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- Why do you think Elizabeth Strout chose to
structure Anything Is Possible as a novel in the form of linked
stories? How would your understanding of the book change if it had
been written instead as a novel with a single narrative?
- How does the town of Amgash feature in the text? How does it
shape the lives of its residents? If Amgash had its own personality,
how would you characterize it?
- The past plays a strong role in these stories, and many of the
characters find themselves struggling to reconcile with it. What are
the various ways in which the past shapes them? How do they attempt
to deal with their own pasts, and those of the people around them?
- Strout deals with many different types of family relationships
in the book—between parents and children, between spouses, among
siblings. How are these different types of relationships treated?
What are the differences and similarities in the ways the characters
navigate these relationships? Which ones resonated most with you,
and why?
- An emotion that Strout addresses throughout Anything Is Possible
is shame. What are the different roles shame plays for the various
characters in these stories? How are they motivated, propelled, or
hindered by shame? What effects does shame have on these characters’
sense of self and their relationships with others?
- Lucy Barton’s legend looms large in Amgash. How do we perceive
her through the eyes of the characters in each of these stories? How
do these impressions of her differ? When Lucy makes an appearance in
"Sister," did your perception of her change as Strout reveals the
impact of Lucy’s absence on her siblings?
- Strout portrays wealth and/or poverty through the changing
circumstances of several of her characters: Linda Peterson-Cornell;
Abel Blaine; Abel’s sister, Dottie; Tommy Barton and his sister
Vicky. How do these characters react to their economic
circumstances? How do these circumstances shape their relationships
to those around them, and how they are perceived?
- Many of the characters in these stories overcome adverse
circumstances to experience moments of grace—Abel Blaine, Patty
Nicely, and Angelina Mumford, for example. How do these moments of
grace present themselves? Why do you think Strout decided to give
her characters these opportunities for grace? How did this shape
your understanding of these stories and characters?
- Was there a character or story that affected you more than the
others? Which, and why?
- How did you interpret Strout’s choice of Anything Is Possible as
a title, and how do you think this concept resonated with Abel
Blaine in the last chapter of the book?
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