A novel in stories by the No. 1 New York Times bestselling and Man Booker long-listed author of My Name is Lucy BartonYears ago, Lucy Barton, a successful New York writer, spent time in hospital, with her mother at the foot of her bed to keep her company.
Avoiding the distance between them, they spoke at length about people from their home town, the rural, dusty town of Amgash, Illinois. Writing these stories, Lucy imagines the lives of the people that she especially remembers. And the people she has imagined that, in small ways, have remembered her too. For isn't it true that we all hope to be remembered? Or to think in some way - even fleetingly - that we have been important to someone?
Barb takes care of the web orders here at Boffins, and is your contact for book club enquiries. She spends all her spare time curled up on the couch reading and for the last several years has reviewed books on the Afternoon Program on ABC radio Perth.
In the small town of Amgash, Illinois, people struggle to cope with the disappointments of life. Some seek to live a good life, to perform small acts of kindness and to understand those around them. Some don't. Pulitzer Prize winning author Elizabeth Strout paints a picture of Amgash via a series of portraits of its citizens. She quietly illuminates lives of poverty, prejudice, betrayal, bravery and occasional grace. If you've read her previous novel "My Name is Lucy Barton" then you will recognize Amgash as Lucy's hometown, the place she fled as soon as she was able. Strout reminds me of Kent Haruf, another chronicler of small town life. Her stories are not full of action, they are reflective and concerned with people's inner lives, and the legacy of past deeds. Although sometimes sad, "Anything is Possible" is written with a generous spirit and is a joy to read.
