This book explores two timelines/realities. One post civil war and one more current day. I enjoyed the current day more and the writing certainly is beautiful however this book felt like it should have been a collection of short stories vs a novel. This def won’t be for everyone as it feels like an exploratory exercise vs a book for all readers.

There were aspects of this book that intrigued me--the story about the woman running the boardinghouse, the challenges that Finn was facing--and the writing was really beautiful, but I just found the book too weird for me. I finished reading and just was not sure what exactly I had read. I haven't read anything by Lorrie Moore and I think she's just not my cup of tea.

I love Lorrie Moore so much and was so excited when I saw she had a new book coming out. So, it pains me to say that I did not enjoy this book at all. The book has two story lines — one letters written from an innkeeper to her deceased sister, shortly following the Civil War. The second focuses on Finn, a teacher who has been suspended. Finn is also dealing with the impending death of his brother Max, and the death of his longtime girlfriend Lily.

I felt no connection with either of these stories or the characters. The writing felt overdone and left me feeling like I was missing something —- like there was some big meaning that I wasn’t understanding.

If this was not a Lorrie Moore book, I would have not finished it.

This was my first ever Lorrie Moore novel. Can say that it won't be my last. Can also say that I understand the hype surrounding her.

This was such a surreal exploration of grief and love told via a road trip involving a teacher who is transporting the reanimated corpse of his off and on again girlfriend to a forensic body farm. The writing in these sections absolutely shimmered and shone and I think, these were the strongest sections of the book. Interspersed within these chapters are letters from a woman to her dead sister involving her experience with a racist boarder post Civil War along with some characters that feel like uncanny avatars of the present day characters of the road trip -- Finn and Lily.

I don't think this novel, for me, reached an ultimately satisfying conclusion and I think the book would be stronger in its themes and execution with the total exclusion of the epistolary chapters. Mostly because the letters just....end without much in the way of a conclusion and the backstory could've easily been woven throughout the present frame after Finn found the diary.

But overall, this was a pretty solid read and I definitely understand the hype and the cult of Lorrie Moore. Not sure I'm a disciple yet but we'll see in the future!

Thank you the author and Knopf for the ARC! ❤️

I was so excited to get my hands on a Lorrie Moore book. There's no one who writes as beautifully as Moore can and this book is no exception. The story for this one is hard to explain and if you like a clean, simple story, this book is likely not for you. This involves a teacher who loves conspiracy theories, a cross country trip, a clown, some ghost, hospice death, and so much more that doesn't seem like they could come together to hold a story. But underneath it all, it's about grief and humanity and love. And Lorrie Moore never disappoints with her writing.

with gratitude to netgalley and Knopf for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. What a beautiful experience it was reading this book. The “plot” is a man dealing with grief and loss - it’s the writing, however, that makes this short book a work of art. The characters are complex and the dialogue is masterful - a brother visiting his dying brother in Hospice - what do you say? How do you make conversation knowing that at any moment, he may be gone? Lorrie Moore found a way to make bedside baseball conversation loving and sad and funny and awful - just with her words. Amazing. Thanks to Knopf for this one. Go read it asap.

This was not for me. I've read other work by Lorrie Moore and have enjoyed the work she does with words and meanings and connections, but this felt too manic for me, a constant swirl of guilt and memory mixed in with too much inanity to make it interesting or enlightening. It does capture some of the emotion of feeling hopeless and useless in the face of death, and the desire to push past that into a realm of irrationality and non-acceptance well, but to an introspective and repetitive point that felt meaningless to read.

I have to be honest that I am not quite sure what to write about this very short novel. It follows two narrators, one in the years after the Civil War who is writing letters to her sister and the other in more recent times as he deals with grief. The writing is beautiful and there are some profound insights but I think that I just need more from a book…interesting characters or a more of a plot. I am sure that there are some readers who will love this book for Lorrie Moore’s exquisite writing but I struggled to get through the brief 200 or so pages. I do think that I will pick up a short story collection from this author instead as I may appreciate the writing more in that format.

I received a digital Advanced Review Copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

With the exception of the occasional short story and perceptive book review, it's been ten years since Lorrie Moore has presented us with her gifts. Her eye is so acute that when meeting her in person, you tend to hide, sure that she'll recognize in you some glaring quality she can incorporate into future work. So, with great joy, I devour this book, knowing I'm in the hands of a master. So many evocative turns of phrase, especially "Celestial jokes" during a nightdrive across Ohio: ("He suspected he was in Ohio. When not paying attention in life he assumed you could end up in Ohio." ) ("Somewhere ahead and above him in the terrible spitfire of the stars was Orion or Perseus or the Chicago Bears. Who knew.") Who else could call Knoxville a "crickety town with sad spaghetti."

Finn, the central character, is faced with dealing with the deaths of the two most important people to him. His visits to Max, his older brother, in a Bronx hospice, were to me more involving than the road trip he takes with the ghost of Lily, his suicidal lover. As I am not a fan of otherworldly elements in fiction, I choose to believe she was in his head, not riding shotgun. All that being said, this book is evidence of Lorrie Moore's highly original work and facile mind.

Lorrie Moore at her ironic best. A look at love, dying, grief, and how absurdly we treat each other. I found this book too short, and will have to take a minute to keep myself from rereading immediately. There are too many quotable passages I want to savor again. Moore is a master. I recommend owning her books, to reread at your leisure. I received this as an ARC, so I will revisit in July to to recommend to my friends who might stay up all night for a good turn of phrase.

I love Lorrie Moore, and will continue to read everything she publishes. This novel was funny, if a little more difficult to get into than her previous novels and collections. But it is truly a singular work; Moore is such a talent. Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley!

Moore makes such great sentences. I so enjoy her observations and word play, but I did have trouble connecting to these characters. I found the beginning between the two brothers most affecting. Not my favorite of Moore's but I do appreciate the mental workout she provides her readers.

I loved Lorrie Moore's Birds of America, so I was excited to read my first novel by Moore. As with Birds in America, the writing is great and Moore is excellent at musing. Sadly, I had a hard time getting into the storyline. It's hard for me to say why exactly besides that I sometimes struggled to understand what was actually happening - perhaps that part of the point, but I always struggle with that in books. I still plan to check out more of Moore's previous work and whatever she comes out with next.

A story about grief and haunting, The writing was lyrical and beautiful.

I had not read Lorrie Moore before, So I was not waiting on her next novel, as so many other readers were . Overall it was enjoyable and I would be interested to read more (the backlist) from this author .

I’ll start by saying that was my first read from Lorrie Moore, and it certainly will not be my last! Although there were parts of it that had me so confused as to what was happening, I kept an open mind, and in the end I found it to be a pretty satisfying read. This book tapped into every one of my emotions and it was a rollercoaster ride of scenes shifting from ones I could directly relate with, to ones that had me questioning whether I was losing my mind. I can’t even tell you how many times I went back and reread passages just to make sure I was following along correctly. There were also several times when I said to myself, ‘wow she really went there’. It’s definitely on the weird side and this may be controversial, but I think the book could stand alone without the nineteenth century subplot and get the same message across with just Finn’s story. But for readers that don’t mind a little absurdity in their books and like to make their own interpretations, I think this book could be enjoyable for them.

Highlights of this book for me included the authors use of language. Moore is a master at alliteration and writing palatable and fun to read sentences. Next, I loved the scenes between Finn and his dying brother Max. That section just broke my heart and Moore did such an amazing job of making me understand the complexities of their relationship, and how strong their unspoken fraternal love was. On the other hand, I found most of the scenes with Finn and his professed love, Lily infuriating. Finn could not stop talking about the unconditional romantic love he felt for her, and for me, she didn’t deserve any of it. I found more believability expressed in the silent, mundane moments he shared with his brother than any actual words or acts of love he continually showered Lily with. There were several times in this book that I was so angry at Finn for his decisions, but I forced myself to remember that love is often blind (and can apparently lack an olfactory system too!!). We also can’t control who we love or who loves us in return, nor can we be the reason someone chooses to live or die. Regardless of all the ups and downs I had with this short novel, it left an impression that will be hard to shake and it will be a tough one to forget about which means the author probably achieved exactly what they set out to do.

I’m still digesting, but I think this is a wonderful book, a funny and wrenching novel about death and living and the whole damn thing. Moore writes affectingly about love and survival and the tumble drier of life, the ups, downs and obligations just to keep going. Her writing is so fresh and often deliciously comic. Did I think the ride with the corpse of Lily went on too long? Yes, but it was dreamy and surreal and inventive as far as using every known term for physical decay. The historical letters added a salty edge. A curious work, but it establishes its own niche. Impressive.

Short, dreamlike, absurd, frustrating, not-without-warmth, insightful. Lorrie Moore explodes grief, reverses that explosion, and zooms in to our molecular protagonist, Finn, whose life is all but falling apart. Dying brother, dying ex. I am a SUCKER for dialogue heavy books, and two-person stories. We get a section for Finn+Max, his brother( my favorite part of the book), and we get a section for Finn+Lily, his ex. We also get, briefly, the story of a civil war era boarding house owner writing to her sister; this part was extremely enjoyable. This book was fun! Lorrie really lays it on heavy with the wittiness, but there’s so much that if a line doesn’t land, you’re not far from a line that does. I loved the dreamlike absurdity and odd tone. I don’t think Lorrie Moore’s humor aligns much with mine, but she still got me to laugh out loud. If you want a short, bizarre, dreamlike, dialogue-heavy book about grief, this is the book for you.

Somewhere between fantastical love story, road trip novel, and romantic ghost story sits Lorrie Moore’s newest novel.

I am not going to say everyone should read this novel. It’s not for everyone. It grapples with death face on (literally, the main character Finn is an Orpheus in the underworld character, able to see his love in death). In fact, let’s lean into the Orpheus in the Underworld scaffolding of the novel. Finn interacts with Lily, his deceased ex who took her own life. When he visits her grave, she seems alive, asking him to please drop her at a body farm where she can be used for research. I am caught between imagining if their relationship resurrects or dies as he interacts with dead Lily. I guess it depends on your definition of a break up.

Interspersed throughout the novel are civil war era letters from Eliz. to her beloved sister. As tough as their lives are, she says she remains vainly interested in heaven. It brings the question, what lives on after we die? Is every story a relationship from the last, transported across time and place and bodies, always the same? Is that what they mean when they say history repeats itself? Or is it more micro? Are we always caught in the same dance when we are around the same people? Is growth a fantasy?

Beautifully told, especially in the middle third of the book. Thank you @aaknopf for this copy!

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.