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A review by drewsof
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore
4.0
Half short-story-"Sliding Doors" experimental fiction and half melancholic reflection on a quarter/third-life crisis. I struggled with the opening of the book, that 80s prose that wants nothing more than to show you how crafted and brilliant and fab it all is, but I quickly fell into the rhythms that Moore quite rightly wanted to show off. When the context shifted in the second tale (no longer were Gerard and Benna neighbors in unrequited love, but now they were neighbors in a long relationship), I felt myself light up in relation to the novel: this was going to be fascinating. And I really, really loved what Moore did here, presenting these reconfigured takes on a relationship.
But I felt a little let-down by the final story, which takes just about half of the book. The story itself is great, don't get me wrong, but I felt as though the initial concept for the novel went by the wayside earlier than it should've. And the twist at the end, although increasingly telegraphed throughout, is painfully sad.
Still: the book got to me, even when I thought it might not.
But I felt a little let-down by the final story, which takes just about half of the book. The story itself is great, don't get me wrong, but I felt as though the initial concept for the novel went by the wayside earlier than it should've. And the twist at the end, although increasingly telegraphed throughout, is painfully sad.
Still: the book got to me, even when I thought it might not.