''Anything Is Possible'' is a 2017 novel of related short stories by the American author
Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout (born January 6, 1956) is an American novelist and author. She is widely known for her works in literary fiction and her descriptive characterization. She was born and raised in Portland, Maine, and her experiences in her yout ...
.
The novel returns to the fictional rural town of Amgash, Illinois, which is the protagonist's hometown in Strout's 2016 novel ''
My Name Is Lucy Barton
''My Name is Lucy Barton'' is a 2016 ''New York Times'' bestselling novel and the fifth novel by the American writer Elizabeth Strout. The book was first published in the United States on January 12, 2016, through Random House. The book details ...
''. Former
U.S. President Barack Obama included ''Anything Is Possible'' on a list of the best books he read in 2017. ''Anything is Possible'' won
The Story Prize
The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first ...
, a book award for short story collections.
Contents
Reception
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's Heller McAlpin praised Strout as a master of the novel-in-stories form, with each short story filling in a piece of her “gracefully constructed narrative puzzle.”
Writing for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Jennifer Senior said, “Strout was born to be an omniscient narrator, born to flit and swoop from one crooked perch to the next.”
References
{{reflist
2017 American novels
Novels set in Illinois
Novels by Elizabeth Strout
Random House books