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smaravetz's review against another edition
4.0
This books is sort of a cross between a novel and a collection of short stories- it's a novel comprised of different incarnations of the same characters, rearranged slightly in each tale. It felt like an exercise in recombining characters to find the right fit for the plot. Lorrie Moore loves words, loves playing with puns and wordplay and clever combinations of cliches, song phrases, etc. In this book, I think she has actually created the characters who can realistically speak like this without it sounding contrived; in A Gate At The Stairs, I kept thinking that a young college student from a farm just wouldn't speak this way- but in this book, Benna and Gerard have a banter that is both real and charming and witty.
ulrikworm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.25
Åååh det her er en svær roman at vurdere. Det er min første bog af Lorrie Moore, som er væsentlig mere kendt som en af USAs stærkeste novelle-forfattere. Her er der dog tale om hendes debutroman, som pudsigt nok består af fem relativ adskilte kapitler.
Bogen er strukturet som en anagram, og jeg har helt sikkert misset en del, men har fanget at i bogens fem dele, flytter Moore rundt på hendes primære hovedpersoners, Gerald og Benna, indbyrdes forhold/professioner mm som var det et anagram. Fx er Gersld håbløst forelsket i Benna i en kapitel og omvendt i en anden.
Jeg læser de første fire som alternative versioner, men kapitel fem som ‘virkeligheden’. Den udgør også omkring halvdelen af bogen og har derfor den største fylde... hvilket hjælper til at lande slutningens gutpunch.
Mit problem er, at jeg mangler en klar fornemmelse af bogen som en succesfuld helhed, hvilket er virkelig ærgerligt da Moore skriver rigtig godt. Der er virkelig mange fantastisk, og dejlig akavet, scener inklusiv nok nogle af de mest finurlig skrevet sexscener jeg har læst.
Så den er anbefalelsesværdig med forbehold. Måske bedre at starte med en novellesamling - omvendt er denne på listen af 1001 bøger man skal læse før man dør
Bogen er strukturet som en anagram, og jeg har helt sikkert misset en del, men har fanget at i bogens fem dele, flytter Moore rundt på hendes primære hovedpersoners, Gerald og Benna, indbyrdes forhold/professioner mm som var det et anagram. Fx er Gersld håbløst forelsket i Benna i en kapitel og omvendt i en anden.
Jeg læser de første fire som alternative versioner, men kapitel fem som ‘virkeligheden’. Den udgør også omkring halvdelen af bogen og har derfor den største fylde... hvilket hjælper til at lande slutningens gutpunch.
Mit problem er, at jeg mangler en klar fornemmelse af bogen som en succesfuld helhed, hvilket er virkelig ærgerligt da Moore skriver rigtig godt. Der er virkelig mange fantastisk, og dejlig akavet, scener inklusiv nok nogle af de mest finurlig skrevet sexscener jeg har læst.
Så den er anbefalelsesværdig med forbehold. Måske bedre at starte med en novellesamling - omvendt er denne på listen af 1001 bøger man skal læse før man dør
boygirlparty's review against another edition
3.0
Lorrie Moore's writing is quick & fresh & very original. When she writes about Benna teaching her poetry class, it feels like it could be the best class on the planet. I did tire a little of the wordplay, and the last 30 pages felt like she punched me in the face and stole my wallet. (You keep waiting, waiting for her characters to resolve their problems but they're just broken, sad things.)
Her use of language and timing is impeccable.
Her use of language and timing is impeccable.
megjshark's review against another edition
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love this book. So many lovely underlineable turns of phrase & witticisms & meditations on loneliness and love and life. I love a good overarching metaphor; the way the first 4 “stories” are anagrams of the last (“real”?) story really works for me. I hesitate to call them stories: I think “The Nun of That” puts the whole thing in perspective—just like Eleanor and George are Benna’s inventions, so are the first few chapters. Benna can’t see her life as it is, can’t acknowledge her loneliness and failures head-on, so she’s continuously rewriting it. She’s one of the most tragic characters I’ve read, but also the most imaginative and hopeful and beautifully stubborn, and I see bits and pieces of myself in her all over (for better or worse). This is the second time I’ve read this and I know I’ll pick it up again and again and again and again and again.
alida_f's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, as I found out about a book with such a title, I'd expect quite a lot more. Sure, the writing flows easily and the irony is apparent. There is a limited amount of characters and situations that are re-arranged creatively, not unlike "Exercices de style", but with more plot variety and a fair amount of wordplay, some of which is actually brilliant (of course, pun haters are gonna hate, but then again, puns can be brilliant and not at all obvious). The overall tone is light, and though sex is a recurring theme, it doesn't give way to vulgarity.
As a female reader, I think something about the book does suggest it was penned by a female author. But here's the catch - while I'm more than happy to see more and more women doing comedy and humour, so much for the stereotypically underrated "funny woman that scares men off" trope (in literature as much as in real life, sadly!), I wonder if there isn't a tendency to stick to a few topics of choice, making it a tad too self-referential in that sense ("I am a woman who does comedy about being a woman and doing comedy, how absurd, and yet here I am, how brave of me"). That is a long topic to discuss, and it may just be me not craving "this" type of humour - "too/not enough whatever" for my own taste (I have somewhere read other readers' opinions stating that this is not the author's best work, so I can only judge so much). Specifically, it's a story/stories taking place in a generic American residential area. A Springfield, a Smallville, a Midland City. In turn, characters are normal, if a bit over the top (who isn't). So are their situations, if a little absurd (duh). In my opinion, re-arranging very normal people and facts in a variety of stories and peppering it all with wit and puns has to be done extraordinarily well, or not done at all.
As a female reader, I think something about the book does suggest it was penned by a female author. But here's the catch - while I'm more than happy to see more and more women doing comedy and humour, so much for the stereotypically underrated "funny woman that scares men off" trope (in literature as much as in real life, sadly!), I wonder if there isn't a tendency to stick to a few topics of choice, making it a tad too self-referential in that sense ("I am a woman who does comedy about being a woman and doing comedy, how absurd, and yet here I am, how brave of me"). That is a long topic to discuss, and it may just be me not craving "this" type of humour - "too/not enough whatever" for my own taste (I have somewhere read other readers' opinions stating that this is not the author's best work, so I can only judge so much). Specifically, it's a story/stories taking place in a generic American residential area. A Springfield, a Smallville, a Midland City. In turn, characters are normal, if a bit over the top (who isn't). So are their situations, if a little absurd (duh). In my opinion, re-arranging very normal people and facts in a variety of stories and peppering it all with wit and puns has to be done extraordinarily well, or not done at all.
kaye_xcx's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
northamerica's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
libbyajt's review against another edition
2.0
This strikes me as one of those books that I'm just not smart enough to enjoy. It seemed like a very slow slog through the lives of deeply unhappy people who are occasionally funny. Which would have been a great premise. If it wasn't then followed up with such slow plot development. Just not a good book for me.