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evirae's review against another edition
3.0
This Book Was: A good read but not very clear in its intent/goal. Perhaps I'm just not sharp enough to "get it."
Content Rating: Rated "Huh?" for some What the? moments throughout.
Maturity Rating: I honestly can't rate it.
Would I recommend it? -- I have no idea. Where am I?
---
A Gate at the Stairs isn't a bad book. Moore has a gift with prose, and the reading was overall enjoyable. After finishing, though, I really have no idea what exactly was the point.
This sounds bad-- I know. But I didn't really dislike the book at all. Essentially it turned out that the fact that this was "Post 9/11" really had no significant bearing on the text. It was as if you were looking into a girl's memoir she is penning from later on in life, and she had some really random, crazy stuff happen to her.
There is social commentary sprinkled in there. The whole 9/11 reference isn't really pertinent, nor is the fact that she is even partially Jewish-- none of these things mentioned in the blurb are really "central" to the story, but I didn't feel like anything was gimmicky.
Overall, it just wasn't clear to me what the point of the story was past showing a sliver of a girl's "coming of age in college" story. Even that doesn't seem an apt description.
I guess I'm just at a loss on this one!
--
Note from the blurb:
"Now, in her dazzling new novel—her first in more than a decade—Moore turns her eye on the anxiety and disconnection of post-9/11 America, on the insidiousness of racism, the blind-sidedness of war, and the recklessness thrust on others in the name of love."
As far as the bolded text, I CAN say that Moore did touch on these well. Overall, the story was just not tight enough to make a lasting impact on any of the topics listed, though. :/
Content Rating: Rated "Huh?" for some What the? moments throughout.
Maturity Rating: I honestly can't rate it.
Would I recommend it? -- I have no idea. Where am I?
---
A Gate at the Stairs isn't a bad book. Moore has a gift with prose, and the reading was overall enjoyable. After finishing, though, I really have no idea what exactly was the point.
This sounds bad-- I know. But I didn't really dislike the book at all. Essentially it turned out that the fact that this was "Post 9/11" really had no significant bearing on the text. It was as if you were looking into a girl's memoir she is penning from later on in life, and she had some really random, crazy stuff happen to her.
There is social commentary sprinkled in there. The whole 9/11 reference isn't really pertinent, nor is the fact that she is even partially Jewish-- none of these things mentioned in the blurb are really "central" to the story, but I didn't feel like anything was gimmicky.
Overall, it just wasn't clear to me what the point of the story was past showing a sliver of a girl's "coming of age in college" story. Even that doesn't seem an apt description.
I guess I'm just at a loss on this one!
--
Note from the blurb:
"Now, in her dazzling new novel—her first in more than a decade—Moore turns her eye on the anxiety and disconnection of post-9/11 America, on the insidiousness of racism, the blind-sidedness of war, and the recklessness thrust on others in the name of love."
As far as the bolded text, I CAN say that Moore did touch on these well. Overall, the story was just not tight enough to make a lasting impact on any of the topics listed, though. :/
joriel's review against another edition
3.0
Beautiful writing, but I was very conscious that Moore is older and more academic than in her earlier work. I kept thinking of Joyce Carol Oates. Darker perspective too, like JCO. All about coming of age, seeing complexity, learning how precarious and fraught life can be. More depressing than I expected, but the characters will linger with me.
danchibnall's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this but also found it rather strange. This is just a short review but here were some of my issues with it:
1. I find the narrator's inner voice not believable. It's difficult to determine if the narrator is older now and is looking back on her time in college and is yet somehow remembering all these vivid details. Or is the narrator 20 years old and somehow has a more well-developed mind than her character seems to possess. The language is beautiful and Moore has an elegant style, but this bothered me a bit.
2. The characters are way too archetypal. I know the points Moore is trying to make with these characters, but I felt like I was taking a Symbolism in Literature course while reading it.
3. The boyfriend as possible terrorist thing was strange. It seemed very out of place.
At first I wasn't wild about how the babysitting gig just ended, but then I realized that the whole ending of the book is a series of things that end before they're supposed to, i.e. her brother's life, the restaurant, the relationship with the boyfriend, the relationship with Mary-Emma, etc. That was actually a great stroke by Moore and I applaud her for it.
1. I find the narrator's inner voice not believable. It's difficult to determine if the narrator is older now and is looking back on her time in college and is yet somehow remembering all these vivid details. Or is the narrator 20 years old and somehow has a more well-developed mind than her character seems to possess. The language is beautiful and Moore has an elegant style, but this bothered me a bit.
2. The characters are way too archetypal. I know the points Moore is trying to make with these characters, but I felt like I was taking a Symbolism in Literature course while reading it.
3. The boyfriend as possible terrorist thing was strange. It seemed very out of place.
At first I wasn't wild about how the babysitting gig just ended, but then I realized that the whole ending of the book is a series of things that end before they're supposed to, i.e. her brother's life, the restaurant, the relationship with the boyfriend, the relationship with Mary-Emma, etc. That was actually a great stroke by Moore and I applaud her for it.
readingonfogo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
brendaclay's review against another edition
4.0
I'm still absorbing this novel, but overall, I agree with another reviewer that it's less than the sum of its parts. It chronicles a year or so in the life of Tassie, a Midwestern college girl, right after 9/11. Desperate for work, she becomes a nanny to a troubled couple who have just adopted a little girl of another race. She also gets involved with a supposedly Brazilian guy whose activities become more and more mysterious. At the same time, her younger brother, bereft of life options, joins the military and is shipped off to Afghanistan with disastrous results.
Don't get me wrong, Lorrie Moore's writing is amazing, but this book lacked focus and tried to address too much. It's true to life in that nothing ties up neatly, it all sort of ambles along, but I felt very disoriented when I finished this. Maybe that's what she was going for. Who knows.
Don't get me wrong, Lorrie Moore's writing is amazing, but this book lacked focus and tried to address too much. It's true to life in that nothing ties up neatly, it all sort of ambles along, but I felt very disoriented when I finished this. Maybe that's what she was going for. Who knows.
nappower's review against another edition
4.0
Sigh - read to read this one again. Missed things in my skimmy style.
lisa_berrones's review against another edition
1.0
I read this, slowly and thoroughly and I have no idea what this book is about or what the point is. I had about 15 pages left in this and had to bribe myself to finish it.
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5