It seems like it was a hellishly long wait to get a new book out of Lorrie Moore. She's one of those writers that I watch for and surf the internets, looking for news of new works. But what I'm usually looking for are her short stories. The short story form is an art form that's far more difficult than many people realize; too often writers produce little slice-of-life vignettes, or they feel like stories that would have been better suited to novels. Moore is one of those rare writers (think also of Alice Munro and William Trevor) who uses the short story brilliantly, each story a gem, perfectly complete in itself. But sometimes, a fantastic short story writer stumbles when taking on the longer form of the novel.
Moore's strengths are her quirky-but-believable characters and her killer sense of humor. There's a wry wit operating, a kind of rueful admission of the absurdity of life. She pairs that with an eyes-wide-open view of humanity and life in general, with plots that don't shy away from difficult topics. In A Gate at the Stairs, naive college student Tassie is adjusting to life in her Midwestern college town soon after 9/11. Born and raised by an eccentric farmer in a small Wisconsin town, Tassie has a lot to learn about life. When she decides to look for work as a part-time nanny, she meets Sarah Brink, a restaurant owner and would-be adoptive parent struggling with a difficult marriage and her own politically correct insecurities. To tell more than that would be to give spoilers; let's just say it's a year of big learning curves for Tassie.
The humor abounds, even with the subject matter is heartbreaking. Early on, Tassie describes Sarah's restaurant: "It was one of those expensive restaurants downtown, every entree freshly hairy with dill, every soup and dessert dripped upon as preciously as Pollock, filets and cutlets sprinkled with lavender dust once owned by pixies, restaurants to which students never went, except if newly pinned to a fraternity boy or dating an assistant dean or hosting a visit from their concerned suburban parents."
Her offbeat humor is chuckle-inducing, and yet in the first half of the book, there's almost too much of it, which brings back the issue of short stories vs. novels. The first half drags, and while the writing sparkles, it's almost as if the story is being stretched out to accommodate the humor. Which makes it readable, but slow. Yet the second half locks back onto the story and ultimately carries the reader through.
To be sure, Moore is a formidable writer; overall I'd give this book a 4 out of 5 stars--and I'm most certainly already on the lookout for whatever her next work is.
