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A review by tarakingwrites
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore
3.0
I don't...I don't even know what to say about this one. I didn't finish it, and when the library took it back, that seemed just fine. I didn't hate it, but found it fairly uncompelling. As far as I can tell, each chapter seems to be a slightly different version of the story, characters in and out of relationships--each section an anagram of the previous one.
Intellectually, I feel like YES! Let's do THAT! Let's just change the story mid-stream and never blink, it reflects reality and the weakness of human memory! And it does. It's exactly like the time I told Paul it was okay to throw a magazine away and then got mad that he threw it away the next week. I meant both of them! I don't remember saying them both! Life and memory are confusing!
The book has some really funny lines, too:
"I realized that life was too short for anyone honestly and thoroughly to outgrow anything, but it was clear that some people were making more of an effort than others."
More often than not, the book felt clever more than funny, though. (Sorry, Benna.) I found myself more annoyed than interested (some part of me thinks it's the same way I feel about someone who is too like me.)
But who knows? Maybe in ten years time, I'll give it another try and love it.
Intellectually, I feel like YES! Let's do THAT! Let's just change the story mid-stream and never blink, it reflects reality and the weakness of human memory! And it does. It's exactly like the time I told Paul it was okay to throw a magazine away and then got mad that he threw it away the next week. I meant both of them! I don't remember saying them both! Life and memory are confusing!
The book has some really funny lines, too:
"I realized that life was too short for anyone honestly and thoroughly to outgrow anything, but it was clear that some people were making more of an effort than others."
More often than not, the book felt clever more than funny, though. (Sorry, Benna.) I found myself more annoyed than interested (some part of me thinks it's the same way I feel about someone who is too like me.)
But who knows? Maybe in ten years time, I'll give it another try and love it.