Reviews

Al pie de la escalera by Francisco Domínguez Montero, Lorrie Moore

shireen72's review against another edition

2.0

overly self-conscious and precious writing became aggravating quickly. the author gives the main character a voice that is suspiciously mature for a college freshman...

cozylittlebrownhouse's review against another edition

4.0

This was a really difficult book to rate for me. Parts of the book had me thinking "five stars" with others plummeting down to two stars. The prose was beautifully written and I was immediately sucked into the story of Tassie, Sarah, Edward, and Mary Emma. I actually found Sarah to be a much more interesting character than Tassie and wish the story would have focused more on her and her relationship with Edward and Mary Emma.

As for the negatives, I feel the two plots (the family she worked for / her personal life) did not connect at ALL, and I found the last 50 or so pages to be completely disjointed from the book. Tassie's family had such a small role in the book, so to have the life-changing event occur at the end of the novel was jarring and out of place for me as the reader. Also, I think the author tried to cram in WAY too may social issues into one book.

Good, sometimes great, but it only gets three stars.

kerrym33's review against another edition

3.0

I picked up this book b/c it was one of the NYTimes' 10 best books of '09 and it takes place in a fictional version of Madison, WI, which holds a special place in my heart. The whole book for me evoked a feeling of sadness, but it was beautifully written and dealt with some big issues (racism, war, etc.). A good read.

bklyn76's review against another edition

2.0

***update***
i was so excited to finish this book b/c it was all going so well, but near the end everything too a weird turn and i was really not happy with the ending...or maybe i was not happy with the twist, though the ending wasn't actually that bad. i don't know, it just left a bad taste in my mouth.
-------------------------
in the middle of this book. at first it was a bit hard to get into, but it is so smartly written that i stuck with it. there are a few ppl in my life who remind me of tassie, the main character. will give a full review once i'm done.

purplemuskogee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I found this novel enjoyable and frustrating at the same time. We follow a young woman, Tassie, as she babysits for a wealthy white couple who are fostering a mixed race infant. She also goes to college, meets a young man who lies about his nationality and motives. She seems to err through life with... no purpose, and a lot of the novel felt that way, aimless. The writing was beautiful and I enjoyed some of the comments, the irony around the white couple who seems so sure they are the best equipped to raise a little girl who's already had several foster families, despite the terrible secret they keep. But when the novel ended I felt it was lacking something. I wasn't completely sure what Moore was trying to say and where she went with it. 

bettyvd's review against another edition

3.0

Wel, alweer een boek dat gemengde gevoelens oproept. Lorrie Moore kan schrijven: haar proza vloeit moeiteloos over de pagina's, met rake observaties, poëtische beschrijvingen, soepele zinnen. Maar op het vlak van plot en thematiek valt er wel wat kritiek te geven. Een jong meisje komt vanop het platteland naar de stad en zoekt een baantje als babysitter. Thema 1. We krijgen een exploratie van het adoptieproces in de V.S. gekoppeld aan de spanning in het adopterende koppel. Dit kan interessant worden denk je dan. Vervolgens glijdt het verhaal naar de problematiek van rassenvooroordelen want het kind is zwart en het koppel wit. Interessant, maar dit wordt slechts half uitgewerkt. Om dan weer om te slaan naar de problematiek van een rouwend koppel. En vervolgens de rouw nog eens uit te werken in het verlies van een broer-soldaat. Dit waren te veel boeken in een boek en dus voel ik me hongerig...

rojaed's review against another edition

2.0

There is far too much going on in this book. I think it’s meant to be a coming of age of a young farm girl. But the author puts threads of almost everything going on in the early 2000s. Much of this feels undigested

ehcoyle's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

chefpatty's review against another edition

4.0

Lorrie Moore is one of my favorite authors. Her language is so descriptive.

brynebo's review against another edition

2.0

Since discovering Lorrie Moore is a local author and professor at the UW several years ago, I have been meaning to pick up one of her books. None of them have really interested me until reading the review for her newest novel, A Gate at the Stairs. I promptly got on the waiting list at the library and received the book several weeks later. What a disappointment. I've decided I really don't like her writing style and the story failed to keep my interest (I am certain due to its presentation, as I actually thought the topic itself quite interesting). There were a few parts I genuinely enjoyed, but overall this one was a bust.