Book Review - Collected Stories of Lorrie Moore

 Like to read really good writing, but not up for a whole novel?  Attention span difficulties in the time of Covid?  Lorrie Moore's Collected Stories is your answer.  This book of forty stories is perfect for popping in and out of other people's lives. 

cover blurb - Her keenly observed stories are peopled by a variety of lost souls  - husbands, wives, lovers, tourists, professors, students, even a ghost - often grappling with pain or disappointment. 

However lovelorn or dislocated the characters - from the wisecracking wedding guest in "Thank You For Having Me", to the complicated parent-child pairs in "How to Talk to Your Mother (Notes)" and "The Kid's Guide to Divorce" - these stories are always grounded in insight and compassion. 

I enjoyed this book and the writing. Her descriptions are awesome and I'm envious of a turn of phrase. 

In "Childcare", our protagonist is a student needing a babysitting job. But I was not especially skilled at minding children for long spells; I grew bored, perhaps like my own mother. After I'd spent too much time playing their games, my mind grew peckish and longed to lose itself in some book I had in my backpack.  I think Lorrie Moore knows ME too well. It's easy to identify with so much in her stories. 

Short story writing is a skill. Lorrie Moore is an award winning author and this Collected Stories confirms her magic.