Birds of America
Book | Lorrie Moore
Disaffected, afraid, and confused, Moore’s characters move trance-like and displaced through the foggy terrain of society.
With Birds of America, Lorrie Moore illustrates the malaise of contemporary America, the sheer incompetence-at-life afflicting human beings. Disaffected, afraid, and confused, Moore's characters move trance-like and displaced through the foggy terrain of society; dropping babies, lolling in failing relationships, watching others with as much interest as they do late night infomercials. Moore's cynics use quips to momentarily stave off the ugly reality of their lives. They come to stark realizations that this is it and it doesn't feel like much. In Moore's world, families feud, children die, and women lose their looks. Yet just when you think she only knows malcontents, Moore delivers stories such as "Dance in America" and "People Like That Are The Only People Here: Canonical Babbling in Peed Onk," where children's lives teeter precariously and even her most pessimistic characters wish life to be preserved. In the end, Moore's talents lie in her ability to capture these disappointing lives with unflinching accuracy and compassion.
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