Matthew Meade’s Reviews > Birds of America: Stories > Status Update

I read her book "Self Help" back in the 80's and LOVED it. Let me know what you think of this.

I cannot even stand how good this book is. The only problem is that none of the none of the stories are as good as the first one, Willing. Once you read the first one, which is perfect, the rest are a tiny bit of a let down but they are all way better than your average short story and all of them have at least one fantastically good line ("Ann's black hair is cut severely in sharp, expensive lines."), and one fantastically good joke ("She had already - carefully, obediently- stepped through all the stages of bereavement: anger, denial, bargaining, Haagen-Dazs, rage..."). Moore is one of the few writers who can pull off funny on the page. It is is a delicate and difficult art. I highly recommend this one.

Also, the last two stories are strong. Very strong. Maybe stronger than the first story. I am pretty confident in stating that we are dealing with a master of the art form. I want to stop myself before I start gushing, but Lorrie Moore is flawless.

What a great comment! I'll have to read them.