Self-Help

By Lorrie Moore

From the national bestselling author of A Gate at the Stairs—and a master of contemporary American fiction—comes “a funny, cohesive, and moving collection of stories" (The New York Times Book Review). 

In these tales of loss and pleasure, lovers and family, a woman learns to conduct an affair, a child of divorce dances with her mother, and a woman with a terminal illness contemplates her exit. Filled with the sharp humor, emotional acuity, and joyful language Moore has become famous for, these nine glittering tales marked the introduction of an extravagantly gifted writer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 22, 2012
• ISBN: 9780307816894

Lorrie Moore

LORRIE MOORE is the author of the story collections Bark,Birds of America,Like Life, and Self-Help and the novels Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? and Anagrams. Her work has won honors from the Lannan Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the Irish Times International Prize for Fiction, the Rea Award for the Short Story, and the PEN/Malamud Award.

Reviews for Self-Help

[kymmac · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reread these fabulous stories because Blanca and I are starting a two-women book club with the story How to Talk to your Mother (Notes). Amazing writing.

[Oluwabukunmi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

outstanding experience. Help me write a self-help blog www.neuroscientia.com thanks

[burritapal · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

DNF @~50%
None of the stories I read would I have rated more than two stars.

"What is beautiful is seized."
A line from one of the stories; it's true. Seized, and ruined.

[stravinsky-544320 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

well, the second-person instructional style for some of the stories was interesting, but the novelty wore off in the middle of the second story that used it.

I really enjoyed the epigraphs.

[viviennestrauss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Outstanding! I could start right back over at the beginning again.

[caitdub · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoy Moore's short stories. She's a beautiful writer. Apperently this was her first publication and she was in her 20's when it pub'd! EEk. Favorite stories from this one include: "How to Be an Other Woman," "What is Seized," "How," and "Go Like This." Her use of the second person is brilliant in "How to Be an Other Woman."

[maritimer_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Self-Help was published 28 years ago, yet all of the blurbs on the cover of this recent edition praise the author, never the book. This can't be a good sign. These are early Moore stories and it shows. The central characters are mostly the same: clever-ish, self-absorbed, and leading messy, messy lives. Many of the stories are written in a truncated imperative (Tuck it in your pocket - Wonder who you are - Leave him with a sink full of dirty dishes). This wears thin. My take: Pass on these early stories - Try the later Moore - Read Birds of America.

[cecily2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really good! Though I enjoyed both of her novels more. This may have been partly because I like novels more than short stories in general, but it was also partly because I thought a lot of the stories were slightly more depressing and slightly less funny than her other writing.

But, it was still good. I especially loved "How to Become a Writer."

[randymetcalfe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lorrie Moore’s first collection of short stories, originally published in 1985, displays all the wit, anxious punning, and well-earned despair for which she is now well known. Many of the stories are written in the imperative, instructional, second-person, which lends them a curious urgent listlessness. The first in the collection, “How to Be an Other Woman,” is almost breathtaking with its Mavis Gallant-like heroine slowly disintegrating in a claustrophobic New York. It would be hard for any collection of eight further stories to equal such a fine beginning, but Moore comes close with “The Kid’s Guide to Divorce” or “How to Talk to Your Mother (Notes)”. For sheer worrying fun, turn to “How to Become a Writer.” It is a cautionary tale of compulsion and (almost) unrelenting discouragement. Still, for some, I suppose writing is the only self-help they can muster; perhaps it ought to have been recommended to some of the other sad heroines of these studies.Collectively Moore’s stories present a world of uncertain relations, personal and interpersonal decay, a fractious superficiality, cold inconsistent men and tentatively demanding women. Action is muted. As though no conceivable action could rescue certainty from such an indifferent universe. Which perhaps is only to say that Moore appears to have tapped into the very spirit of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. And then there is the verbal playing which, when all else fails, at least offers a bit of a laugh, even if it sounds hollow before it fades away.Always worth reading.

[oldblack-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Of course, not all of these stories are equally good, but the best is brilliant. Extremely funny at times, extremely depressing at others. Always with a great skill with words and phrases and an astute observation of the human condition.

[mariakhristina · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked the short stories, however after a while the author's writing style becomes repetitious. It is a good style and the author does it well but I feel as if these stories would stand better on their own rather then collected in a book. The stories have the same formula: woman protagonist, problem or issue with a man in her life, feminist undertones, third person limited point of view. But she is able to tell different stories using this structure that make the reader become involved with said female protagonist.

[nivramkoorb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the 3rd book that I have read by Lorrie Moore in 2 months. It was interesting to read this after just finishing her latest. Her style is consistent. She does not write about happy topics, but I love the insight into people. She also has great creativity in the styles that she uses for different stories. Lorrie is great with words and challenges the reader to find the subtlety of her characters. A great writer that I have just discovered. I look forward to reading the rest of her books.

[miriamparker_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

All of these stories are great. Especially "How to Be a Writer" read that aloud to your students whenever possible.

[diefledermaus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This slender volume of stories depicts troubled relationships in varying states of decay with a sure and smooth hand. Moore is able to create a wide range of voices; it is only on finishing the book that you realize how different all her narrators were. Many of the stories feature women in bad relationships, but Moore never seems to be repeating herself. Probably the most notable technique in this book is the author's frequent use of the second person narrator. She describes as 'you' have an affair, stay in a relationship you're not committed to, remember your mother, suspect your partner of adultery and try to become a writer. Her choice of narrative voice nicely syncs up with the book's title and is also ironic since many of the second person stories describe the self-destructive things you do, instead of providing advice. It also gives the reader a sense of how some of the events described happen without you consciously desiring it and wondering how you ever got to that point. For example, the first story "How to Be an Other Woman" describes as "you" conduct an affair. Here, the second person narrator never meant to get so deeply involved in the situation and wonders how she could possibly have put herself in such a demeaning position. The narrative voice implicates the reader in the relationship, and you find yourself swept along in the developments, hoping that 'you' finally end it. The opposite situation is in the story "How": here, you're the one who's not into the relationship, but inertia, pity and ambivalence keep you from ending it. Those two were my favorites, for the narrative style, the humor and also the little details that Moore adds. In the first story, Moore describes your underemployment:"Unfortunately, you have lost the respect of all but one of your coworkers and many of your superiors as well, who are working in order to send their daughters to universities so they won't have to be secretaries, and who, therefore, hold you in contempt for having a degree and being a failure anyway. It is like having a degree in failure."And some great lines:"When you were six you thought mistress meant to put your shoes on the wrong feet. Now you are older and know it can mean many things, but essentially it means to put your shoes on the wrong feet.""Wonder about mistress courses, certification, resumes. Perhaps you are not really qualified.""What is Seized" is narrated in the first person and movingly describes the narrator's mother's discontent in her marriage to a cold man."The Kid's Guide to Divorce" is a short tale, with a bittersweet end."Go Like This" is in the first person again, and a complete change from the previous stories with young, unsure narrators. The woman in this story is coldly, rationally, preparing her own suicide, but finds that she can't keep the emotions at bay."How to Talk to your Mother (Notes)" was, in my opinion, the weakest story. It moves backwards in time, but never answers some of the questions that you learn about initially. Also, it was lacking the telling details that characterize the other pieces."Amahl and the Night Visitors: A Guide to the Tenor of Love" is again in the second person and about cheating. This time, you wonder if your lover is having an affair."How to Become a Writer" is pretty funny and makes you wonder how much Moore based on her own experiences. You make a lot of hilarious, but poorly informed, writing choices, such as an update of Moby Dick featuring "a menopausal suburban husband named Richard, who because he is so depressed all the time is called 'Mopey Dick'".The last story, "To Fill" is about a seemingly average wife and mother who descends into madness. The story has a near apocalyptic tone, which in some ways reminded me of the great "The Day of the Locust".