‘Charades’ by Lorrie Moore

Charades by Lorrie Moore, 1992

The magic trick:

Bravely mining family relationships

Think of this as the unfriendly cousin of Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Drawing Names.” In both stories, the protagonist is back home (of sorts) with parents and siblings and family for Christmas. Here, Lorrie Moore’s protagonist is at her parents’ new house in Bethesda, Maryland. She’s booked her return flight for the afternoon of Christmas Day, if that gives you any indication about her level of holiday cheer.

It’s early 90s Moore, so you know it’s going to be clever, lonely, and very funny. But, wow, this one is so very, very detailed. There simply is no way a lot of this isn’t drawn from the author’s real life – siblings, marriages, everything. Not to say Lorrie Moore had a sister living in Bethesda, Maryland. That’s not the point. It’s just that the reality of these relationships and characters must be pulled liberally from her own experience.

And in doing that, it’s very brave. She goes deep here. These people are put on stage warts and all. Their relationships, and the tiny, realistic selfish details under the surface, are laid bare.

It might sound like a basic job of the fiction writer – the ability to bravely draw detail from real life. But I’m not sure many, when you really look at it, get so damn personal as Lorrie Moore.

And that’s quite a trick on Moore’s part.

The selection:

“I don’t know why you couldn’t catch a later flight,” says Therese’s sister, Ann. She is scowling. Ann is the youngest, and ten years younger than Therese, who is the oldest, but lately Ann’s voice has taken up a prissy and matronly scolding that startles Therese. “Four-thirty,” says Ann, pursing her lips and propping her feet up on the chair next to her. “That’s a little ridiculous.” Her shoes are pointy and Victorian-looking. They are green suede – a cross between a courtesan’s and Peter Pan’s.

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