my take: Much in the style of Olive Kitteridge, each chapter is an intimate look at a related character. And, oh! the things they reveal.

People are so interesting. This is a little like people watching on a park bench or in a coffee shop.

Each story has a little something to do with another character, many of them referencing Lucy Barton, the small town, poverty stricken girl who’s made it big by publishing a book. Many of the stories tell of their perceived or actual treatment of inferiority or superiority over another.

The thread through many of the chapters that stands out are the corn and soybean fields. For several characters they are the home sight and sound, the grounding, the center, the returning to childhood. I wonder if it’s how the smell, sight, sound of the wooded Lake Michigan shore are home and center for me. It makes me wonder if everybody has a heart place.

Elizabeth Strout is a favorite and she does not disappoint AGAIN. This isn’t so much plot driven as inner reflections, memories, pivotal/seminal moments. This book MASTERFULLY dovetails/informs My Name is Lucy Barton. Please read both. I re-read Lucy after finishing Anything.

my source: Costco find in hardcover. Then left it at a cottage for a year … happy to be re-united.

my verdict: Five stars. So is My Name is Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge. A three for one review. You’re welcome. Actually, read anything and everything by Elizabeth Strout.