A Compendium of Skirts: Stories [Hardcover]

Phyllis Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2002

Warmhearted humor, quirky relationships, and playful turns of plot distinguish this charming story collection from Phyllis Moore. So do the somewhat frivolous, somewhat valiant, and mostly misguided women of Moore’s fractured world. Beautifully written and immediately accessible, A Compendium of Skirts is a moving, wise, and heartwarming book about life and love in our time. Poignant, mischievous, and very, very funny, Phyllis Moore’s fiction debut limns the curious, confounded lives of women in flux.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Short and sweet and to the point, the seven stories in this promising debut collection exuberantly explore the relationships that make life bearable. In a rueful examination of brother/sister love, "The Language Event," set at the Indy 500, manages to be rowdy and exquisitely wistful at the same time. Moore strikes another significant chord in "Big Pink and Little Minkie," conjuring magic by exploring the tenuous but often poignant truths to be gleaned from the mundane commuter experience. She hits the ball out of the park with the near novella-length "A History of Pandas," a flawless exercise in characterization. This sharp portrayal of sisterhood sings, as the narrator, called Sweet Pea, examines the root of her boundless adoration of her sibling Lydia, a preschool teacher whose early widowhood has forged a bond between the two that time can not diminish. In "Rembrandt's Bones," a professor of art history deals with two simultaneous deaths a student's suicide and the natural death of sugar-loving Opal, a childhood mentor who taught her to love words and always to appreciate the unexpected. Revealing a spiritual kinship with Lewis Nordan, Moore writes matter-of-fact yet outlandish sentences that read like tiny novels "Opal's Cousin Alma was married to my second cousin J.W. and when J.W. died, Alma showed up at the funeral with a lady-pink pistol and shot him five times in his open coffin before they could get the gun away from her. They couldn't figure out what to charge her with." Although all of the female narrators speak with nearly the same wry and self-aware voice, readers will enjoy this buoyant collection.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In her first collection, which includes stories that have been published in various magazines and literature reviews, Moore exhibits a writing style reminiscent of 1960s rebel fiction that is often simultaneously cynical and ingenuous. In "The Language Event," for instance, Mary Louise goes to Indianapolis to reunite with her brother Richard, who lives in a camper with his friend, Chit. Moore evokes the past in both language and situation when she observes of the camper, "[They] had gone in on it together. They pooled their money, their carburetor skills When it was all fixed up and running, they painted it pink." Her colorful descriptions also evoke vivid mental pictures, e.g., "Corrine, to this day, has always held England responsible for the instability in her life, the kind of instability brought on by peas on a plate in a boat on rough waters." Unfortunately, Moore's style can also make her pieces feel dated without purpose. There are hints of substance, but the prevailing desire to skim seems more to the point. For larger collections.
Patricia Gulian, South Portland, ME
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (June 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786709898
• ISBN-13: 978-0786709892
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,699,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable eye couple with expressive skills., March 17, 2007

By 

Stuart A. Lichtman (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Compendium of Skirts (Paperback)

My relationship partner just handed me a copy of a literary magazine, "The Sun." On the back page, I found an ad for one of their workshops that asks the highly relevant question, "Is is possible to write about ourselves in a way that touches others and reminds them of our fundamental connectedness? Can we describe an intensely personal event without being narcissistic or luridly confessional?"

The answer in Phyllis Moore's case is a resounding yes.

This is a book to be savored. I recommend it most strongly.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Stuff, November 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Compendium of Skirts: Stories (Hardcover)

What an entertaining and moving collection of stories. I couldn't recommend this more.