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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
These stories ranged between 3 and 4 stars. Lorrie Moore has such an insightful way of writing about the hidden darkness in people. The stories were all interesting in their characters and thematic content, but not captivating.
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Endearing stories that avoid getting maudlin, despite themes of disappointment and regret. Read more on the booklog
I’m going to start with a little confession: I’ve never read Lorrie Moore before (say that three times fast). Why not? Who knows? But now after finishing her latest collection of short stories, called Bark, I can say I’m fan. And if you’re one of those people who wants to buy free-range poultry, brine it, and slow roast it in the oven but accidentally sets the oven to Clean instead, then you should be reading her as well. In the course of eight stories, she slices life into the messy bits where the best intentions and worst actions come to the same end.
The rest of this review is available at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2014/02/bark/
The rest of this review is available at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2014/02/bark/
This book was underwhelming. It seemed as though Moore made a list of clichés of the literary genre and tried to check them all off as she wrote. In other words, this book is full of ennui-induced navel-gazing and overly introspective, depressed divorcés. Not my cup of tea.
I’m not a big fan of short stories, I always feel like I miss the point they are trying to make. I did enjoy the story “wings” in this collection.
For many years Lorrie Moore has been one of my favorite short story writers ("Self Help," "Birds of America") but Bark left me cold. The stories rang clever but elliptic, and I turned each page feeling not quite smart enough to "get" the message.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Favourite stories in the collection.
1) ‘Debarking’ - a divorced man negotiates a new relationship with a woman who is more free-spirited than he is. The added aspect of a child on both sides of the relationship make things more complicated for the couple to romantically navigate life.
2) ‘Wings’ lifts things up again - pun intended - as a musician and her boyfriend encounter an old man and she forms a bond with him. Added complexity arises around the issue of inheritance etc...
It's no surprise that the two best stories are the longest of the collection. I feel like Moore has dipped into a more weaving and self referential style after so long away. Apparently it's like 16 years between original collections. Spending that time writing A Gate At The Stairs. Maybe that ruined her knack for short stories? Who knows. Someone else even blamed it on her divorce making her a little more stoic and world-weary. I don't know how I feel about an author's life becoming that bound up in the response to the writing. I'm sure plenty of divorcées manage to continue their careers with merely a blip, but that's neither here nor there.
The collection, sadly, is a shadow of her earlier work. In my opinion. Certainly worth reading, but not at the cost of neglecting her earlier work or the work of other short story writers with a more consistent output.
This rating almost went up to three stars, but I just feel like two suits my scoring criteria a bit more neatly. Compared with other things I’ve rated, this isn’t saved by two good stories, even if ‘Debarking’, in particular, did make me glad to have invested my time in it.