Anything is Possible, Munich and The Swimming Pool Season

Elizabeth Strout is such a brilliant writer. Her prose is simple yet so clever. She takes you to the heart of people's lives which is sometimes devastating, sometimes funny but always interesting. Having read and seen the play "My Name is Lucy Barton", there were times when that earlier story resonates with an emotional kick. In the first part when Tommy Guptill visits the old Barton house, where Lucy's brother Pete still resides, I was hooked.

In fact, each of the nine sections is like a little short story, each concentrating on one of the characters from the poor town of Amgash, Illinois. But these stories interlink in a masterful construction. Don't be fooled by the back cover telling us it's about Lucy returning. We have to wait until over halfway for that single chapter. But boy, is it worth the wait. 

This was the fifth Robert Harris noel I have read and by far the most disappointing. It seems to be just a collection of the research the author has carried out with a bit of a story bolted on. There is an extensive bibliography at the end. The first part contains mainly speeches and letters from the politicians at the heart of proceedings. Chamberlain especially is balancing diplomacy against popular opinion and that of his own party. It reminded me of something going on in the politics of today.

The book is light on characterisation, and the writing is as bland as it could be. The two main protagonists, one British, one German are friends from Oxford, and are now assistants to those in power. The way they become involved is contrived and boring. If only Harris had written a factual account of what happened in Munich, it might have been a lot better. 

If you need an uplifting story, this is not it. I would almost say it was mainly depressing, but the author writes so well, I just enjoyed every page. Whether a major or minor character, the people who inhabit this book are so well drawn. Their relationships with each other in the tiny French village of Pomerac are never less than interesting. Tremain cleverly switches from one to another to keep a narrative flow.

There is little plot. Events unfold slowly but gather pace in the second half. Some of the dialogue is truly outstanding. don't be fooled by the description of "a love story" on the back cover. Much of the love in the book is unrequited.