In May 2024, I read several stories in Birds of America by Lorrie Moore. The first few stories were confusing to me, and it took me a while to adjust to Moore's style of writing.
Here are some general themes I noted when reading the stories in Birds of America.
- First of all, each story features birds in some way. Sometimes just one offhand sentence, sometimes a brief scene. I liked that.
- The stories usually focused on relationships and the people tended to be quirky.
- Most of the stories, maybe all, were somewhat depressing, sometimes sad. But in most of them, there was also humor.
There were two stories in Birds of America set at Christmas, and I left those to read in December. I did not get around to reading them until this year.
"Charades" is set on Christmas Day. The family has gathered at their parents' home. Therese is the oldest and has gotten an appointment as a circuit court judge; Ann is ten years younger and in law school; Andrew is the middle child, and an electrical engineer. Therese and Andrew both have spouses, and Ann is getting married soon to Tad. Their parents are in their seventies. They are playing charades. Therese has a plane to catch at 4:30; Ann is irritated because her sister did not schedule a later flight and spend more time with the family. Mostly the grown children just seem to bicker with each other. That seems like a fairly normal Christmas atmosphere for a family of only adults (there is just one very young grandchild). My description makes the story sound really dreary, but it left me with a good feeling nevertheless.
"Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens" is more a cat story than a Christmas story, but it ends on a happier note than "Charades" did. It begins in November and ends on Christmas Day.
Bert, Aileen's cat, died on Veterans Day. Aileen is deeply affected, and begins drinking heavily. She has a loving husband and a beautiful child, and neither her friends or her family understand the level of grief she is feeling after Bert's death.
Her husband eventually convinces Aileen to see a therapist. She finds a therapist who guarantees she will be cured by Christmas.
Favorite quote: Jack, Aileen's husband, says...
"Life is a long journey across a wide country... Sometimes the weather's good. Sometimes it's bad. Sometimes it's so bad, your car goes off the road."
I still have three stories left to read in Birds of America. They are longer stories, each about 35-40 pages.
15 comments:
I think I've tried to read Lorrie Moore before (might have been this collection) -- since her writing is often so acclaimed -- but I haven't gotten far with her. I'm glad you're making your way through it. She doesn't seem too inviting perhaps.
This sounds like an unusual collection. Not terribly upbeat but I don't mind that if the writing is good. I've just finished a 'weird' story collection which had a story by Daphne du Maurier in it, quite depressing really in its depiction of a marriage gone sour. I'd not come across before, but atmospherically it was very, very good... quite psychological.
Sounds interesting, Tracy, and I'll to read the stories soon. alas, one title, though, grates on me like fingernails on a blackboard (remember them? Blackboards, not fingernails.). It is "colly" birds, not "calling" birds. A colly bird is a blackbird, and "colly" is a regional English word for black, or dark; it originated from the word "coal." I know I am fighting a losing battle for this because the popular and mistaken version has taken hold, but it still gets my goat, although not as bad as those who refer to 12 AM and 12 PM, or those whose disdain the Oxford comma. (That's my rant for the day; feel free to go back to your regularly scheduled activities.)
I think that's such an interesting idea, Tracy, so use birds as a connecting thread among these stories. I don't think I've read a collection with that theme before. These two stories do sound interesting. Perhaps not joyous and uplifting, but glimpses of real life, if that makes sense.
This sounds like it's perfect for the season. Glad you enjoyed them!
Lorrie Moore is a favorite. Especially Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?
I have never read Lorrie Moore. I know that her short stories are classics. I should give her a try particularly the Christmas story.
I love birds so I really like the sound of this collection. I'll have to see if I can track it down!
Susan, I had not heard of Lorrie Moore at all until I started doing posts for Short Story Wednesday. I have looked into all of her short story books and I want to own all of those. Not so sure about the novels, but I do want to try one of them.
Cath, It took me a while to get used to Moore's stories and appreciate the humor in them. I have read some short stories by du Maurier and I found them offputting at first also. Although they were very well written. I still have more stories by her to read in a book titled Don't Look Now, and I have been putting it off.
Jerry, I can see why the original wording of the phrase "four colly birds" became corrupted into "four calling birds" but it is irritating, and it is good to know the background.
I do find 12 AM and 12 PM confusing myself.
I looked up the Oxford comma (to make sure I was getting it right), and that is the way I use the comma in lists. Many many years ago I used to be a proofreader at a publishing company, but I can't remember what the accepted style was there.
Tracy, there are no such critters as 12 AM or 12 PM; there is only 12 midnight or 12 noon.
Jerry, when I looked up 12:00 AM and 12:00 PM earlier today, one "answer" said that 12 midnight or 12 noon was a better alternative. I agree, but it is hard to change behavior.
Margot, I think you are right, that these stories are much like real life. And sometimes I find that I have to get used to an author's style before I can enjoy the stories or a novel.
My wife's Book Club has read a number of Lorrie Morgan's books. I'm sure Birds of America was one of them.
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