Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
beautifully written and Moore manages to hang a feeling of foreboding over the whole work. But it's never wrapped up, or finished, or ended. Just kind of trails off...
A great, fun read, surprisingly!
Until the last 30 pages or so. Did Moore get lost? She seemed to be writing the start of another book, without finishing the other one. Tassie's narrative just blew into a different direction, dropping Emmie and Sarah with a quick dusting off of the hands. And what is she trying to say about military service? It got all vague and blowsy, kind of like Tassie's character.
Until the last 30 pages or so. Did Moore get lost? She seemed to be writing the start of another book, without finishing the other one. Tassie's narrative just blew into a different direction, dropping Emmie and Sarah with a quick dusting off of the hands. And what is she trying to say about military service? It got all vague and blowsy, kind of like Tassie's character.
My first foray into fiction set in Wisconsin did not go so well. Will try something else!
An interesting and as it moves forward compelling read. Well some reviewers didn't appreciate the format of the downstairs race conversations, I thought they were great. There has been much discussion about the difficulty our society has with talking about race. The symbolism here is that those conversation here are faceless and come up from below through stairways and a laundry chute, literally as the children whose futures are being discussed play clueless yup above.
An amazing book -- it builds and swirls, with poetic prose on every page.
This post 9/11 coming of age story interweaves the story of a grieving Jewish father and his daughter's search for her unknown niece or nephew, fathered by her brother who perished in the WTC on September 11, 2001.
The writing style is distinguished and just lovely, quite possibly one of best written books I looked at in 2009. Every page seems to contain some kernel of truth about the world. The writing isn't high literary or academic, so I do think it's accessible. I didn't grow up as a midwestern Jew but I found the protagonist very relatable, and supporting characters are vividly drawn. Tassie is a bit of an apathetic narrator, but her tendency to hang back a little lends itself well to the observational tone of this contemplative but meaty story. The pace is deliberate, and works for the tone and depth of the story.
The writing style is distinguished and just lovely, quite possibly one of best written books I looked at in 2009. Every page seems to contain some kernel of truth about the world. The writing isn't high literary or academic, so I do think it's accessible. I didn't grow up as a midwestern Jew but I found the protagonist very relatable, and supporting characters are vividly drawn. Tassie is a bit of an apathetic narrator, but her tendency to hang back a little lends itself well to the observational tone of this contemplative but meaty story. The pace is deliberate, and works for the tone and depth of the story.
I love Lorrie Moore, but I feel like this full-length novel is a collection of brilliant sentences/ musings shoved into too many paragraphs of convenient randomness. It's a page turner and full of lovely, specific details leading to contrived story lines. I wanted to love it. I wanted to cry. I didn't and didn't.
Great central story but the side stories seemed tacked on. The writing is witty and surprising.
As much as I did like A Gate at the Stairs, I'm almost embarrassed to say I think I would have liked it more if I was more literary. I think most of the things I didn't love about it are part of what make it an exceptional book for others.
I really enjoyed Tassie's character, and thought the book was worth reading just to get to know her. She had a great sense of humor and a wonderful view of events around her. She was young and fresh, but with interesting insight.
I was also interested in the book's insight into adoption, as Tassie falls into a job as a nanny for a couple trying to adopt. Sarah (the adoptive mom-to-be) is very earnest and seems to be well-meaning in her views on the birth mothers, adoption across racial lines, and so on-- but it is Tassie that actually expresses interest in the birth mothers as people.
A Gate at the Stairs looks at racism from many different angles, from outright nastiness from strangers to well meaning but ultimately demeaning behavior from friends.
The biggest problem I had with A Gate at the Stairs is something that other people have noted as the book's strength-- the rich language it is written in. I read for character and plot, and prefer the words to be the delivery vehicle. Although the book had strong characters, and interesting plot, I found the words getting in the way at times.
Also on the literary front, I think there were further points being made about September 11 and terrorism that simply went over my head. Whoosh.
I really enjoyed Tassie's character, and thought the book was worth reading just to get to know her. She had a great sense of humor and a wonderful view of events around her. She was young and fresh, but with interesting insight.
I was also interested in the book's insight into adoption, as Tassie falls into a job as a nanny for a couple trying to adopt. Sarah (the adoptive mom-to-be) is very earnest and seems to be well-meaning in her views on the birth mothers, adoption across racial lines, and so on-- but it is Tassie that actually expresses interest in the birth mothers as people.
A Gate at the Stairs looks at racism from many different angles, from outright nastiness from strangers to well meaning but ultimately demeaning behavior from friends.
The biggest problem I had with A Gate at the Stairs is something that other people have noted as the book's strength-- the rich language it is written in. I read for character and plot, and prefer the words to be the delivery vehicle. Although the book had strong characters, and interesting plot, I found the words getting in the way at times.
Also on the literary front, I think there were further points being made about September 11 and terrorism that simply went over my head. Whoosh.