A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore. Fiction, 322 pages, downloadable audio 12 hours, read by Mia Brown.

Through the first three quarters of the book I was finding some of the characters, their shallowness and their flip dialogue, so annoying that I strongly considered not finishing it (and I complained about it to anyone who would listen). I think I stuck with it just because of the reading challenge. I had spent so much time reading it, I needed to finish it just to count the book and its pages. The end of the book went a long way to redeeming the whole thing. By the end, I was less annoyed with Tassie, and her little witty comments about everything and everyone she encountered as she came somewhat of age. Her sorrows and disappointments were hidden behind her words, no surprise, but as those sorrows and disappointments palpably grew, so did my sympathy for her. Sarah was an even less likeable character, but as she confessed to her past horrible actions, you could see how they haunted her every day. This is a tale of longing, love and loss that could have been too much, but was saved by a well-written ending.--Patrick