A review by smaravetz
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore

4.0

This books is sort of a cross between a novel and a collection of short stories- it's a novel comprised of different incarnations of the same characters, rearranged slightly in each tale. It felt like an exercise in recombining characters to find the right fit for the plot. Lorrie Moore loves words, loves playing with puns and wordplay and clever combinations of cliches, song phrases, etc. In this book, I think she has actually created the characters who can realistically speak like this without it sounding contrived; in A Gate At The Stairs, I kept thinking that a young college student from a farm just wouldn't speak this way- but in this book, Benna and Gerard have a banter that is both real and charming and witty.