lit loquacity

Lorrie Moore is certainly a skilled and witty author, and while I mostly enjoyed the punny prose I wasn't very enthralled with the novel itself. I can see how she is known for short stories, as the character vignettes are descriptive and humorous. The book seemed to be divided into three distinct parts, four if you count the strange Reynaldo affair. Much of the plot seemed unlikely to the point of unbelievability, and the main climax seemed to happen 2/3 through the book, based on an incident that was supposed to have occurred many years earlier. The awkwardness of all the characters was well-captured, and I did enjoy many parts of the book. Overall though, especially after the matter-of-fact climbing into a casket with a blown-up body (what the...), I can't say I would necessarily recommend, other than to have a shared 'what WAS that' experience.