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sarglava11's review against another edition
2.0
This book had so much potential. It felt as if the author had a great story line planned but was unable to find an ending. Or maybe the ending was exactly what she wanted it to be but didn’t know how to bring the beginning and end together. I was so disappointed and let down.
paulamw's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very hard book to write about. Moore's writing is very smart and funny, but this is not a funny book. Many times I found that her writing style got in the way of the story. It was a bit like enjoying the individual foods at a dinner, but finding in the end that they did not make a meal. I know that Ms. Moore's first book was a short story collection, and that is what this book could have been.
Tassie Keltjin is a college student in Illinois, looking for a part-time job as a babysitter. She is hired by Sarah Brink to take care of the child she is adopting, but it turns out that the child has not yet been chosen. There is plenty of story in this plot line, but Moore keeps taking off in other directions. September 11th is mentioned early on, and once you invoke 9/11 it becomes the elephant in the room. But we hear nothing much about it, nor see any of the effects of that event until near the end of the book when Tassie's brother, Robert, enlists in the army. However, he seems to enlist largely because he doesn't know what else to do with his life, not as a result of 9/11. The relationship between Tassie and Robert figures large at the end of the book, but no time is really taken to give us a true sense of the depth of that relationship. 9/11 is also tied in through a boyfriend who may or may not be a terrorist, but the only act of betrayal he commits is against Tassie. The fact of his political leanings is completely irrelevant and distracting. There are other distractions such as this. Her characters are interesting, but there are just too many of them. I was also disappointed in the very cliche depictions of the narrow-minded people in Tassie's hometown of Dellacrosse and the clueless liberals of Troy, where Tassie attends college. I'm from Illinois, and I live in a college town, and the broad strokes Ms. Moore uses to portray these populations is very old hat. She does much better with the individual characters and should have simply stuck to them. The attitudes of the country folk and the city slickers were, again, not really relevant to the story. Also irrelevant is the fact that the child Sarah and her husband Edward adopt is multi-racial. Much time is given to this aspect, but it does not have anything to do with what ultimately happens to Sarah, Edward and the daughter they choose to adopt, Mary-Emma. The only redeeming facet of this book is Moore's writing which is great fun to read. Moore also did create sufficient suspense around Sarah and Edward to make it worthwhile to see how that plot turned out. Overall, however, the book was a disappointment.
Tassie Keltjin is a college student in Illinois, looking for a part-time job as a babysitter. She is hired by Sarah Brink to take care of the child she is adopting, but it turns out that the child has not yet been chosen. There is plenty of story in this plot line, but Moore keeps taking off in other directions. September 11th is mentioned early on, and once you invoke 9/11 it becomes the elephant in the room. But we hear nothing much about it, nor see any of the effects of that event until near the end of the book when Tassie's brother, Robert, enlists in the army. However, he seems to enlist largely because he doesn't know what else to do with his life, not as a result of 9/11. The relationship between Tassie and Robert figures large at the end of the book, but no time is really taken to give us a true sense of the depth of that relationship. 9/11 is also tied in through a boyfriend who may or may not be a terrorist, but the only act of betrayal he commits is against Tassie. The fact of his political leanings is completely irrelevant and distracting. There are other distractions such as this. Her characters are interesting, but there are just too many of them. I was also disappointed in the very cliche depictions of the narrow-minded people in Tassie's hometown of Dellacrosse and the clueless liberals of Troy, where Tassie attends college. I'm from Illinois, and I live in a college town, and the broad strokes Ms. Moore uses to portray these populations is very old hat. She does much better with the individual characters and should have simply stuck to them. The attitudes of the country folk and the city slickers were, again, not really relevant to the story. Also irrelevant is the fact that the child Sarah and her husband Edward adopt is multi-racial. Much time is given to this aspect, but it does not have anything to do with what ultimately happens to Sarah, Edward and the daughter they choose to adopt, Mary-Emma. The only redeeming facet of this book is Moore's writing which is great fun to read. Moore also did create sufficient suspense around Sarah and Edward to make it worthwhile to see how that plot turned out. Overall, however, the book was a disappointment.
mountainrunner's review against another edition
3.0
This is an excellent book but there is a lack of satisfaction that, while necessary for the story, also leaves me...unsatisfied. Go figure.
susie_and's review against another edition
high hopes for this book given how much I love Lorrie Moore's short stories. it was pretty nice almost whimsical beginning and i somehow sailed through the middle, but it began losing me towards the end. I felt that the poetic breakout sections didn't marry well with the political allusions. though, Moore's typical sparse prose gave way to dramatic revelations stunning me out of the banal. generally.. it was an interesting insight into the post September 11 situation in America
kjackmi's review against another edition
3.0
I did not love this book, and while the prose certainly does hand stands and all sort of circus tricks, I did not find it especially lyrical except in places. Nothing much happens for 200 pages, and the characters are those odd unloveable types so beloved by jaded 'literary' authors. I didn't think the plot as unbelieveable as a lot of readers did, just sad, and I wanted some passion, someone to bleed. Tragic things happen, but it all feels so bloodless. The last 20 pages were my reward for continuing to read this book. I think that part would have made a fine short story; I'm just not sure what the point is of the whole rest of the book. And NYT Best book of the year? A far cry, I'd say.
Update, 2015: This is how much I did not like this book. I;ve been listening to it on Audio CD for the last week and DID NOT REMEMBER I HAD EVER READ IT! NOTHING seems familiar. It is true, Lorrie Moore writs a gorgeous sentence, but other than that this is much ado. Needs a major plot infusion.
Update, 2015: This is how much I did not like this book. I;ve been listening to it on Audio CD for the last week and DID NOT REMEMBER I HAD EVER READ IT! NOTHING seems familiar. It is true, Lorrie Moore writs a gorgeous sentence, but other than that this is much ado. Needs a major plot infusion.
cosmiclattereads's review against another edition
3.0
The characters were so so so flawed, but it was an interesting read. Sarah and Edward annoyed me to no end, ESPECIALLY Sarah.
hbrewperson's review against another edition
2.0
Well-written but longer than it should have been. Also extremely depressing, which I did not expect. The tragedies continued to pile up, I think, to a bit of an absurd level.
ciabee's review against another edition
4.0
What prose! Her subtle style of writing reminded me of Jhumpa Lahiri and one of my favorite books, Interpreter of Maladies.
ablyth258's review against another edition
2.0
A very strange book. The author has a beautiful way with words, but the plot was stuttered. The characters didn’t make much sense. A lot of naval gazing that went nowhere. And some truly crazy twists that somehow fell pretty flat.
qtpieash3's review against another edition
1.0
I'm not entirely what I just read here. It was unfocused, meandering, and didn't have a cohesive feel. There were some parts of the book that rang true and were well done (see: scenes with her brother, Robert, and the boyfriend whose name I've already forgotten). If Moore had focused on one of the larger plot elements such as the adoption and resulting twist, I think this could have been a lot better. As it stands, though, it felt like too much and fell flat for me.