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Book Review of A Gate at the Stairs

A Gate at the Stairs
A Gate at the Stairs
Author: Lorrie Moore
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
leecat2 avatar reviewed on + 43 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


I had great hopes for this book, as the author has local ties and it got rave reviews.
However, I just hated it. I kept reading, as it was a book club book, and I hate to go, unless I have read the book. And, yes, I did get it, having been young and gifted myself, also from a small town, moved to a large, more intellectually affluent place.
Tassie is odd, but not odd in any good way. Naive, yes, and that part of her is charming in too small a way.
Ultimately, she is too much of a cipher. Her summer at the farm could have been so ethereally uplifting, instead, it just drags on. OK, she has a bird costume, but what of it? Her behavior at the funeral?
My major complaint is the unbelievable dialog, especially from the Wednesday group. Were they just reading magazine articles aloud?
Tassie talks like a precocious 13 year old. My friends and I talked like this and thought we were so clever...in junior high, for goodness sake.For example, so clever of her to turn rejoice into Read Joyce. No wonder the poor girl has no friends.
Now, the adults seemed more like real characters, except again with the dialog. Her parents were rooted, but why throw in the Jewish mom? She makes no sense. Again, it's oddness for the sake of being odd. The same with the brother.
Odd is not good alone. There must be a method beyond the madness.
I was constantly reminded how much a superior book "An Education" is.