Lorrie Moore
Paperback | Pages: 228 pages Rating: 3.95 | 3673 Users | 400 Reviews
Particularize About Books Anagrams
| Title | : | Anagrams |
| Author | : | Lorrie Moore |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 228 pages |
| Published | : | August 31st 1997 by Warner Books (NY) (first published 1986) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Short Stories. Novels |
Narrative Conducive To Books Anagrams
an•a•gram ( n -gr m ) 1. A word or phrase formed by reordering the letters of another word or phrase, such as satin to stain.However, here in her first novel, short story writer Lorrie Moore (born 1957), reordered not letters but the different scenes in order for her reader to choose the one that he or she likes best. I have seen this approached in a couple of movies but my first time for a novel. Moore’s contemporary and humorous prose makes this approach not only crisp in its freshness but also memorable because of her believable characters.
There are only 3 main characters: the 32-y/o Benna Carpenter who is a poet, a teacher, a nightclub singer or an aerobics instructor depending on the version of the story that you are reading and/or prefer to take away as your favorite version of the story. Then there is Benna’s friend 31-y/o Eleanor who is either imaginary or real, again depending on which version you want to choose. Lastly, Benna’s love interest, 30-y/o Gerard Maines who is the single or divorced guy who lives next to Benna’s apartment with only a thin wall separating their rooms. In fact, Gerard could hear Benna’s toilet bowl when she is flushing it. Here in the Philippines, we have a term for this: “dingding lang ang pagitan (separated only by a wall) that actually came from a semi-erotic (ST – sex trip) movie in the 80’s.
But Anagrams is not an erotic story. It is a bittersweet love story about people in love and falling out of love. Reading it is like watching a romance-comedy movie set in an American city with characters in their last chances to find life-long partners. I would have given it five stars if I read this maybe a couple of decades ago. However, I was still mesmerized by Moore’s innovative approach even if at times the frequent shifts from 1st person to 3rd person and vice versa confused me. However, her imagination on the different versions is something that is commendable since all of them are not only plausible but also funny, playful and poignant that makes it hard for you to choose which version you want to remember for the rest of your life.
Also, unlike some of the novels of Haruki Murakami, who was also first known to be as a short story writer, Anagrams does not give me you that feeling that you are reading short stories merged into a big story just to make up a novel. Regardless of which version you choose or you want to believe in, everything is still coherent and integrated.
If you enjoy stories about single people looking for partners in their late 20's of early 30's, try reading this book. It is a joy to read and you will surely see yourself in one of the versions of the three characters.
I am now looking forward to more Moore books.
Be Specific About Books Concering Anagrams
| Original Title: | Anagrams |
| ISBN: | 0446672726 (ISBN13: 9780446672726) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating About Books Anagrams
Ratings: 3.95 From 3673 Users | 400 ReviewsRate About Books Anagrams
"life is sad. here is someone."Don't let this book fool you. You might pick it up and be humored by intellectual puns and clever turns of phrase before you realize you are reading what appears to be the highly conventional story of a woman in an unfortunate relationship. Like Todd Solondz's film Storytelling this novel plays with notions of fact and fiction. It isn't as simple as having a reliable or unreliable narrator, it's that everything said can mean something else, and perhaps even people
Very much enjoyed this one. Unfortunately / fortunately? - I got this from the Putney, VT Mini-Library of used books and someone from Bennington College (Vermont) had read this - I assume for a course. I've never seen anyone make such detailed notes in a book - it was entirely distracting! The note-taker was a genius - as far as I was concerned - so I was rapt in his analyses - thus missing my usual "book fluidity".So - my not very literary review: excellent book about 4 people - in different
A funny and sad book, all at the same time. There are four short stories and one novella, which together make a somewhat postmodernist novel. Benna and Gerard are the main characters, sort of, but in each story they have a different relationship to each other and their characters are someone different, as though in each story, they, and other characters, are anagrams of the stories that went before. There are themes that tie them together as well--music, aerobics, teaching, childlessness--and
I realize I've been giving so many books all five stars, but really, they are all five-star books. This one was just beautiful. Lorrie Moore's work is indescribable and all the more powerful for it.
I laughed out loud so many times while reading Anagrams that my sister became curious and I had to read passages to her. But in the end it much more than comedy, a deep and moving experience. I am still puzzled by the way the book is structured, but I wouldn't want to lose any part of it, so I guess it worked well.
'Anagrams' serves to bemuse, amuse and ultimately touch the heart of single status daydreamer. Its brilliant observations of life, no longer as a spring chicken, are only bettered by its moving discussions on love desired, lost and ignored. Bella's comical imagination allows her to overcome loneliness by creating friends and daughters in a manner that is not disturbing. Even if things are going from bad to worse, socially, romantically and financially, life isn't that bad. And I am glad there
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