Bibliofemme Bookclub An Irish Bookclub

Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
(Published by Faber and Faber Ltd)

Birds of America is a collection of twelve short stories by Lorrie Moore.

It is essentially a series of portraits of the disaffected, aimless and the emotionally insecure. The tragedies of Moore’s characters are that of the everyday – the loss of a pet, a marriage break up, a career change, a development of a new relationship. The major and minor sit next to each other. Moore speaks of the inner tremors that unsettle and shift our lives, of our fears. Never sentimental she portrays each character with a delft touch, with humor, understanding and pathos.

Particularly impressive is her humor is the face of pain. In “Canonical babbling in peed Onk” a mother is depicted through the discovery and subsequent course of her baby having cancer. It may be the black humor of survival that invades but it nonetheless shifts the story away from maudlin tale.

Other stories tell of a test writer and her mother going to Ireland to kiss the Blarney Stone to get over her fear of public speaking. A discontent housewife and her cheating husband moving house. A washed-up actress’s move back to her hometown. A blind mans romantic liaison with his housepainter and a woman’s inconsolable grief at the death of her beloved cat.

The setting for each story moves around America and Ireland and Italy. Though wherever the characters go Moore pays attention to environmental details and serves up convincing and entertaining descriptions. The protagonists are mainly women with the male partners often featuring as puppy dog like figures, however rather than this being a “feminist” or anti-male this stance it seems to be more the consequence of focusing on each character.

What Lorrie Moore does in Birds of America is tap into suburban everyday fears with insight and humor. The stories feel like distilled novels rather than stylistic feats of the format. They are easily read and user-friendly even to those who believe they don’t enjoy short stories. It is a book I am happy to pass on rather than treasure but nonetheless and enjoyable and worthy read.