January 19, 2010

Plenty of novels to choose from

“As with most [Lorrie] Moore characters, her dialogue– witty, allusive, never merely expository– is less a reflection of how real people speak than how they should. (This is sometimes said as a criticism of Moore, but it shouldn’t be. For readers who prefer their narrators to be drearily realistic mediocrities, there are plenty of novels to choose from).” –Deborah Friedell, “The Family That Slays Together” (review of The Gate at the Stairs) in the London Review of Books, 19 November 2009.