Scan barcode
A review by alida_f
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore
2.0
Honestly, as I found out about a book with such a title, I'd expect quite a lot more. Sure, the writing flows easily and the irony is apparent. There is a limited amount of characters and situations that are re-arranged creatively, not unlike "Exercices de style", but with more plot variety and a fair amount of wordplay, some of which is actually brilliant (of course, pun haters are gonna hate, but then again, puns can be brilliant and not at all obvious). The overall tone is light, and though sex is a recurring theme, it doesn't give way to vulgarity.
As a female reader, I think something about the book does suggest it was penned by a female author. But here's the catch - while I'm more than happy to see more and more women doing comedy and humour, so much for the stereotypically underrated "funny woman that scares men off" trope (in literature as much as in real life, sadly!), I wonder if there isn't a tendency to stick to a few topics of choice, making it a tad too self-referential in that sense ("I am a woman who does comedy about being a woman and doing comedy, how absurd, and yet here I am, how brave of me"). That is a long topic to discuss, and it may just be me not craving "this" type of humour - "too/not enough whatever" for my own taste (I have somewhere read other readers' opinions stating that this is not the author's best work, so I can only judge so much). Specifically, it's a story/stories taking place in a generic American residential area. A Springfield, a Smallville, a Midland City. In turn, characters are normal, if a bit over the top (who isn't). So are their situations, if a little absurd (duh). In my opinion, re-arranging very normal people and facts in a variety of stories and peppering it all with wit and puns has to be done extraordinarily well, or not done at all.
As a female reader, I think something about the book does suggest it was penned by a female author. But here's the catch - while I'm more than happy to see more and more women doing comedy and humour, so much for the stereotypically underrated "funny woman that scares men off" trope (in literature as much as in real life, sadly!), I wonder if there isn't a tendency to stick to a few topics of choice, making it a tad too self-referential in that sense ("I am a woman who does comedy about being a woman and doing comedy, how absurd, and yet here I am, how brave of me"). That is a long topic to discuss, and it may just be me not craving "this" type of humour - "too/not enough whatever" for my own taste (I have somewhere read other readers' opinions stating that this is not the author's best work, so I can only judge so much). Specifically, it's a story/stories taking place in a generic American residential area. A Springfield, a Smallville, a Midland City. In turn, characters are normal, if a bit over the top (who isn't). So are their situations, if a little absurd (duh). In my opinion, re-arranging very normal people and facts in a variety of stories and peppering it all with wit and puns has to be done extraordinarily well, or not done at all.