Review by lostinthelibrary - A Gate at the Stairs

lostinthelibrary 's review for:

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore

3.5

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I think this book was very well written in terms of it's dialogue and prose and did a good job at capturing the post 9/11 confusion in the US and the re-emergence of social justice among the middle class. My favourite parts were the gentle ribbing of the middle class parents talking about their experiences of injustice.

The issue I had was that I did not feel there was a through plotline. It seemed like it at the start with the babysitting and adoption storyline but once this was resolved, I felt it was too late to add in the plotlines of the latter half of the book which hadn't really been given enough attention. It all felt a bit uneven. I can clearly see though that this is a talented author and would be interested in reading more from her.

Content Warnings