Short-listed for the Orange Prize in April, award-winning novelist Lorrie Moore has managed to shock readers and entice her critics with her third novel, A Gate at the Stairs. The novel follows the story of a young child-minder in America aged by tragedy. Eleanor Beaton reckons it’s great for the train.

At 20 years old, Tassie Keltjin is already afloat in the strange world of college, work and first loves. Self-proclaimed “fresh from childhood”, she is unprepared for the changes 9/11 inflicts on the world. Though the terrorist attacks initially appear less significant than her more present concerns, their repercussions slowly seep into her world, irrevocably tangling strands of her life.

Sarah and Edward, the foster parents of Emmie, whom Tassie is hired to care for, maintain an awkward distance from each other and, to an extent, from Tassie. They draw her into their strange society obsessed with presentation and image. Sarah neurotically strives for perfection in all aspects of her life, crafting beautiful dishes for her restaurant while attempting to control the way her adopted daughter Emmie will fit into society as a black child with white parents, growing up in a white town.

Both Sarah and Tassie remain in the past. For Sarah, this is a time outside the novel, where old tragedies linger. For Tassie, it is her quiet childhood on the farm with her brother. Neither can settle in their new worlds but merely watch other people, drifting.

This translates into a detached, observational tone wherever Tassie appears throughout the novel. Information is passed to the reader from snippets of conversations which float up the stairs, beyond the gate. Tassie’s literal interpretations of overheard voices allow the reader to adopt a similar distance to the outside world, preferring her more comical perspective. The phrase “Well, that’s hogwash” prompts Tassie to muse, “I had once seen a hog washed. In whey.”

This is a great read which follows the subtle changes from childhood to adulthood. Narrating a challenging time in Tassie’s life, A Gate at the Stairs reveals the route she takes in weaving through the difficulties she encounters, with increasing self-awareness and innocent charm, while maintaining realism. It’s definitely a novel to pack for a train journey.

Get A Gate at the Stairs for £3.20 from Amazon
Eleanor Beeton

To keep up with Eleanor follow @ebeeton on Twitter.

Get reading with us. We’re working our way through the Orange Prize 2010 list.