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Review
`At 80 Munro is still one of our most fearless explorers of the human being, as she descends, time and again, headlamp on full beam, pickaxe and butter-knife at the ready.' --The Times
`Alice Munro, winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize, is sometimes called the `Canadian Chekhov' for her mastery of the short-story form. This new selection... proves that the nickname, for all that it's become a cliché, is well deserved.' --Time Out
`Munro's writing does what proper literature should do - plunges you into reality in all its knotty complexities...Munro transcends the short form.' --Sunday Telegraph
`Munro is so good that one gropes for superlatives...(her) stories read like short novels; entire lives comprehended in a peripheral glimpse, an uncanny anticipation, a sudden intuition.' --Sunday telegraph
`Munro...is an astute and lavishly confident writer, her clean, well-shaped sentences delivering a near constant supply of stinging insight, together with moments of wonderful soft-fingered grace. Her economy with words can be dazzling.' --New Statesman
`(Munro's) artistry...recalls the close attention and cool detachment of a psychoanalyst.' --Times Literary Supplement
`perfect for any lucky person who has not yet discovered her, and a treat for her die-hard fans.'
--Psychologies
`Alice Munro, winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize, is sometimes called the `Canadian Chekhov' for her mastery of the short-story form. This new selection... proves that the nickname, for all that it's become a cliché, is well deserved.' --Time Out
`Munro's writing does what proper literature should do - plunges you into reality in all its knotty complexities...Munro transcends the short form.' --Sunday Telegraph
`Munro is so good that one gropes for superlatives...(her) stories read like short novels; entire lives comprehended in a peripheral glimpse, an uncanny anticipation, a sudden intuition.' --Sunday telegraph
`Munro...is an astute and lavishly confident writer, her clean, well-shaped sentences delivering a near constant supply of stinging insight, together with moments of wonderful soft-fingered grace. Her economy with words can be dazzling.' --New Statesman
`(Munro's) artistry...recalls the close attention and cool detachment of a psychoanalyst.' --Times Literary Supplement
`perfect for any lucky person who has not yet discovered her, and a treat for her die-hard fans.'
--Psychologies
Book Description
A new selection of Alice Munro's short stories spanning her last five collections: The Love of a Good Woman; Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage; Runaway; The View from Castle Rock; and Too Much Happiness, which brings together her finest work from the past fifteen years.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Why is Alice Munro regarded widely described as one of the greatest female short story writers, yet also perhaps read less than this accolade would suggest?
This selection from five collections covering the decade 1998-2009 displays the key aspects of her writing. On one hand, stories which are often as long as 30-40 pages, loosely plotted to allow digressions into the lives of various characters, generally lacking in suspense or dramatic endings, or pithy punchlines. On the other, very acute observation of human behaviour and empathy with their thoughts and emotions, a strong sense and apparent love of the Canadian landscape and seasons, and a deceptive rambling in stories which maintain a clear underlying purpose and momentum.
I particularly enjoyed "The Bear came over the Mountain", about a sensitive and creative woman whose Alzheimer's has become sufficiently serious for her husband to place her in a home. When she forms an attachment to another resident, is this a kind of revenge for her husband's serial infidelity? What makes this story interesting is that it is written from the husband's perspective. Although sad in places, this is too insightful and at times sharply witty to be depressing.
On a lighter note, I appreciated "Chance" about an academically inclined but uncertain young woman on the brink of her adult life and possible career, who responds to a letter from a married man she has met by chance on a train. To what extent is she choosing her fate?
The three stories selected from "Too much Happiness" were the ones I enjoyed most in that collection: the woman who has suffered terribly from a controlling man, the woman estranged from a son whom she loves who drifts into a lifestyle she finds alien, and, most gripping of all, the widow who has to deal with a sinister guest.
I found it hard to get into the first story "The Love of a Good Woman" which seemed quite disjointed with too diffuse an opening section for me. "My Mother's Dream" written apparently from the viewpoint of a baby is also highly original and imaginative, but not to everyone's taste.
Perhaps one is most drawn to the stories which reflect one's own experience, so that the range of Munro's topics make it likely that there will be something for everyone. Also, each story gives a great deal to discuss, as we are likely to come away with some different perceptions of each tale.
This selection from five collections covering the decade 1998-2009 displays the key aspects of her writing. On one hand, stories which are often as long as 30-40 pages, loosely plotted to allow digressions into the lives of various characters, generally lacking in suspense or dramatic endings, or pithy punchlines. On the other, very acute observation of human behaviour and empathy with their thoughts and emotions, a strong sense and apparent love of the Canadian landscape and seasons, and a deceptive rambling in stories which maintain a clear underlying purpose and momentum.
I particularly enjoyed "The Bear came over the Mountain", about a sensitive and creative woman whose Alzheimer's has become sufficiently serious for her husband to place her in a home. When she forms an attachment to another resident, is this a kind of revenge for her husband's serial infidelity? What makes this story interesting is that it is written from the husband's perspective. Although sad in places, this is too insightful and at times sharply witty to be depressing.
On a lighter note, I appreciated "Chance" about an academically inclined but uncertain young woman on the brink of her adult life and possible career, who responds to a letter from a married man she has met by chance on a train. To what extent is she choosing her fate?
The three stories selected from "Too much Happiness" were the ones I enjoyed most in that collection: the woman who has suffered terribly from a controlling man, the woman estranged from a son whom she loves who drifts into a lifestyle she finds alien, and, most gripping of all, the widow who has to deal with a sinister guest.
I found it hard to get into the first story "The Love of a Good Woman" which seemed quite disjointed with too diffuse an opening section for me. "My Mother's Dream" written apparently from the viewpoint of a baby is also highly original and imaginative, but not to everyone's taste.
Perhaps one is most drawn to the stories which reflect one's own experience, so that the range of Munro's topics make it likely that there will be something for everyone. Also, each story gives a great deal to discuss, as we are likely to come away with some different perceptions of each tale.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you read any Alice Munro you will know that she is the best short story writer of all time. If you have not, you are lucky because there a number of collections awaiting you. You will not be disappointed.
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
My wife says she can't put this book down. She's new to Alice Munroe and I bought this after an unusually unanimous positive review on BBC2's The Review Show. She thinks the quality of writing is some of the best she has read in years and I'm looking forward to reading it after she's finished.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Alice Munro selected stories
As I bought this for my mother, I can only rate this 5 stars based on the way the book was delivered, packaged etc
Published 4 months ago by Tash
amazing prose
I love Alice Munro and although some of these stories have been published previously her writing will mesmerise and transfix you
Published 4 months ago by Caj
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