i had an incredibly hard time getting through this one, sadly. it had some beautiful lines but ultimately fell flat for me. i like lorrie moore so maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe it's a one-off, but this one just wasn't for me.

I am a big Lorrie Moore fan but this book disappointed a bit. While it started out with wit and dark humor, which I greatly appreciate, it descended into the maudlin and seemed to lose direction. Wish I could be more enthusiastic.

Lorrie Moore does 𝘎𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 if it was 𝘞𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 written by Nora Ephron directed by Nancy Meyers.

Odd, wonderful, and full of spirit. Sometimes, life just 𝘪𝘴. We cry a lot, laugh a little, and somehow move along in some slow-fast way.

It’s safe to say things are not going well for Finn. He has been suspended from his teaching job, his brother is dying in a hospice, and he is pining for his ex, Lily. While Finn is having what could be a final visit with his brother, he gets an urgent call regarding Lily, and dashes to be with her. It is then Finn’s life is upended in ways he could never imagine.

Finn’s narrative is interspersed with letters from a woman called Eliz to her sister. Eliz runs a boarding house, and as the novel progresses, it becomes apparent one of Eliz’s guests is a little unusual.

This was my first real encounter with Moore’s work. Despite being an avid short story reader I've only read one of her stories. But I really enjoyed I am Homeless; Moore has clearly spent her decades-long career honing her gift for a hilarious, well-worded phrase.

Of the two parallel stories within the novel, I found the letters from Eliz the most intriguing. The way things slowly unraveled was riveting, and contained some really shocking moments. No spoilers, but I was curious where the two narratives would connect. When they did, it was very satisfying, and made complete sense.

I found it hard to relate to Finn. However, I found the section where Finn is in the hospice speaking to his dying brother incredibly vivid and memorable. There is absolutely no doubt that every single character in this book is very well-formed, even those whose presence is fleeting.

I Am Homeless If This is Not My Home was really enjoyable, despite the mournful subject matter. I have neglected Moore’s work for too long!

A beautiful novel from Lorrie Moore. This is such a poignant, unique story of grief and loss and human methods of processing that which falls beyond our logical comprehension.

Received a complimentary copy of I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore from Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor/ NetGalley. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

BOOK REPORT
Y’all.

All I know to say about this book is that, like happens with almost all of my 5-star books, I once again found myself gobsmacked and feeling as if I had awakened from a fever dream once I finished it.

The first time.

The second time, which was exactly 24 hours later, I was all of that and in complete and total awe of Lorrie Moore. Yes, that’s right, I read I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home twice in two days. It was _that_ good. It needed me (it needed me?) to slow down and read it more carefully, to appreciate the insight, the magic, the sheer zeitgeist-y-ness of it all.**

And, once again, I seem to have lost the ability to write in a coherent and linear fashion about why a book moved me to the degree this one did. So—yep, you guessed it, once again—it’s bullet points to the rescue!

Bullet Points
-While this is very much a story of grief and haunting, it is in absolutely no way, shape, or form a ghost story, and the people who wrote/edited the flyleaf copy should be ashamed of themselves for saying so. Unless they’re dullard literalists who can’t see the trees for the forest. (And yes, I meant to say it that way.)

-I wish, wish, wish I had taken notes all the way through, both times, about everything that spoke to my very soul. From calling Knoxville a crickety town with sad spaghetti to asking if one can be dead in terms of grammatical tense to this—oh, this: “He suspected he was in Ohio. When not paying attention in life he assumed you could end up in Ohio.”

But, then again, maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t, since I would’ve probably copied down about a quarter of the book. Here is perhaps the most important thing, though:
-“You were willing to take all those memories of us, the memory of me—you who knew me like nobody else!—and you were willing to kill the me that was dependent on you for staying alive.”

“Yes. You,” Lily said with a sigh. “I guess it’s about you.”

“It includes me,” he said.

I don’t know what else to say. Either read it, or don’t.

The Sheer Zeitgeist-y-ness Of It All***
There was a whole lotta such going on, but the one example I’m going to share is very personal. So you have to bear with me for a little bit as I set the stage.***

I have this cat, you see; his name is Ethyl, and we refer to him as Orange Ethyl a great deal of the time, because he is a ginger. And yes, he is a he. Which we didn’t realize at first when The Great Kitten Procurement Of October 2012 took place, so we named what we thought was an her Ethel, after my Great-Aunt Ethel (my daddy’s daddy’s sister), who lived “out on the mountain” with my Great-Uncle John Henry.

Well. I was _not_ gonna be denied having a cat named after that particular great-aunt, so I went with Ethylene as the formal, non-gender-specific moniker, and shortened it.

And then loved, loved, loved on some kitten. (Still loving on said cat, and his brother Lemmy, named after Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead, but that’s a whole other story.) And for some reason started cooing to him, “Who’s Mommy’s little muffin? Who’s a little orange pumpkin muffin? Mommy LOVES the Ethyl, yes she does, Ethyl is a pumpkin muffin, Ethyl is a pufflemumpkin, Mommy LOVES the pufflemumpkin.”

As one does.

So when I got to this part of the book? You can only begin to imagine…..

“I can feel the muffled pumping of your heart.”

“The muffled pumpkin?”

Y’all.

The Stage***
The proverbial dime about the historical aspect of this book dropped for me probably way later than it should’ve on my first read-through. And when it hit me, I thought, “Ah, it wasn’t a dime that dropped. It was a $5 bill.”

Can’t go further than that or I’d be in hard-core spoiler territory.

Sweetie.

DESCRIPTION
Lorrie Moore’s first novel since A Gate at the Stairs—a daring, meditative exploration of love and death, passion and grief, and what it means to be haunted by the past, both by history and the human heart
From “one of the most acute and lasting writers of her generation” (Caryn James; The New York Times)—a ghost story set in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries, an elegiac consideration of grief, devotion (filial and romantic), and the vanishing and persistence of all things—seen and unseen.

A teacher visiting his dying brother in the Bronx. A mysterious journal from the nineteenth century stolen from a boarding house. A therapy clown and an assassin, both presumed dead, but perhaps not dead at all...

With her distinctive, irresistible wordplay and singular wry humor and wisdom, Lorrie Moore has given us a magic box of longing and surprise as she writes about love and rebirth and the pull towards life. Bold, meditative, theatrical, this new novel is an inventive, poetic portrait of lovers and siblings as it questions the stories we have been told which may or may not be true.

I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Hometakes us through a trap door, into a windswept, imagined journey to the tragic-comic landscape that is, unmistakably, the world of Lorrie Moore.

After reading 50 pages, I am sorry but I will not be finishing this book. I appreciate the opportunity to have read it, but it wasn't anything like I expected. With my reading time being precious to me I will not continue reading something that has absolutely no appeal to me.

Again I thank you for the opportunity and I hope that this doesn't eliminate me from receiving other books to review from you.

Sincerely,
Ethel O.

It has been more than 10 years since we heard from Lorrie Moore and I think all will agree that it is worth the wait.

Like her other work - the prose is beautiful, lyrical, snappy and ironic. Deep, heart pulling ideas such as death, grief, and love.

In I am Homeless we meet Finn, a teacher who is prone to conspiracy theories., so much so, he is on leave from his job. When visiting his dying brother in hospice, Finn continues to state things wildly untrue but backs them with logical defenses. He is still in love with his ex, a suicidal woman who performs therapy as a clown. When Lily dies, Finn embarks on a cross the country trip. All the while he espoused theories and stories that seem to point more and more to issues of the mind. There is however a journal from the 1800's that is interspersed into the chapters that may prove that he is actually on the right track.

If you love a snappy ironic sentence, deep thinking and a book that you will start re-reading as soon as you finish, I am Homeless If THis Is Not My Home is for you!

#Knopf #pantheon #vintagebooks #anchor #IamHomelessIfTHisIsNotMyHome

Lorrie Moore is a genius. Her witty banter will win your head; her dazzling exploration of love and grief will win your heart.

Loved the cover and the title, however, this book was not for me. I understand what the author was trying to do it just really fell flat. Wouldn't read again.

An interesting read that presents a unique perspective on love and grief. I found my self fascinated with the story and unable to put it down. Be prepared for something a bit different (stranger) than other works by Lorrie Moore.