I recently finished reading Lorrie Moore’s newest collection of short stories, “Bark.” I must admit I have no name recognition of Lorrie Moore nor, as far as I can remember, have I read anything she has written. My loss.
Each story can be read in one sitting. Each deals in some way with loving another person and how empty one feels when that person is no longer in one’s life. Inspite of the loss, life does go on. “Wings, the longest of the eight stories in the collection, deals with three people. KC, Dench, and Milt. KC and Dench are out of work musicians, who are renting a house in a small town. KC on her daily walk to get coffee at a local shop, meets Milt, a lonely, widower living in a very large house. As KC’s relationship with Milt grows, her feelings for Dench change and utlimately turn to contempt.
Because these are short stories, the author focuses only on whats important to tell that story. No overblown prose or inflated story lines. Whether you read one or all, “Bark” is storytelling at its best.