Like Life

"How did one's . . . life lead one along so cruelly, like a trick, to the middle of the sea?" I came across the short "Two Boys" in a 1989 GQ magazine, and ever since then have cherished her stories. Yes, many of Moore's lead characters struggle, falter, find themselves in transition, and leading, as Thoreau quipped, lives of quiet desperation. In short, they are a lot like us. This sort of truth hurts, and you can see that hurt reflected in some of the reviews below. And yet. And yet, Moore leavens her writing with humor, wit, and a dollop of sympathy for those deserving of it. (For example, from the title story: "I don't have a love life, I have a like life.") The language is rich and smart and flavorful and accessible at the same time - and definitely, worth yours.

Lorrie Moore has an unmatched ability to mix verbal jokes and funny moments with tragic ones. She makes it look easy, but the craftmanship inherent in her work is quite complicated. She makes her readers feel her characters with their hearts and their minds. You'll laugh out loud and you feel lingering sadness.My favorite story in the collection is "Places to Look for your Mind." I couldn't stop thinking about it, the characters were so real to me.This whole book is a pleasure.

This quote, from the title story of Lorrie Moore's ridiculously good collection, really seems to sum up her writing here. All of her stories are so unbelievably bizarre, at times, and yet, we know they're real. She writes about things we only thought existed in our heads--perceptions, comparisons, understandings of life that we could once insist were our own neuroses, yet apparently, Moore's had all the same ideas, and has put them to paper in some of the most intriguing and complex and, at times, subtly hilarious stories I've ever read. "Like Life" is where you'll find her story, "You're Ugly, Too," which I found in a collection of stories dubbed the best since 1970, a Scribner anthology, and what sparked my interest in Moore. "You're Ugly, Too" is a brilliant piece, and definitely one of my favorites. I also loved "The Jewish Hunter," which I was reading during pre-cal one day, and started laughing like an idiot at various points. (Not good.) "Starving Again" is an incredible piece. In fact, I didn't quite think I got it 100% until I was sitting in a restaurant with someone one day, and they were going on and on, and all I could think about was our food coming to the table....Well, read the story, you'll see. It's definitely one of those great stories that you experience in your own life, and then go back and read again, and appreciate it all the better. "Like Life" is an incredible collection, and I'm already on my second and third readings of these stories. It's hard to read them and not look at life differently after.

Moore received a lot of attention for her latest, "Birds of America" but I prefer this collection. It's not just that the book is funnier and deals with generally lighter subject matter, but that she is able to apply her poignant observations to more mundane material. Wheras Birds of America deals with children who have cancer and adults who are deep into what have become seriously disappointing lives, Like Life deals with those (mostly women) who are still treading water, not too happy with the way things have turned out so far, but also not so far gone that it all couldn't turn around tomorrow. The character in one story is grappling with her unsatisfying relationship with her struggling playwright boyfriend, another is just having a lonely winter where she spends her time working in a store in the mall and playing with the cat. Even the nature of her disappointments -- she is not allowed in to a community singing group because she misses the first meeting -- wonderfully reflect the low gear in which many of her characters, like real life people, are operating. If it sounds pretty dull, this is exactly why this book is such a showcase of Morre at her best. I think it is probably easier to write movingly about cancer than it is to write about daily life. But Moore's stories really are moving. A must read for anyone who aspires to write but worries he/she has nothing to say. Moore shows that every experience is a story -- its all in the telling.

Lorrie Moore, named one of Granta's "Best Young American Novelists" last year, is a poetic observer of ordinary life. In this her second collection of short stories, she presents us with a charming array of characters, each consumed by the pursuit of love and meaning in their lives. These stories are filled with people from all walks of life who don't really know what they want or how to get it, but they keep trying to find it anyway. From a working class woman who must choose between two equally undesirable boyfriends to a playwright who struggles to remain true to his art as his world collapses around him, these are people we can laugh with and feel sympathy for because they convey our simplest, most heartfelt desires. Lorrie Moore is a master storyteller, and this collection has much to offer the confused, yet optimistic, seekers among us