Birds of America: Stories (Vintage Contemporaries)

Don’t know where the laughter - dark or otherwise - comes in. These are stories about sad people, living sad lives, and believing there’s nothing more. I enjoyed People Like That Are the Only People Here mostly because of the language play. It was, after all, supposedly narrated by an author. What You Want To Do Fine was particularly depressing in its relationship’s dysfunction. Overall, the writing is good and more thoughtful than much of fiction.

Lorrie Moore is a brilliantly witty writer, but I wouldn't advise anyone to read this book hoping to be cheered up by a few good laughs. You should be warned that children in this collection suffer from Wilm's tumor, cystic fibrosis, Down's syndrome, fatal head injury and death from polio. The adults don't fare much better. It is very brave of Moore to deal with such tragedies, and I suppose one of the duties of a great writer is to show how such things are dealt with, but I think her greatest strength is when she shows people dealing with less obvious afflictions. I still think she was at her best in "Self-Help" when she grabbed attention with the second-person and present tense She hammers home her points sometimes with convoluted sentences telling the reader what to think. Describing a woman with lung cancer who moves she says: "Every house is a grave, thought Ruth. All that life-stealing fuss and preparation. Which made moving from house to house a resurrection- or an exodus of ghouls depending on your point of view- and made moving to a house (yet another house!) the darkest of follies and desires?" Alice Munro, William Trevor, Katherine Mansfield, Carver, Cheever or Updike would have let the reader draw his or her own conclusions.

Lorrie Moore is a master at her craft and Birds of America is no different. Ranging from the dark to the silly, her prose will make you laugh and cry, but most importantly, it will remind you that we're all humans with a breadth of experiences to go through. Moore has a gift for isolating one incident and crafting it in a way that makes you feel a little less alone in the world. Easily one of my favorite short story collections I have ever read.

I really don't get this book. I heard it recommended incredibly highly at a David Sedaris reading, and he is an author I respect and enjoy, so naturally I was looking forward to it when my book club chose to read Birds of America. Unfortunately, I would classify this as one of the worst books I have read. I found the stories depressing, the characters weak and needy, and the book completely lacking in anything compelling. The one bright point that allowed me to keep reading until I finished the book was the occasional brilliant phrasing that is used to describe something in a unique way. If you enjoy dark, disturbed, depressed characters with plenty of problems, you may find this readable. But if you prefer to believe that not everyone in the world and every relationship in the world is damaged and sad, you may want to steer clear of this book.

Although this book cost me more than a used one, I'm thrilled with its brand new look.Lorrie Moore tends to write the same kind of story again and again, but with different characters, so if you are okay with that, you'll like this book. Each story has parallel themes in which the main character, a woman, is in distress, and nothing seems to help, and the story ends with her in distress. I'm not exactly sure why, but this didn't bother me! She's an excellent writer-- I'm just telling you what you're getting into.

The best stories here are about talented, witty, sarcastic people (women mostly) who, lacking any hope or confidence, compromise their integrity to be in relationships with cliche-ridden mediocrities, bores, sociopaths, cheaters, phony ideologues, and other loathsome creatures. The result is a collection of stories that is both comic and sad. These characters seem rather nihilistic in their lack of free-will and the abyss of despair and acedia that they've succumbed to. Lorrie Moore is at the top of the literary food chain when it comes to writing these kind of short stories. There are imitators who try to be cool with their nihilistic, cynical stories, but Lorrie Moore is the genuine article.

This is a poet with a deeply felt interest in how human beings treat one another. Her verse is fraught with poignant images revealing the way people hurt one another and often remain indifferent about do so. It is a shocking and alarming world depicted in her powerful pieces and one we must all be mindful of if we are to reach a better plain of existence.

Each story offered thoughtful insights on our Anerican lived... From different stages and different places. Each one made me think not only about the storyline, but the creative use of language.

Loved this book, wish someone would have cooked the meals and brought me cups of tea and then I could truly say "I could not put it down"

very good

I have read this book many times over the year, it is a collection of short stories that I would have to say might best appeal to those who favor reading slightly morbid, darker style of writing; perhaps leaning toward Sylvia Plath who comes through at times. Moore has a quirky approach to her writing (and I mean that in the best way possible) which is witty, starkly emotional, and sad all within one paragraph.

Es un libro de relatos ideal para leer en inglés, su lengua original, donde encontrarás historias inquietantes y siempre sorprendentes.

A contemporary classic. Untouchable.