Itemize Epithetical Books Anagrams
| Title | : | Anagrams |
| Author | : | Lorrie Moore |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 228 pages |
| Published | : | August 31st 1997 by Warner Books (NY) (first published 1986) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Short Stories. Novels |
Lorrie Moore
Paperback | Pages: 228 pages Rating: 3.95 | 3673 Users | 400 Reviews
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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.
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| Original Title: | Anagrams |
| ISBN: | 0446672726 (ISBN13: 9780446672726) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Epithetical Books Anagrams
Ratings: 3.95 From 3673 Users | 400 ReviewsColumn Epithetical Books Anagrams
It was my stint reading all the Nick Hornby novels I could find that started me reading Lorrie Moore books. I think shes more of a short story writer, which I guess why this novel reads more like four separate pieces rather than a cohesive one. Anagrams is a concept novel where the characters in the story stay basically the same, but are rearranged a little each instance a slice of time gets retold. What remains constant is the two main characters, Gerard and Benna, are in love with each other,anagram ( 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. Moores contemporary and humorous prose makes this approach not only crisp in its freshness but also
I seriously think if I could choose to write like *anyone*, it would be Lorrie Moore.Moore does something amazing in the beginning of this book; she rearranges the characters' lives over and over in various short stories--hence the name Anagrams. Then, the last piece in the book is a novella using the same characters. Like all of Moore, it is by turns laugh out loud funny and heartbreaking.My only fear in recommending this book to students is that they will think I'm the main character in the
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.
"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
This book was devastating devastatingly funny, devastatingly honest. And its denouement, or the final unraveling of plot complexities, is devastatingly sad. Let me back up for a minute. "Anagrams" rearranges and frames three characters dynamically against each other, first in a sequence of short scenes, then in a longer sustained story. So the key characters like letters in an anagrammatic word function differently, contribute to a separate-though-equally-plausible reality, when located in
I'm kind of in love with Lorrie Moore. She is so funny and devastating and her women are weird as hell... which is why they're so wonderful. This is one of those books that makes me hate taking things out of the library because I can't underline all of my favorite lines. I feel kind of wrecked now that it's all over, which I wasn't expecting at all.
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