Anything is possible

4 1/2 stars

Kind of a simple book. Almost boring in a way because nothing much happens that is out of the ordinary really. But Elizabeth Strout has a way with making believable, real characters that might as well live in your own home town. She makes you care in the space of a few pages and you feel you understand what each character holds in his or her own heart. The characters are interconnected and you leave one behind and pick up another without too much difficulty. It's sort of like life... we all play a role, big or small, in each others' worlds. Elizabeth Strout has a genius at creating her characters.

One of my favorite literary devices is when an author creates a series of stories (or even novels) that stand alone yet offhandedly reference a character, incident or place from another story. For me, it creates the same sense of magic as realizing that you and a friend have a shared acquaintance that you each met in an entirely different context. This is exactly what Elizabeth Strout has done in this book, which - when combined with her eye for telling details and ear for real dialogue - is precisely her brand of magic.

A beautifully-written series of vignettes about characters whose lives vaguely intertwine in a small town. My favorite author is Raymond Carver, and these stories are similar in style -- light on plot and heavy on character study. They're told with empathy and great insight into human nature, which makes them a delight to read.