We Gossip About the Characters in Anything is Possible

If you attended our meeting Monday May 20^th, did you think we had a particularly good discussion? I am not sure whether I enjoyed the discussion of Anything is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout because of the astute comments members made or because I didn’t take very many notes! I did enjoy it and thought it was an outstanding discussion of a book. A book about people with all their imperfections and struggles. This wouldn’t be a rare description of a book; but in this case, it seemed that we got to both know the characters and enjoy a spirited gossip session about them!

One member had to force herself to read ¾ of the book but found it very slow and boggy (as in getting bogged down in the reading). I commend Lydia for reading, admitting she didn’t like it, and contributing that at the meeting. It’s always interesting to hear criticisms of books we discuss, whether we agree or not.

Some of the comments I interrupted my enjoyment of the discussion to write down were the following:

Susan noted that the characters had troubles but demonstrated compassion, giving the example of the chapter called “Windmills,” in which Patty Nicely exercised her compassion for the student, Lila Lane (Lucy Barton’s niece), who had been nasty to her.

Regarding the wealthy couple who spied on their guests in “Cracked,” someone (maybe Susan, but the way I organized my notes, I’m not sure) said that the chapter both satirized and criticized the upper class.

A question arose as to whether Lucy Barton’s father could have also fathered the second Pretty Nicely girl, Linda. We couldn’t answer this one. Lucy’s parents were invited to Linda’s wedding. Lucy Barton’s father had an affair that caused her mother to divorce her father, too. If I had an e-book edition, I would search to see whether the unofficial fathering was alluded to in the book.

Ken noted the Freudian undertones in the description of Charlie McCauley’s attraction to his wife when they were planting crocus bulbs together during college, at the beginning of their relationship. Ken made us laugh about the symbolism, but he had a good point!

Pam thought Patty married Sibby because she had low self-esteem and thought she couldn’t find anyone better for her. Flo said that the women in the book tended to be pathetic.

I remember saying at one point toward the end of the discussion that the idea came to me, as it has in a variety of our past discussions, that we could spend more meetings just talking about this book, maybe adding Strout’s My Name is Lucy Barton to round out the discussion. Although this discussion was not focused on the Lucy Barton book, I found a copy of that book on my bookshelf, started reading it a couple of days before the meeting, and found it very relevant to the discussion and to my thoughts about Anything is Possible. During the meeting, I wondered whether the author had a purpose in using the same characters in the two books and whether there was any crossover between the life events of these characters or continuity of the characters’ lives from one book to the other. After the meeting, I finished reading My Name is Lucy Barton. I can almost promise that if you enjoyed reading Anything is Possible, you will enjoy My Name is Lucy Barton.

Curious as to the author’s relationship to the Lucy Barton Book and Anything is Possible as well as the relationship between the 2 books, I found a link to a discussion with Elizabeth Strout:

https://www.elizabethstrout.com/news/?tag=Audio+Interviews

Points of interest I heard were that Strout doesn’t write consecutively but creates a book like a collage. Papers all over her desk. Strout said that she wants readers to know, by reading her books, that whatever troubles they have had, others have probably had before. She said that if there are people, things are complicated. Strout said when she wrote My Name is Lucy Barton, she sketched out stories of the characters, which she used later in Anything is Possible.  Her background was not poverty, but she lived in the countryside of New Hampshire and had noticed some poverty. She studied some theater in college and thought it was fascinating because she had always had an interest in what it would be like to be another person. She is working on her next book!

Olive Kitteridge: A Flawed Character Inspires Insight

Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009. If some of us were surprised to learn this after reading the book, our discussion should have helped everyone to understand the virtues of this collection of related but individual stories. Talking about the reading experience, Kathy mentioned that knowing the book comprised short stories rather than a novel made it easier to read than it would have been had she tried to understand it as a novel. Others agreed. Jay and Patty both read the book without knowing at first that it wasn't a straightforward novel, and they both commented that they had difficulty with it until they figured it out! Patty said that she wanted more of each story line after finishing each story. I think a lot of us felt that way while reading. We wanted more story, but we didn't need it to get the author's moods and meanings, as we found out when we put our heads together to analyze the book. This is another testament to the quality of Strout's writing. Janice led the discussion by focusing on each story in turn, and this gave us a framework to give and get some wonderful insights into the levels of meaning available in this book.

We had some disagreement as to how sympathetic a character Olive was. Without a vote, I think most of us experienced a lot of dislike and disappointment when reading about Olive's interactions with people. I guess the very worst was her treatment of Henry during their experience as hostages. A close second would be her essentially vandalizing her new daughter-in-law's belongings at the wedding, and a third that comes to mind is her sudden explosion into anger at the end of her almost-successful visit with her son, Christopher, and his pregnant second wife. It's easy to find things to dislike about Olive! Jan didn't like Olive's being the kind of teacher that the preteens she taught were afraid of. Phyllis adamantly claimed she disliked Olive. Kathy said Olive was controlling. In the story about Olive's visit to her son and his pregnant wife, her son Christopher seemed to accurately characterize Olive when he said she was excessively changeable so that he never knew whether to expect a horrible or comfortable mood from her. And Henry, Olive's husband, who was probably the most sympathetic character in his long-suffering tolerance of Olive, was the one who noticed that Olive never apologized for anything...ever.

The author created an in-depth portrait of Olive Kitteridge, with all her unpleasant weaknesses and faults. This portrait included some almost exemplary, yet still questionable traits within Olive. Dennis suggested that Olive was created as a typical New Englander, from Maine, brusque in conversation and closed to emotional expression, especially loving emotions. Pam noted that Olive was multifaceted and very real and thought of her as a character who had loving feelings and thoughts but couldn't express herself. Did Olive purposely help the young man, Kevin, who had brought a big gun to kill himself with, or was she just being nosy? The anorexic girl certainly seemed to bring out a soft side of Olive. Olive felt strongly about Nina, perhaps because she sensed a kindred soul. The girl was starving herself by withholding food, and Olive was starving herself of love by withholding affection. I thought Olive had an easier time being sweet with people who were not close to her than with her family. Dennis noted that Olive was perceptive and involved with people. Marla said Olive helped people to control their lives when she could. And then there was the shut-in, Louise Larkin; what a convoluted meeting the Olive had with her, and what convoluted emotions and character traits connected in that story!

The stories turned out to be much deeper than what one might notice upon a first reading. Things happened, and characters were mentioned briefly and connected with a happening. Later, when thinking about or discussing them, the reader would realize how real and meaningful these characters and/or their situations were. In Olive, the author created a complete character, shedding more and more light on her in each story. Profound phrases, such as "...day after day was unconsciously squandered" and profound ideas, such as the "basket of trips" are scattered throughout the book. Our discussion stayed on topic, with lots of brainstorming about aspects of the book. The author didn't exactly leave the reader with open questions. It seemed the answers were all there in the book, but you had to think to understand them. As John said, the stories left a lot open to interpretation. They invited interpretation. Along with all the characters, interactions, events, and seemingly unrelated stories, we noted several pervasive themes in the book: mothers, marriages, small town life and gossip, and life itself. Through the adventures and quirks of the aging Olive and Henry, the reader is encouraged, as Shirley noticed, to examine you own life.