Plenty of novels to choose from

"As with most [Lorrie] Moore characters, her dialogue-- witty, allusive, never merely expository-- is less a reflection of how real people speak than how they should. (This is sometimes said as a criticism of Moore, but it shouldn't be. For readers who prefer their narrators to be drearily realistic mediocrities, there are plenty of novels to choose from)." --Deborah Friedell, "The Family That Slays Together" (review of The Gate at the Stairs) in the London Review of Books, 19 November 2009.