Another consistent offering from Elizabeth Strout, Anything is Possible, is a series of interconnected characters from small town Ohio. It seems that everyone has a story and Strout is a master teller of their stories.
There is an underlying level of sadness in all of the stories, as people are misunderstood or make choices that lead to hurt and distance from others in their life – which to me, feels very much like the human condition.
Strout’s writing is, as always, pure and refined. There were many little nuggets of beautiful prose, but one I marked is “he felt a tiny shudder go through him, as though his soul had a toothache.” Which just encapsulates so much feeling and brings us right there with that character in that moment.