no exception.
As a therapist who sat with and listened to hundreds of people, I developed an ear for strong, natural dialogue, and do a pretty good job of writing it myself. The dialogue in ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE is astonishingly good—lots of short, pithy conversations, often with a word italicized just right for emphasis. The internal dialogue is great too. Strout writes what people think more convincingly than any writer I know. I kept shaking my head as I read, saying “Wow. Just wow.”
I expected a bit more at the end of the book, and was momentarily disappointed, but then realized the ending was in line with the rest, and it wouldn’t work for it to deviate from the overall tone.
I don’t think people who favor plot-heavy stories will be impressed by ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. But if you like character driven novels and real, true interactions and conflicts, you’ll love it. Kudos to Elizabeth Strout for turning out a small masterpiece.