Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout

I enthusiastically recommend Elizabeth Strout’s stunning book Anything is Possible. In the nine interconnected stories about people from the fictitious town of Amgash, Illinois, Strout identifies the defining experience that shaped each character. She avoids linguistic ornamentation or exaggeration and simply writes raw, clear and honest prose. Just as I was feeling judgmental or frustrated about a character’s choice, Strout zeros in on the dramatic moment or life experience that shaped that character and my feeling changed to empathy and compassion. Strout isn’t heavy-handed, maudlin or didactic. These stories feel authentic and astute.

Lucy Barton, the protagonist from Strout’s previous book My Name is Lucy Barton, is mentioned in most the stories.  Lucy manages to escape Amgash and becomes a famous novelist. In one story Lucy returns to Amgash to visit with brother Pete and sister Vicky. Sitting in the living room of the home where they were raised and where Pete still lives, the three siblings descend into their childhood dynamic. With both petty and wise recollections, the siblings discuss the pain, shame, and embarrassment of their youth.   Being poor and abused by their parents and ostracized by their classmates made their early lives almost unbearable. Still stuck in their small lives in Amgash, Pete and Vicky resent Lucy’s abandonment and feel pride in her success. As they talk, Lucy feels catapulted back in time and has a panic attack. Her two siblings jump into action and drive Lucy back to Chicago. Through all their suffering and bitterness toward life and each other, it is clear that these siblings love one another, if only as survivors of the same upbringing.

Strout explores how the aftermath of specific events continues to reside within people and results in emotional paralysis. The poignant shame of poverty seeps into these stories even for those who are now well off. Part of Strout’s insight derives from viewing her characters lives over decades. Like a detective, she shows how the trajectory of a person’s life can be traced to a few key factors. There is a lot of unmet need and unfair judgments in these stories.   Strout understands the complexity of motivation, fear, and desire and eloquently captures the ways people can demean with cruelty or soar with grace. Anything Is Possible inspires us to be empathetic and understanding because with empathy and understanding anything is possible.