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乇賯氐丞 丕賱馗賱丕賱 丕賱爻毓賷丿丞
賮鬲丕丞賹 氐睾賷乇丞賹 鬲鬲賰卮賻賾賮 賱賴丕 賱賲丨丞 睾賷乇 賲鬲賵賯毓丞 毓賳 賲丕囟賷 兀亘賷賴丕 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲購丿乇賽賰 兀賳 夭賷丕乇丞 丕賱賲亘賷毓丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 兀噩乇賷丕賴丕 賮賷 氐丨亘丞 兀禺賷賴丕 亘毓丿 馗賴賷乇丞 兀丨丿 兀賷丕賲 丕賱氐賷賮 兀孬賳丕亍 丕賱賰爻丕丿 丕賱賰亘賷乇 賰丕賳鬲 賱丨亘賷亘鬲賴 丕賱賯丿賷賲丞. 丕賲乇兀丞賹 賲鬲夭賵噩丞賹 鬲毓賵丿 賱賲賳夭賱 毓丕卅賱鬲賴丕 亘毓丿 賵賮丕丞 賵丕賱丿鬲賴丕 丕賱毓賱賷賱丞 賵鬲丨丕賵賱 兀賳 鬲丨乇乇 兀禺鬲賴丕 丕賱鬲賷 賲賰孬鬲 亘丕賱賲賳夭賱 賱鬲賲乇賷囟 賵丕賱丿鬲賴丕貙 賵兀賳 鬲賵噩賽賾賴賴丕 賳丨賵 賲爻鬲賯亘賱 賵丕毓丿. 賮賷 丨賮賱 毓夭賮 毓賱賶 丕賱亘賷丕賳賵 賱賱兀胤賮丕賱貙 賷鬲賱賯賻賾賶 丕賱丨囟賵乇 丿乇爻賸丕 賷賲賱丐賴賲 丿賴卮丞賸 丨賵賱 賯賵丞 丕賱賮賳 賵賯丿乇鬲賴 毓賱賶 丕賱鬲睾賷賷乇貙 賵匕賱賰 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲毓夭賮 胤丕賱亘丞 賲賳 匕賵賷 丕賱丕丨鬲賷丕噩丕鬲 丕賱禺丕氐丞 亘賲賴丕乇丞 賮賳賷丞 睾賷乇 賲鬲賵賯毓丞 賵亘乇賵丨 賲賳 丕賱賲乇丨.
賮賷 賴匕賴 丕賱賯氐氐貙 賵賮賷 丕孬賳鬲賷 毓卮乇丞 賯氐丞賸 兀禺乇賶 亘丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞貙 鬲購亘丨賽乇 兀賱賷爻 賲賵賳乇賵 賮賷 丨賷丕丞 兀卮禺丕氐 毓丕丿賷賷賳 亘乇丐賷丞 睾賷乇 毓丕丿賷丞貙 賵鬲購亘乇賽夭 賱賱毓賷丕賳 丕賱賲賵賴亘丞賻 丕賱賮丕卅賯丞賻 丕賱鬲賷 賷丨鬲賮賷 亘賴丕 丕賱噩賲賷毓 丕賱丌賳. 賵賲丕 賴匕賴 丕賱賯氐氐 鈥� 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丿賵乇 兀丨丿丕孬賴丕 賮賷 丕賱賲夭丕乇毓貙 賵毓賱賶 囟賮丕賮 丕賱兀賳賴丕乇貙 賵賮賷 丕賱賲丿賳 丕賱賲毓夭賵賱丞 賵丕賱囟賵丕丨賷 丕賱噩丿賷丿丞 亘睾乇亘 兀賵賳鬲丕乇賷賵 鈥� 廿賱丕 丕賳鬲亘丕賴 賲爻鬲賳賷乇 廿賱賶 鬲賱賰 丕賱賱丨馗丕鬲 丕賱孬乇賷賻賾丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲鬲噩賱賶 賮賷賴丕 丕賱丕賰鬲卮丕賮丕鬲 賲賳 亘賷賳 孬賳丕賷丕 丕賱禺亘乇丕鬲 賵丕賱鬲噩丕乇亘 丕賱鬲賷 鬲賰賲賳 丨鬲賶 禺賱賮 兀賰孬乇 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱鬲賯賱賷丿賷丞 賮賷 丕賱丨賷丕丞.
賮賷 賴匕賴 丕賱賯氐氐貙 賵賮賷 丕孬賳鬲賷 毓卮乇丞 賯氐丞賸 兀禺乇賶 亘丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞貙 鬲購亘丨賽乇 兀賱賷爻 賲賵賳乇賵 賮賷 丨賷丕丞 兀卮禺丕氐 毓丕丿賷賷賳 亘乇丐賷丞 睾賷乇 毓丕丿賷丞貙 賵鬲購亘乇賽夭 賱賱毓賷丕賳 丕賱賲賵賴亘丞賻 丕賱賮丕卅賯丞賻 丕賱鬲賷 賷丨鬲賮賷 亘賴丕 丕賱噩賲賷毓 丕賱丌賳. 賵賲丕 賴匕賴 丕賱賯氐氐 鈥� 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丿賵乇 兀丨丿丕孬賴丕 賮賷 丕賱賲夭丕乇毓貙 賵毓賱賶 囟賮丕賮 丕賱兀賳賴丕乇貙 賵賮賷 丕賱賲丿賳 丕賱賲毓夭賵賱丞 賵丕賱囟賵丕丨賷 丕賱噩丿賷丿丞 亘睾乇亘 兀賵賳鬲丕乇賷賵 鈥� 廿賱丕 丕賳鬲亘丕賴 賲爻鬲賳賷乇 廿賱賶 鬲賱賰 丕賱賱丨馗丕鬲 丕賱孬乇賷賻賾丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲鬲噩賱賶 賮賷賴丕 丕賱丕賰鬲卮丕賮丕鬲 賲賳 亘賷賳 孬賳丕賷丕 丕賱禺亘乇丕鬲 賵丕賱鬲噩丕乇亘 丕賱鬲賷 鬲賰賲賳 丨鬲賶 禺賱賮 兀賰孬乇 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱鬲賯賱賷丿賷丞 賮賷 丕賱丨賷丕丞.
244 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
404 people are currently reading
5313 people want to read
About the author
Alice Munro
228听books6,500听followersCollections of short stories of noted Canadian writer Alice Munro of life in rural Ontario include
Dance of the Happy Shades
(1968) and
Moons of Jupiter
(1982); for these and vivid novels, she won the Nobel Prize of 2013 for literature.
People widely consider her premier fiction of the world. Munro thrice received governor general's award. She focuses on human relationships through the lens of daily life. People thus refer to this "the Canadian Chekhov."
(Arabic: 兀賱賷爻 賲賵賳乇賵)
(Persian: 丌賱蹖爻 賲丕賳乇賵)
(Russian Cyrillic: 协谢懈褋 袦邪薪褉芯)
(Ukrainian Cyrillic: 袝谢褨褋 袦邪薪褉芯)
(Bulgarian Cyrillic: 袗谢懈褋 袦褗薪褉芯)
(Slovak: Alice Munroov谩)
(Serbian: Alis Manro)
People widely consider her premier fiction of the world. Munro thrice received governor general's award. She focuses on human relationships through the lens of daily life. People thus refer to this "the Canadian Chekhov."
(Arabic: 兀賱賷爻 賲賵賳乇賵)
(Persian: 丌賱蹖爻 賲丕賳乇賵)
(Russian Cyrillic: 协谢懈褋 袦邪薪褉芯)
(Ukrainian Cyrillic: 袝谢褨褋 袦邪薪褉芯)
(Bulgarian Cyrillic: 袗谢懈褋 袦褗薪褉芯)
(Slovak: Alice Munroov谩)
(Serbian: Alis Manro)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 493 reviews
May 14, 2023
4.5鈽�
鈥淭he word girl had formerly seemed to me innocent and unburdened, like the word child; now it appeared that it was no such thing. A girl was not, as I had supposed, simply what I was; it was what I had to become. It was a definition, always touched with emphasis, with reproach and disappointment. Also it was a joke on me.
. . .
My grandmother came to stay with us for a few weeks and I heard other things. 鈥楪irls don't slam doors like that.鈥� 鈥楪irls keep their knees together when they sit down.鈥� And worse still, when I asked some questions, 鈥楾hat's none of girls鈥� business.鈥� I continued to slam the doors and sit as awkwardly as possible, thinking that by such measures I kept myself free.鈥�
Canadian author Alice Munro鈥檚 short stories are enormously popular. This was her very first book, published in 1968, and I understand there is a lot from her own life in here. One of the stories, 鈥淏oys and Girls鈥� begins 鈥淢y father was a fox farmer鈥�. Munro鈥檚 father was a fox farmer. There are a couple of other stories told from this particular girl鈥檚 point of view. They focus on what she sees as the dull life of women and the interesting lives of men.
鈥淚t seemed to me that work in the house was endless, dreary and peculiarly depressing; work done out of doors, and in my father's service, was ritualistically important.鈥�
There are several stories about girls and boys in small towns with nothing much to do. My own observations are that seems to be an issue of age, not place. Young people in their middle and late teens are anxious to get out, to anywhere 鈥榚lse鈥�, where life is lively and people are interesting. There is never anything 鈥榯o do鈥� in a hometown. There鈥檚 鈥榥othing for the kids鈥�, is the common complaint in communities today.
Munro shows that what they mostly want to do is be with each other, away from their parents and other adults. And they resent the pressure they feel to please their parents. In 鈥淩ed Dress鈥�, the girl鈥檚 mother has made her a special dress for a dance, all the while reciting her same old stories about growing up with second-hand clothes.
鈥淚 was afraid she was going to start again on the story of her walking seven miles to town and finding a job waiting on tables in a boarding-house, so that she could go to high school.鈥�
She goes to the dance with a friend, they sneak out to smoke, 鈥渓ive dangerously鈥�, and once back inside, she is stunned to be asked to dance. Not only that, the boy walks her home. She has surprised herself. Perhaps she is not a failure.
鈥淚t was all true. My life was possible. I went past the kitchen window and I saw my mother. She was sitting with her feet on the open oven door, drinking tea out of a cup without a saucer. She was just sitting and waiting for me to come home and tell her everything that had happened. And I would not do it, I never would. But when I saw the waiting kitchen, and my mother in her faded, fuzzy Paisley kimono, with her sleepy but doggedly expectant face, I understood what a mysterious and oppressive obligation I had, to be happy, and how I had almost failed it, and would be likely to fail it, every time, and she would not know.鈥�
An oppressive obligation to be happy . . . or at least to pretend to be. The things we do to our children, and still do. A timeless tale about 鈥榮uccess鈥�.
鈥淭he Shining Houses鈥�, deals with a problem that is possibly worse today than when this was written. It鈥檚 about the 鈥榯one鈥� of the neighbourhood in a new subdivision. You know, one of those areas that has opened up around some existing old homes so that young, first-home owners can move in and start new families
鈥淭he place had become fixed, impregnable, all its accumulations necessary, until it seemed that even the wash-tubs, mops, couch springs and stacks of old police magazines on the back porch were there to stay.
. . .
鈥楽he's been here forty years, now we're here,鈥� Carl said. 鈥楽o it goes. And whether you realize it or not, just standing there that house is bringing down the resale value of every house on this street. I'm in the business, I know.鈥�
And these were joined by other voices; it did not matter much what they said as long as they were full of self-assertion and anger. That was their strength, proof of their adulthood, of themselves and their seriousness. The spirit of anger rose among them, bearing up their young voices, sweeping them together as on a flood of intoxication, and they admired each other in this new behaviour as property-owners as people admire each other for being drunk.鈥�
I just love the way Munro depicts these young snobs as thinking they are now grown-ups, because they are talking about property and values, just like their parents do. Mary tries to question the group about the old lady鈥檚 right to her life there. Nobody agrees or applauds, as they would in stories.
鈥�. . . but in real life they all smiled in rather a special way and you saw that what you had really done was serve yourself up as a conversational delight for the next coffee party.鈥�
. . .
鈥楴obody wants to turn her out just for the fun of it,鈥� Carl said. 鈥業ts unfortunate. We all know that. But we have to think of the community.鈥�鈥�
Yeah, right. 鈥楾he community.鈥� Except for the original one.
I do enjoy Munro鈥檚 stories. The people and their lives, circumstances, and settings all feel real. There are 15 in this debut, and you can read many of her stories here, for free, including 鈥淏oys and Girls鈥�, from which I quoted.
She won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature for her work as "master of the contemporary short story". Enjoy some of her work now.
鈥淭he word girl had formerly seemed to me innocent and unburdened, like the word child; now it appeared that it was no such thing. A girl was not, as I had supposed, simply what I was; it was what I had to become. It was a definition, always touched with emphasis, with reproach and disappointment. Also it was a joke on me.
. . .
My grandmother came to stay with us for a few weeks and I heard other things. 鈥楪irls don't slam doors like that.鈥� 鈥楪irls keep their knees together when they sit down.鈥� And worse still, when I asked some questions, 鈥楾hat's none of girls鈥� business.鈥� I continued to slam the doors and sit as awkwardly as possible, thinking that by such measures I kept myself free.鈥�
Canadian author Alice Munro鈥檚 short stories are enormously popular. This was her very first book, published in 1968, and I understand there is a lot from her own life in here. One of the stories, 鈥淏oys and Girls鈥� begins 鈥淢y father was a fox farmer鈥�. Munro鈥檚 father was a fox farmer. There are a couple of other stories told from this particular girl鈥檚 point of view. They focus on what she sees as the dull life of women and the interesting lives of men.
鈥淚t seemed to me that work in the house was endless, dreary and peculiarly depressing; work done out of doors, and in my father's service, was ritualistically important.鈥�
There are several stories about girls and boys in small towns with nothing much to do. My own observations are that seems to be an issue of age, not place. Young people in their middle and late teens are anxious to get out, to anywhere 鈥榚lse鈥�, where life is lively and people are interesting. There is never anything 鈥榯o do鈥� in a hometown. There鈥檚 鈥榥othing for the kids鈥�, is the common complaint in communities today.
Munro shows that what they mostly want to do is be with each other, away from their parents and other adults. And they resent the pressure they feel to please their parents. In 鈥淩ed Dress鈥�, the girl鈥檚 mother has made her a special dress for a dance, all the while reciting her same old stories about growing up with second-hand clothes.
鈥淚 was afraid she was going to start again on the story of her walking seven miles to town and finding a job waiting on tables in a boarding-house, so that she could go to high school.鈥�
She goes to the dance with a friend, they sneak out to smoke, 鈥渓ive dangerously鈥�, and once back inside, she is stunned to be asked to dance. Not only that, the boy walks her home. She has surprised herself. Perhaps she is not a failure.
鈥淚t was all true. My life was possible. I went past the kitchen window and I saw my mother. She was sitting with her feet on the open oven door, drinking tea out of a cup without a saucer. She was just sitting and waiting for me to come home and tell her everything that had happened. And I would not do it, I never would. But when I saw the waiting kitchen, and my mother in her faded, fuzzy Paisley kimono, with her sleepy but doggedly expectant face, I understood what a mysterious and oppressive obligation I had, to be happy, and how I had almost failed it, and would be likely to fail it, every time, and she would not know.鈥�
An oppressive obligation to be happy . . . or at least to pretend to be. The things we do to our children, and still do. A timeless tale about 鈥榮uccess鈥�.
鈥淭he Shining Houses鈥�, deals with a problem that is possibly worse today than when this was written. It鈥檚 about the 鈥榯one鈥� of the neighbourhood in a new subdivision. You know, one of those areas that has opened up around some existing old homes so that young, first-home owners can move in and start new families
鈥淭he place had become fixed, impregnable, all its accumulations necessary, until it seemed that even the wash-tubs, mops, couch springs and stacks of old police magazines on the back porch were there to stay.
. . .
鈥楽he's been here forty years, now we're here,鈥� Carl said. 鈥楽o it goes. And whether you realize it or not, just standing there that house is bringing down the resale value of every house on this street. I'm in the business, I know.鈥�
And these were joined by other voices; it did not matter much what they said as long as they were full of self-assertion and anger. That was their strength, proof of their adulthood, of themselves and their seriousness. The spirit of anger rose among them, bearing up their young voices, sweeping them together as on a flood of intoxication, and they admired each other in this new behaviour as property-owners as people admire each other for being drunk.鈥�
I just love the way Munro depicts these young snobs as thinking they are now grown-ups, because they are talking about property and values, just like their parents do. Mary tries to question the group about the old lady鈥檚 right to her life there. Nobody agrees or applauds, as they would in stories.
鈥�. . . but in real life they all smiled in rather a special way and you saw that what you had really done was serve yourself up as a conversational delight for the next coffee party.鈥�
. . .
鈥楴obody wants to turn her out just for the fun of it,鈥� Carl said. 鈥業ts unfortunate. We all know that. But we have to think of the community.鈥�鈥�
Yeah, right. 鈥楾he community.鈥� Except for the original one.
I do enjoy Munro鈥檚 stories. The people and their lives, circumstances, and settings all feel real. There are 15 in this debut, and you can read many of her stories here, for free, including 鈥淏oys and Girls鈥�, from which I quoted.
She won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature for her work as "master of the contemporary short story". Enjoy some of her work now.
May 15, 2024
"Finjo recordar mucho menos de lo que en realidad recuerdo, por miedo a quedar atrapada en la nostalgia o emociones que no deseo."
鈥淒anza de las sombras鈥� (Dance of the Happy Shades) fue la primera colecci贸n de cuentos de Alice Munro que se public贸 en 1968 y que hasta ahora hab铆a permanecido in茅dito en Espa帽a. Se hace raro volver a los inicios de una autora de la que me lo he le铆do casi todo, y digo que se hace raro porque aqu铆 en estos primeros relatos todav铆a no hab铆a madurado del todo, o por lo menos, no se hab铆a liberado de algunas formas de las que luego se liber贸 convirti茅ndose en una autora 煤nica e inigualable. Aqui en estos quince relatos todav铆a no est谩n muy desarrolladas sus famosas elipsis y en general son cuentos que se destacan por ser relatos por mujeres, ni帽as, adolescentes, que viven normalmente en una zona rural y de alguna forma son conscientes que no encajan, se asfixian y quiz谩 sue帽en con alejarse de este mundo cerrado de apariencias. Son cuentos donde Alice Munro elabora un argumento m谩s o menos convencional si lo comparamos a su trabajo posterior, y as铆 y todo son unos cuentos magn铆ficos. Quiz谩 alguien que se acerque por primera vez al trabajo de Alice Munro pueda pensar que en sus historias no pase nada, o por lo menos nada extraordinario鈥� 驴pero no es ya suficientemente extraordinario el d铆a a d铆a, batallar con ciertas emociones y/o liberarse de ciertas cadenas?? Pues eso, que en los cuentos de Alice Munro pasan continuamente cosas extraordinarias pero sin algarab铆as, en lo m谩s 铆ntimo.
"En cuanto a m铆, aprovechaba el momento quiz谩 m谩s perfecto e 铆ntimo del d铆a, me arropaba bien y retomaba alguna de las historias que me inventaba cada noche. Eran historias protagonizadas por m铆, solo que un poco m谩s mayor, y transcurr铆an en un mundo reconocible, pero donde se presentaban oportunidades para demostrar valor, audacia y sacrificio que en el m铆o nunca surg铆an."
A continuaci贸n algunas reflexiones en torno a estos cuentos mientras los le铆a:
1.El vaquero de Walkers Brothers: Llevo todo el d铆a d谩ndole vueltas a este cuento, maravilloso. El punto de vista es el de una ni帽a que por primera vez parece ser consciente de la realidad de la vida a trav茅s de sus padres, el primer paso de consciencia de adulta. Un incidente durante una salida con su padre, quiz谩 la haga darse cuenta de que su padre a帽ora algo del pasado, y que su madre no sea fel铆z. Maravilla.
2. Las casas flamantes: La modernidad enfrentada a la destrucci贸n de lo antiguo. Una nueva urbanizaci贸n de casas igualitas unas a otras, y en medio, la casa vieja de la se帽ora Fullerton, con sus gallinas y su jard铆n salvaje. La obsesi贸n por las apariencias, por jugar a parecerse a los ricos, a trav茅s del simbolo de sus casas, pone sobre el tapete la hipocres铆a de la sociedad en la que vivimos. L煤cida Munro.
3. Im谩genes: De nuevo tenemos aqu铆 a una narradora en la forma de una ni帽a que va explorando el mundo a trav茅s de sus mayores. Su madre est谩 enferma y la cuida la enfermera de la familia, Mary, un agente externo que ha venido a hacer cambios en su casa. Por otra parte, el incidente al principio del relato, en el bosque me parece magn铆fico, por la forma en que se manifiesta lo desconocido y el misterio para esta ni帽a.
4. Gracias por el paseo: De las pocas veces, quiz谩 la 煤nica en la que el narrador en un relato de la Munro es masculino. Dos chicos que llegan a un pueblo desconocido conocen a dos chicas, quieren pasar el rato, sin embargo, aunque el protagonismo parece ejercido por ellos, son ellas, sobre todo Lois, quien llevar谩n el control de la narraci贸n y quien dejar谩 huella en la historia.
"-驴A qu茅 es gracioso?- dijo - Las chicas se pasan todo el invierno hablando del 煤ltimo verano, hablan y hablan de esos tipos, y te apuesto lo que quieras a que ellos no se acuerdan ni de c贸mo se llaman..."
5. El Despacho: En este cuento Alice Munro hace un homenaje a Virginia Woolf y su habitaci贸n propia. La narradora es una escritora que alquila una habitaci贸n para poder escribir fuera del 谩mbito dom茅stico, un respiro de unas pocas horas a la semana. Alice Munro, sin aspavientos, y con coherencia, relata lo dif铆cil que es para una ama de casa con hijos, encontrar un remanso de paz. Relato autobiogr谩fico s铆 o s铆.
"- Como tampoco es normal que una mujer joven, que dice estar casada y con hijos, se pase las horas escribiendo a m谩quina como una posesa.
(...)
- Y una cosa m谩s: afirma ser escritora. Pues ver谩, leo bastante y nunca he visto su nombre impreso."
6. Mejor el remedio: Un relato sobre el primer amor, la primera decepci贸n y de paso, la primera borrachera. Un cuento muy l煤cido sobre una adolescente que quer铆a morirse pero por poco tiempo... pronto su vida se llen贸 con otras cosas. Mientras tanto la Munro hace un esbozo sobre la vida familiar y sobre la angustia adolescente, apenas en dos trazos.
7. La hora de la muerte: uno de esos cuentos donde la protagonista es la muerte, pero tambi茅n la infancia, cuya mirada le quita dramatismo a este acontecimiento donde los adultos sufren, pero, esto no significa que los ni帽os no sientan ese dolor, solo que la vida que bulle en ellos los hace distanciarse del drama. Es un cuento duro por c贸mo lo cuenta la autora, no es doloroso en su sentido m谩s tr谩gico.
8. El d铆a de la mariposa: en este cuento vuelve a haber una ni帽a enfrentada a las injusticias de la vida, en este caso, enfrentada a una compa帽era de clase que no es tan afortunada, que no forma parte de del grupo de las populares. Hay un instante de amistad entre ella y la menos afortunada, un breve momento de conexi贸n鈥�
9. Chicos y chicas: Puede que sea el cuento m谩s impactante, el mejor cuento de esta colecci贸n. La ni帽a podr铆a ser la misma ni帽a del primer cuento. El vaquero de Walkers Brothers, y del tercer cuento, Im谩genes. La infancia enfrentada a la vida adulta, en toda su dureza, pero tambi茅n en toda su naturalidad, la vejez, la muerte. Cuento magistral.
10. Postal: Uno de esos relatos t铆picos de Alice Munro que en cuanto lo terminas, te tienes que ir al principio de nuevo a buscar un dato al que no le hab铆as prestado atenci贸n y que puede esclarecer mucho en una historia contada casi entrel铆neas. El giro casi en el segundo tercio de la historia es como una explosi贸n que te hace conocer de verdad a su protagonista, Helen. Un cuento para releer.
11. El vestido rojo, 1946: Una adolescente enfrentada a su primer baile en el instituto, con todo lo que esto significa en una edad donde no se encaja en ninguna parte. El eterno conflicto entre encajar y hacer lo que hacen todos o nadar contra corriente y rebelarse, es a lo que se enfenta en un momento dado la chica. Relato contado en primera persona, muy munroniano.
"12. Domingo por la tarde: Alva trabaja de sirvienta para los Gannett, es muy joven y probablemente sea su primer empleo. Alice Munro explora las diferencias de clase y la hipocres铆a en torno a las apariencias, al mismo tiempo que somos testigos de c贸mo Alva es consciente del hecho de que no es una igual, aunque intente enga帽arse al respecto. La simbologia del delantal que debe cambiarse es su realidad del d铆a a d铆a.
"No os vay谩is a creer que me siento sola y pisoteada y todas esas cosas que les pasan a las sirvientas. No permitir铆a que nadie se pasara de la raya. Aparte de que no soy una sirvienta, en realidad, es solo un trabajo de verano. No me siento sola 驴por qu茅 iba a sentirme as铆? Simplemente observo y siento inter茅s. Madre, por supuesto que no puedo comer con ellos. No seas rid铆cula. Y adem谩s, prefiero comer sola."
13. Un viaje a la costa: Un cuento que puede que no est茅 a la altura del resto, pero cuyo final permanece y deja marca, y dentro de que es un final donde la vida se presenta en todo su poder铆o, tiene adem谩s un tono de humor soterrado que lo hace brillante. En estos cuentos de los inicios la elipsis no estaba todav铆a tan presente, pero as铆 y todo el enigma de la vida s铆 que aparece en cada l铆nea.
14. La Paz de Utrecht: El cuento que definir谩 lo que vendr谩 despu茅s, cuando el texto de Alice Munro evolucione en capas y capas de significados entre lineas. Dos hermanas enfrentadas a un pasado; una se march贸 y se liber贸 y la otra se qued贸 a cuidar de la madre. Cuando se re煤nen de nuevo, la sensaci贸n que me produce el relato es que no se puede narrar mejor lo que es la vida en los peque帽os detalles鈥�
15. Danza de las sombras: De nuevo un cuento sobre las apariencias y sobre la hipocres铆a en algunas fiestas de cara a la galeria. La protagonista, una adolescente, es casi inconscientemente la observadora de c贸mo su madre se comporta injustamente adoptando una pose de superioridad. El final me ha recordado much铆simo al relato de James Joyce, "Los Muertos". Broche de oro para una colecci贸n de relatos maravillosos. La traducci贸n es de Eugenia V谩zquez Nacarino.
"-Est谩 llorando.
-Dej茅moslo -zanj贸 mi padre. Y con resignaci贸n, incluso de buen humor, pronunci贸 las palabras que me absolv铆an y me exclu铆an para siempre-. Es solo una chica."
August 20, 2012
Intro (this piece inspired the title story):
Does anyone remember Steve鈥檚 review of Lydia Davis鈥檚 when he said 鈥淟ydia Davis shits out tiny nuggets of pure golden prose and says 'oh, this old thing鈥�'?鈥滻 didn鈥檛 exactly agree with him on the , but I would love to steal that quote and use it in reference to Alice Munro.
Alice Munro is a master story teller. No, she didn鈥檛 twist my brain into knots and exasperate me. No, she didn鈥檛 leave me tingling from titillating tales. She didn鈥檛 make my soul sink into some dark place. She simply tells great stories.
I had been unfamiliar with Alice Munro prior to my Summer of Women read-a-thon. Dance of the Happy Shades is her first collection of short stories (欧宝娱乐, it is NOT her 8th collection) and is the winner of the Governor General鈥檚 Award (a big deal up there in Canada). Alice Munro has been touted as the greatest living short story writer.
If not for the words containing a superfluous 鈥榰鈥� here and there (colourful, flavourful), I would have been convinced Munro was writing about the American south. In fact, her writing reminded me a bit of Flannery O鈥機onnor as she expertly explored the life of the 鈥渆very (wo)man.鈥�
This is such a heartfelt collection and I鈥檓 so happy to have stumbled upon it. It was one of those serendipitous moments: days before I saw it in the two dollar bin at the book store, Steve recommended I try some Alice Munro. Don鈥檛 you love those happy little coincidences?
"She sat with her legs folded under her looking out at the road where she might walk now in any direction she liked, and the world which lay flat and accessible and full of silence in front of her." (from A Trip To the Coast)
Outro:
January 24, 2022
I like reading and re-reading the first books of the writers I love. They have a certain charm, and an indication of the origins from which their later works flow. They also show the early point of recurring themes, revisited places, and an overall sense of development achieved when compared to the works that followed.
All of these short stories are set in small towns which resemble Munro's hometown of Wingham, Ontario. It was clear while reading these stories that a lot of the material is drawn from memory. An interesting fact I learned about two days ago is that these stories are responsible for seven decades worth of hostility. Elements of a story matching with certain real life events that involve a tragic death, as well as people of the town feeling that characters in the book were actual people who lived in Wingham and who, according to them, were depicted in an unsavoury light, are to blame. The hostility was so great that threats of bodily harm against Munro had her seek protection from the town police when she visited her hometown for a literary festival. Her town accepts her more warmly now, and that she won a Nobel might have something to do with it.
This would be a good place for someone who hasn't read Munro. Not only because these are good stories, but also because the only place to go from here is up as the writing becomes richer, more complex, and more refined with the later works.
All of these short stories are set in small towns which resemble Munro's hometown of Wingham, Ontario. It was clear while reading these stories that a lot of the material is drawn from memory. An interesting fact I learned about two days ago is that these stories are responsible for seven decades worth of hostility. Elements of a story matching with certain real life events that involve a tragic death, as well as people of the town feeling that characters in the book were actual people who lived in Wingham and who, according to them, were depicted in an unsavoury light, are to blame. The hostility was so great that threats of bodily harm against Munro had her seek protection from the town police when she visited her hometown for a literary festival. Her town accepts her more warmly now, and that she won a Nobel might have something to do with it.
This would be a good place for someone who hasn't read Munro. Not only because these are good stories, but also because the only place to go from here is up as the writing becomes richer, more complex, and more refined with the later works.
March 1, 2013
Dance of the Happy Shades by Alice Munro
I really liked this book.
I liked it a LOT.
Ok鈥� I loved it!
I鈥檝e been meaning to read work by Alice Munro for a while so when I found a second hand copy of Dance of the Happy Shades for a few dollars, I picked it up.
This book is a Governor General鈥檚 Award winning collection of short stories.
The following quote by Hugh Garner in the forward to this book, pretty much, in my opinion, describes the quality and essence of Ms. Munro鈥檚 writing.
鈥淭he second-rate writers, the writers manques, the professional-commerical writers, find it impossible to write about ordinary people in ordinary situations, living ordinary lives, and make the people, their lives and their situations not only plausible and pleasurable but artistically alive. Hence their reliance on the grotesque, the far-out theme, the 鈥渄ifferent鈥� or snob character, and the exotic or non-existent locale. The literary artist, on the other hand, uses people we all know, situations which are familiar to us and places we know or remember.鈥�
In this collection, Alice Munro does an amazing job of telling stories of ordinary people in ordinary situations who seem very real and often remind you of someone you know - family, friends, even yourself. Many of the stories are sad, some make you angry, others will have you nodding your head, 鈥測up鈥� I know someone like that鈥�. What they all have in common is beautifully detailed descriptions that paint visual images in your mind.
In The Shining Houses a new subdivision is being built in an old area of town creating a divide between the old and the new. New homes filled with young families and perfect lawns sit across the road from very old, original farmhouses, dilapidated yet still occupied. I see this situation a lot where I live because home construction is booming and spreading to the countryside. These young, upscale suburbanites do not appreciate the view from their front windows and agree to try enforcing laws to have the old farmhouses bulldozed by the town.
In The Office a married woman with children rents office space above a store where she can write her novel in peace and quiet, away from the normal bustle of her home. Unfortunately, the landlord constantly pesters her creating more frustration and annoyance than she would have experienced at home.
An Ounce of Cure is a story about a young babysitter who is left in charge of sleeping children while the parents and their friends go out for the night. Helen is from a family which doesn鈥檛 drink alcohol so when she sees bottles sitting on the counter, she becomes curious and experiments with mixing drinks. Disaster results.
The time of Death is a very, very sad story. A poor family loses their youngest child due to an unfortunate accident. There is kindness shown by friends and neighbours towards the mother while the reaction of the eldest daughter, who was responsible for the incident, is strangely inappropriate.
Dance of the Happy Shades is my favourite story. The piano teacher reminds me exactly of my husband鈥檚 piano teacher. She is quite elderly and continues to teach and hold recitals that nobody really wants to attend. But鈥� she is a wonderful lady who is kind to everyone. Parents of children she teaches, sadly, don鈥檛 see her that way and are frustrated having to attend the recitals. When developmentally challenged children attend the latest recital, mothers in attendance are shocked that she would invite these kids to play. Play they do鈥� very beautifully, leaving those in attendance mesmerized by the music.
Alice Munroe had this book published in 1968 and continues to write today. I look forward to reading more of her stories.
I really liked this book.
I liked it a LOT.
Ok鈥� I loved it!
I鈥檝e been meaning to read work by Alice Munro for a while so when I found a second hand copy of Dance of the Happy Shades for a few dollars, I picked it up.
This book is a Governor General鈥檚 Award winning collection of short stories.
The following quote by Hugh Garner in the forward to this book, pretty much, in my opinion, describes the quality and essence of Ms. Munro鈥檚 writing.
鈥淭he second-rate writers, the writers manques, the professional-commerical writers, find it impossible to write about ordinary people in ordinary situations, living ordinary lives, and make the people, their lives and their situations not only plausible and pleasurable but artistically alive. Hence their reliance on the grotesque, the far-out theme, the 鈥渄ifferent鈥� or snob character, and the exotic or non-existent locale. The literary artist, on the other hand, uses people we all know, situations which are familiar to us and places we know or remember.鈥�
In this collection, Alice Munro does an amazing job of telling stories of ordinary people in ordinary situations who seem very real and often remind you of someone you know - family, friends, even yourself. Many of the stories are sad, some make you angry, others will have you nodding your head, 鈥測up鈥� I know someone like that鈥�. What they all have in common is beautifully detailed descriptions that paint visual images in your mind.
In The Shining Houses a new subdivision is being built in an old area of town creating a divide between the old and the new. New homes filled with young families and perfect lawns sit across the road from very old, original farmhouses, dilapidated yet still occupied. I see this situation a lot where I live because home construction is booming and spreading to the countryside. These young, upscale suburbanites do not appreciate the view from their front windows and agree to try enforcing laws to have the old farmhouses bulldozed by the town.
In The Office a married woman with children rents office space above a store where she can write her novel in peace and quiet, away from the normal bustle of her home. Unfortunately, the landlord constantly pesters her creating more frustration and annoyance than she would have experienced at home.
An Ounce of Cure is a story about a young babysitter who is left in charge of sleeping children while the parents and their friends go out for the night. Helen is from a family which doesn鈥檛 drink alcohol so when she sees bottles sitting on the counter, she becomes curious and experiments with mixing drinks. Disaster results.
The time of Death is a very, very sad story. A poor family loses their youngest child due to an unfortunate accident. There is kindness shown by friends and neighbours towards the mother while the reaction of the eldest daughter, who was responsible for the incident, is strangely inappropriate.
Dance of the Happy Shades is my favourite story. The piano teacher reminds me exactly of my husband鈥檚 piano teacher. She is quite elderly and continues to teach and hold recitals that nobody really wants to attend. But鈥� she is a wonderful lady who is kind to everyone. Parents of children she teaches, sadly, don鈥檛 see her that way and are frustrated having to attend the recitals. When developmentally challenged children attend the latest recital, mothers in attendance are shocked that she would invite these kids to play. Play they do鈥� very beautifully, leaving those in attendance mesmerized by the music.
Alice Munroe had this book published in 1968 and continues to write today. I look forward to reading more of her stories.
Read
November 15, 2022Guau, cuant铆simo he disfrutado con esta hermos铆sima primera colecci贸n de relatos de Alice Munro. Me han parecido de una delicadeza, una intimidad y una hermosura fascinantes.
Es un libro sobre primeras veces (primeras amistades, amores, despedidas, actos de empoderamiento鈥�) y transcurre en un universo rural y a煤n algo inocente que parece estar a punto de ser engullido por la modernidad.
Munro ha conseguido trasladarme a un universo que no conozco: al que la rode贸 durante su crianza, pero tambi茅n al de su propia visi贸n del mundo. Y me ha hipnotizado con c贸mo disecciona a las personas y a las cosas que le rodean.
Ha sido cerrar este libro y abrir su 驴novela? 芦La vida de las mujeres禄. Bravo.
Es un libro sobre primeras veces (primeras amistades, amores, despedidas, actos de empoderamiento鈥�) y transcurre en un universo rural y a煤n algo inocente que parece estar a punto de ser engullido por la modernidad.
Munro ha conseguido trasladarme a un universo que no conozco: al que la rode贸 durante su crianza, pero tambi茅n al de su propia visi贸n del mundo. Y me ha hipnotizado con c贸mo disecciona a las personas y a las cosas que le rodean.
Ha sido cerrar este libro y abrir su 驴novela? 芦La vida de las mujeres禄. Bravo.
October 31, 2022
Vannak 铆r贸k, akik zsenialit谩sa kirobban谩sokban mutatkozik meg. Azt谩n vannak 铆r贸k, akiknek a zsenialit谩sa maga a st铆lus, amit fel茅p铆tettek maguknak. Ut贸bbiakr贸l marha neh茅z 茅rt茅kel茅st 铆rni, hisz a negyedik k枚tetn茅l m谩r unalmas megint ugyanazokat a jelz艖ket puffogtatni - de h谩t mit csin谩ljunk, ha egyszer az 铆r贸 nem hajland贸 v谩ltozni? Ha mindig k谩b茅 ugyan煤gy zseni谩lis, 茅s magasr贸l tesz r谩, hogy az 茅rt茅kel艖 viszont szeretn茅 v谩ltozatos 茅rt茅kel茅sekkel bizger谩lni figyel艖i idegv茅gz艖d茅seit?
Na, Munro ilyen 铆r贸. Ha kinyitok egy Munro-k枚tetet, akkor tudom, mit fogok kapni, valahogy 煤gy, ahogy egy k谩d j贸 forr贸 v铆zbe mer眉lv茅n is el艖re tudom, hogy alighanem egy kellemesen nedves 茅s ellaz铆t贸 茅rz茅sben lesz r茅szem, nem pedig sz谩raz 茅s dr谩mai tapasztalatban. A Munro-titoknak persze sok eleme van, 茅s ezek v谩ltakoz贸 intenzit谩ssal gondoskodnak az elbesz茅l茅sek erej茅r艖l, de 谩ltal谩ban v茅ve van benn眉k valami f茅lreismerhetetlen眉l k枚z枚s: a t茅r medd艖 t谩gass谩ga, az id艖 lustas谩ga, valamint az emberi kapcsolatokra val贸 茅rz茅kenys茅g. E novell谩k m茅ly茅n azonban mindig ott lapul az a paradoxon, ami a f茅nyk茅palbumokra jellemz艖: hogy k茅peik mozdulatlan, 枚r枚kk茅val贸s谩gba z谩rt jeleneteknek l谩tszanak, de pont f茅nyk茅p-voltuk tan煤skodik arr贸l, hogy visszaford铆thatatlanul elnyelte 艖ket az elm煤l谩s. 脡s b谩r a szerepl艖k von谩sai alkalmasint 茅les kont煤rokkal vannak meg枚r枚k铆tve, 茅s a v茅gtelens茅gig tanulm谩nyozhat贸ak, m茅gsem tudhatunk meg r贸lunk semmi biztosat.
(Az茅rt nem ez a legjobb Munro-k枚tet. Nekem hi谩nyzott az elbesz茅l茅sek t枚bbs茅g茅b艖l az a novell谩kon bel眉li j谩t茅k az id艖s铆kokkal, ami a szerz艖 kispr贸z谩iban olyan fantasztikus t谩vlatokat k茅pes nyitni. Mondhatni, ez a Munro-k枚tet kiss茅 konvencion谩lisabb a t枚bbin茅l. De mivel Munro mindig zseni谩lis, n谩la m茅g a nem olyan j贸 is nagyon j贸.)
Na, Munro ilyen 铆r贸. Ha kinyitok egy Munro-k枚tetet, akkor tudom, mit fogok kapni, valahogy 煤gy, ahogy egy k谩d j贸 forr贸 v铆zbe mer眉lv茅n is el艖re tudom, hogy alighanem egy kellemesen nedves 茅s ellaz铆t贸 茅rz茅sben lesz r茅szem, nem pedig sz谩raz 茅s dr谩mai tapasztalatban. A Munro-titoknak persze sok eleme van, 茅s ezek v谩ltakoz贸 intenzit谩ssal gondoskodnak az elbesz茅l茅sek erej茅r艖l, de 谩ltal谩ban v茅ve van benn眉k valami f茅lreismerhetetlen眉l k枚z枚s: a t茅r medd艖 t谩gass谩ga, az id艖 lustas谩ga, valamint az emberi kapcsolatokra val贸 茅rz茅kenys茅g. E novell谩k m茅ly茅n azonban mindig ott lapul az a paradoxon, ami a f茅nyk茅palbumokra jellemz艖: hogy k茅peik mozdulatlan, 枚r枚kk茅val贸s谩gba z谩rt jeleneteknek l谩tszanak, de pont f茅nyk茅p-voltuk tan煤skodik arr贸l, hogy visszaford铆thatatlanul elnyelte 艖ket az elm煤l谩s. 脡s b谩r a szerepl艖k von谩sai alkalmasint 茅les kont煤rokkal vannak meg枚r枚k铆tve, 茅s a v茅gtelens茅gig tanulm谩nyozhat贸ak, m茅gsem tudhatunk meg r贸lunk semmi biztosat.
(Az茅rt nem ez a legjobb Munro-k枚tet. Nekem hi谩nyzott az elbesz茅l茅sek t枚bbs茅g茅b艖l az a novell谩kon bel眉li j谩t茅k az id艖s铆kokkal, ami a szerz艖 kispr贸z谩iban olyan fantasztikus t谩vlatokat k茅pes nyitni. Mondhatni, ez a Munro-k枚tet kiss茅 konvencion谩lisabb a t枚bbin茅l. De mivel Munro mindig zseni谩lis, n谩la m茅g a nem olyan j贸 is nagyon j贸.)
January 2, 2017
Many words far better than the ones which I can put together into a sentence have been said about Alice Munro鈥檚 extraordinary talent. Many of those words have been directed at this book, her first collection of stories, and how remarkable it is for being a first collection of stories. Having read it one wonders why there haven鈥檛 been more words devoted to it or its author, why she, unfortunately, remains hidden away from most readers for no reason other than her chosen form. Alice Munro is a wonder, a treasure, the best living writer in the English language.
I read her books slowly, as I do with most short story collections, picking up stories and then putting the book down for a week or maybe longer at a time, and so I often spend four or five or six months reading the same collection. With other authors this doesn鈥檛 work, it seems, breathing so much between the stories, but with Munro it is the only way I can steal away enough determination to make it through her work. One doesn鈥檛 steal away determination for Munro because they are unpleasurable - in fact, I often want to read many of her stories back to back and force myself to put her work down, because you don鈥檛 rush your way through Munro anymore than you would rush your way through Beckett - but because they require attention. Not an inordinate amount, the magic of Munro being that the stuff happens and develops without the reader knowing it, but enough that you can鈥檛 half-ass your way through her stories.
But everything you give to Munro she gives back to you many times over. I read several of the stories in this collection many times, and with each reading I acquired a new and deeper understanding of her art, her characters, the fine, precise shaping of their humanity and surroundings. I would start stories, put them down feeling I couldn鈥檛 handle the tension, pick them up and in the first paragraphs discover some new sorcery, and both the first reading and the second would be startled by the end result of the story. And I would be quite unexpectedly weakened by that end results at times. The Office, for example, left me wandering the streets of Colombia for a few days with some inexplicable weariness, almost crying for a moment or two without realizing that I was almost crying for a moment or two. The Peace of Urtecht made me wonder at the borders of independence of servitude in family life. Images and Walker Brothers Cowboy made me wonder at the unknown and unknowable aspects of the world around us. Boy and Girls, have you read Boy and Girls?, because Boys and Girls is perhaps the greatest short story I have ever read about a young person confronting reality - which is, I suppose her central theme, the human spirit confronting and contorting their self to the demands of a unrelenting and unforgiving reality.
There are some astonishing classics here, as there are in any book by Munro, but here, as they often are with Munro, the stories are relentless in their consistent quality, hence why I needed space between them to recuperate and breathe. Red Dress-1946, Postcard, Sunday Afternoon, Dance of the Happy Shades, The Shining Houses. You could name nearly every single story in this collection and recommend it as a stellar example in the art of crafting and shaping literature.
Unfortunately, Munro has retired from writing, and so I don鈥檛 anticipate receiving any more of her wisdom in the coming years, and I wonder if she will allow her family to release the unreleased after she passes. Fortunately, I have enough books by her to keep me thrilled to read for years to come. Damn near too many, perhaps. I float in a sea of riches, or I drown in them; either way I am, with Munro, in a rare state of admiration and euphoria. Read this book, or any of her books, especially if you don鈥檛 like short stories, and especially if you like short stories.
I read her books slowly, as I do with most short story collections, picking up stories and then putting the book down for a week or maybe longer at a time, and so I often spend four or five or six months reading the same collection. With other authors this doesn鈥檛 work, it seems, breathing so much between the stories, but with Munro it is the only way I can steal away enough determination to make it through her work. One doesn鈥檛 steal away determination for Munro because they are unpleasurable - in fact, I often want to read many of her stories back to back and force myself to put her work down, because you don鈥檛 rush your way through Munro anymore than you would rush your way through Beckett - but because they require attention. Not an inordinate amount, the magic of Munro being that the stuff happens and develops without the reader knowing it, but enough that you can鈥檛 half-ass your way through her stories.
But everything you give to Munro she gives back to you many times over. I read several of the stories in this collection many times, and with each reading I acquired a new and deeper understanding of her art, her characters, the fine, precise shaping of their humanity and surroundings. I would start stories, put them down feeling I couldn鈥檛 handle the tension, pick them up and in the first paragraphs discover some new sorcery, and both the first reading and the second would be startled by the end result of the story. And I would be quite unexpectedly weakened by that end results at times. The Office, for example, left me wandering the streets of Colombia for a few days with some inexplicable weariness, almost crying for a moment or two without realizing that I was almost crying for a moment or two. The Peace of Urtecht made me wonder at the borders of independence of servitude in family life. Images and Walker Brothers Cowboy made me wonder at the unknown and unknowable aspects of the world around us. Boy and Girls, have you read Boy and Girls?, because Boys and Girls is perhaps the greatest short story I have ever read about a young person confronting reality - which is, I suppose her central theme, the human spirit confronting and contorting their self to the demands of a unrelenting and unforgiving reality.
There are some astonishing classics here, as there are in any book by Munro, but here, as they often are with Munro, the stories are relentless in their consistent quality, hence why I needed space between them to recuperate and breathe. Red Dress-1946, Postcard, Sunday Afternoon, Dance of the Happy Shades, The Shining Houses. You could name nearly every single story in this collection and recommend it as a stellar example in the art of crafting and shaping literature.
Unfortunately, Munro has retired from writing, and so I don鈥檛 anticipate receiving any more of her wisdom in the coming years, and I wonder if she will allow her family to release the unreleased after she passes. Fortunately, I have enough books by her to keep me thrilled to read for years to come. Damn near too many, perhaps. I float in a sea of riches, or I drown in them; either way I am, with Munro, in a rare state of admiration and euphoria. Read this book, or any of her books, especially if you don鈥檛 like short stories, and especially if you like short stories.
July 15, 2024
"Utrehtski mir" zaslu啪uje 膷istu desetku od mene. I ostale pri膷e su jako lijepe ali ova me ba拧 pogodila.
September 27, 2023
I just want to say that Alice Munro really hit me with this collection of short stories. I鈥檝e read and enjoyed a few here and there over the years, but this time it was like something just clicked, and by the end of each story, I couldn鈥檛 wait to know how the next story was going to be like (does this sound like an addiction?).
Anyway, the most impressive thing about this debut (published in 1968) is the fact that it doesn鈥檛 seem like a debut, at all.
As it usually happens when I read Alice Munro, I felt like her writing asked for some attention - not a lot though, just enough to make sure the reader would sometimes have to stop and think about what he just read (this is definitely not a playground!).
I鈥檒l also have to say, probably because these stories are so good but deceptively simple, I find it especially difficult to review them, so I鈥檓 just going to leave a little passage here to let the world know how I like my writing. Ah! Here it goes, from page two of story number five, The Office, I鈥檒l leave you with a perfect example of how masterfully Alice Munro sets the tone of a story and the actual setting, while developing the character at the same time, and all in just a few sentences:
At certain times, perhaps on long spring evenings, still rainy and sad, with the cold bulbs in bloom and a light too mild for promise drifting over the sea, I have opened the windows and felt the house shrink back into wood and plaster and those humble elements of which it is made, and felt the life in it subside, leaving me exposed, empty-handed, but feeling a fierce and lawless quiver of freedom, of loneliness too harsh and perfect for me now to bear. Then I know how the rest of the time I am sheltered and encumbered, how insistently I am warmed and bound.
You鈥檙e welcome.
Anyway, the most impressive thing about this debut (published in 1968) is the fact that it doesn鈥檛 seem like a debut, at all.
As it usually happens when I read Alice Munro, I felt like her writing asked for some attention - not a lot though, just enough to make sure the reader would sometimes have to stop and think about what he just read (this is definitely not a playground!).
I鈥檒l also have to say, probably because these stories are so good but deceptively simple, I find it especially difficult to review them, so I鈥檓 just going to leave a little passage here to let the world know how I like my writing. Ah! Here it goes, from page two of story number five, The Office, I鈥檒l leave you with a perfect example of how masterfully Alice Munro sets the tone of a story and the actual setting, while developing the character at the same time, and all in just a few sentences:
At certain times, perhaps on long spring evenings, still rainy and sad, with the cold bulbs in bloom and a light too mild for promise drifting over the sea, I have opened the windows and felt the house shrink back into wood and plaster and those humble elements of which it is made, and felt the life in it subside, leaving me exposed, empty-handed, but feeling a fierce and lawless quiver of freedom, of loneliness too harsh and perfect for me now to bear. Then I know how the rest of the time I am sheltered and encumbered, how insistently I am warmed and bound.
You鈥檙e welcome.
June 25, 2016
excellent writing and usually with interesting plots and eventual outcomes. The main downside for me is that I was never able to really identify with any of the different characters or feel something for them. I felt a little bit remote.
September 12, 2011
Like the children in fairy stories who have seen their parents make pacts with terrifying strangers, who have discovered that our fears are based on nothing but the truth, but who come back fresh from marvellous escapes and take up their knives and forks, with humility and good manners, prepared to live happily ever after-like them, dazed and powerful with secrets, I never said a word. (Images)
Thankfully Munro stores up those childhood secrets and works them with a strange alchemy into gold. This was her first collection of stories, written over a period of fifteen years or so and published in 1968 when she was in her mid thirties. They draw much on her childhood and youth, growing up in a hard-scrabble kind of poverty in rural Ontario, in rooms with a square of linoleum and views of sun-blasted fields outside the window.
She seems to have arrived in the world as a fully-fledged writer: it is the deceptive simplicity of her writing that betrays an incomparable talent. It's the kind of writing that seems effortless, and can only appear so by much hard work. She has an amazing way of getting a character up and running with a few pertinent lines of description, or revealing a whole mood in one image. In Sunday Afternoon Alva is working as a maid for the Gannetts for the summer. She is free after she's done the lunch dishes, but what is she to do? "Her room was over the garage, and very hot. Sitting on the bed rumpled her uniform, and she did not have another ironed. She could take it off and sit in her slip, but Mrs Gannett might call her, and want her at once." Sunday afternoon encapsulated.
Free and yet not free, cold and gentle, bizarre and domestic: Munro is fond of the apparently paradoxical pairing. These stories are, perhaps, a little straighter, a little less subtle than her later work, but her flinty wisdom transforms the mundane world of knives and forks, and turns the everyday into the wonder of a moment of revelation, and the soaring power that can come with understanding.
Thankfully Munro stores up those childhood secrets and works them with a strange alchemy into gold. This was her first collection of stories, written over a period of fifteen years or so and published in 1968 when she was in her mid thirties. They draw much on her childhood and youth, growing up in a hard-scrabble kind of poverty in rural Ontario, in rooms with a square of linoleum and views of sun-blasted fields outside the window.
She seems to have arrived in the world as a fully-fledged writer: it is the deceptive simplicity of her writing that betrays an incomparable talent. It's the kind of writing that seems effortless, and can only appear so by much hard work. She has an amazing way of getting a character up and running with a few pertinent lines of description, or revealing a whole mood in one image. In Sunday Afternoon Alva is working as a maid for the Gannetts for the summer. She is free after she's done the lunch dishes, but what is she to do? "Her room was over the garage, and very hot. Sitting on the bed rumpled her uniform, and she did not have another ironed. She could take it off and sit in her slip, but Mrs Gannett might call her, and want her at once." Sunday afternoon encapsulated.
Free and yet not free, cold and gentle, bizarre and domestic: Munro is fond of the apparently paradoxical pairing. These stories are, perhaps, a little straighter, a little less subtle than her later work, but her flinty wisdom transforms the mundane world of knives and forks, and turns the everyday into the wonder of a moment of revelation, and the soaring power that can come with understanding.
August 7, 2015
Con la Munro ritrovi un po' di te stessa, parti di te che credevi di avere perso, ma che improvvisamente emergono.
Nelle pagine di questa raccolta di racconti, la prima scritta dall'autrice e uscita nel 1968, vi sono immagini,sentimenti, luoghi e situazioni che fanno parte del corollario della Munro.
Sono racconti che parlano di noi, al nostro io, alla parte pi霉 intima e vera di ciascuno di noi, al nostro profondo svelandosi e svelandoci.
Ci貌 che sorprende dello stile di questa autrice 猫 la semplicit脿, la straordinaria capacit脿 di parlare, di raccontare e raccontarsi in modo chiaro, diretto, lineare arrivando diritto al cuore.
L'ultimo racconto "Danza delle ombre felici" che d脿 il titolo alla raccolta lascia amarezza, ma anche bellezza in chi si accinge a leggere queste pagine dense e piene di significato che raccontano chi siamo sotto ogni punto di vista.
Nelle pagine di questa raccolta di racconti, la prima scritta dall'autrice e uscita nel 1968, vi sono immagini,sentimenti, luoghi e situazioni che fanno parte del corollario della Munro.
Sono racconti che parlano di noi, al nostro io, alla parte pi霉 intima e vera di ciascuno di noi, al nostro profondo svelandosi e svelandoci.
Ci貌 che sorprende dello stile di questa autrice 猫 la semplicit脿, la straordinaria capacit脿 di parlare, di raccontare e raccontarsi in modo chiaro, diretto, lineare arrivando diritto al cuore.
L'ultimo racconto "Danza delle ombre felici" che d脿 il titolo alla raccolta lascia amarezza, ma anche bellezza in chi si accinge a leggere queste pagine dense e piene di significato che raccontano chi siamo sotto ogni punto di vista.
November 4, 2017
Find all my book reviews, plus fascinating author interviews, exclusive guest posts and book extracts, on my blog:
This is the second collection of short stories by Alice Munro I鈥檝e read. The first, Runaway, I described as 鈥榖leak鈥�. But having read this collection, which was actually the first she ever published, I think I was too harsh. Instead, I think I should have said 鈥榰nflinching in her observation鈥�. I鈥檓 going to pick out three stories that I think illustrate both Munro鈥檚 gift for observation and her ability to reveal the petty snobberies of small town life.
In 鈥榃alker Brothers Cowboy鈥�, Munro brilliantly conjures up the atmosphere of the small town where the narrator lives.
鈥楾hen my father and I walk gradually down a long shabby, sort of street, with Silverwoods Ice Cream signs standing on the sidewalk, outside tiny, lighted stores鈥he street is shaded, in some places, by maple trees whose roots have cracked and heaved the sidewalk and spread out like crocodiles into the bare yards. People are sitting out, men in shirt-sleeves and undershirts and women in aprons 鈥� not people we know but if anybody looks ready to nod and say, 鈥淲arm night鈥�, my father will nod too and say something the same.鈥�
In 鈥楽hining Houses鈥�, the residents of a new estate of 鈥榥ew, white and shining houses鈥� unite against the occupant of an old house who they believe is bringing down the value of their homes. Munro describes how the male residents of the new houses work on their properties at the weekends.
鈥楾hey worked with competitive violence and energy, all this being new to them; they were not men who made their livings by physical work. All day Saturday and Sunday they worked like this, so that in a year or two there should be green terraces, rock walls, shapely flower beds and ornamental shrubs.鈥�
Don鈥檛 you just love that phrase 鈥榗ompetitive violence鈥� to describe the sort of one-upmanship of neighbours?
In 鈥楾ime of Death鈥�, a tragic accident causes the other women of the community to rally round to support, Leona, the grieving mother.
鈥楲eona drew up her knees under the quilt and rocked herself back and forth as she wept, and threw her head down and then back (showing, as some of them noticed with a feeling of shame, the dirty lines on her neck).鈥�
That detail of the woman鈥檚 dirty neck is what I meant by the unflinching nature of Munro鈥檚 observation. And, there is a further sting in the tail because it becomes clear their support is only temporary for a woman they consider of a lower class.
鈥業n the dark overheated kitchen the women felt the dignity of this sorrow in their maternal flesh, they were humble before this unwashed, unliked and desolate Leona.鈥�
I really enjoyed these stories with their acute observation, dark humour and brilliant evocation of time and place. I hope if I鈥檇 read them when they were first published I鈥檇 have been adept enough to recognise Alice Munro as the huge literary talent she has since become.
This is the second collection of short stories by Alice Munro I鈥檝e read. The first, Runaway, I described as 鈥榖leak鈥�. But having read this collection, which was actually the first she ever published, I think I was too harsh. Instead, I think I should have said 鈥榰nflinching in her observation鈥�. I鈥檓 going to pick out three stories that I think illustrate both Munro鈥檚 gift for observation and her ability to reveal the petty snobberies of small town life.
In 鈥榃alker Brothers Cowboy鈥�, Munro brilliantly conjures up the atmosphere of the small town where the narrator lives.
鈥楾hen my father and I walk gradually down a long shabby, sort of street, with Silverwoods Ice Cream signs standing on the sidewalk, outside tiny, lighted stores鈥he street is shaded, in some places, by maple trees whose roots have cracked and heaved the sidewalk and spread out like crocodiles into the bare yards. People are sitting out, men in shirt-sleeves and undershirts and women in aprons 鈥� not people we know but if anybody looks ready to nod and say, 鈥淲arm night鈥�, my father will nod too and say something the same.鈥�
In 鈥楽hining Houses鈥�, the residents of a new estate of 鈥榥ew, white and shining houses鈥� unite against the occupant of an old house who they believe is bringing down the value of their homes. Munro describes how the male residents of the new houses work on their properties at the weekends.
鈥楾hey worked with competitive violence and energy, all this being new to them; they were not men who made their livings by physical work. All day Saturday and Sunday they worked like this, so that in a year or two there should be green terraces, rock walls, shapely flower beds and ornamental shrubs.鈥�
Don鈥檛 you just love that phrase 鈥榗ompetitive violence鈥� to describe the sort of one-upmanship of neighbours?
In 鈥楾ime of Death鈥�, a tragic accident causes the other women of the community to rally round to support, Leona, the grieving mother.
鈥楲eona drew up her knees under the quilt and rocked herself back and forth as she wept, and threw her head down and then back (showing, as some of them noticed with a feeling of shame, the dirty lines on her neck).鈥�
That detail of the woman鈥檚 dirty neck is what I meant by the unflinching nature of Munro鈥檚 observation. And, there is a further sting in the tail because it becomes clear their support is only temporary for a woman they consider of a lower class.
鈥業n the dark overheated kitchen the women felt the dignity of this sorrow in their maternal flesh, they were humble before this unwashed, unliked and desolate Leona.鈥�
I really enjoyed these stories with their acute observation, dark humour and brilliant evocation of time and place. I hope if I鈥檇 read them when they were first published I鈥檇 have been adept enough to recognise Alice Munro as the huge literary talent she has since become.
November 14, 2017
L'occhio nel cielo
Amo il realismo col quale Alice Munro racconta le sue storie e condivide con noi incontri, fantasie, emozioni. La immagino camminare per le sue piccole cittadine dell鈥橭ntario, catturare con lo sguardo i volti, con l鈥檜dito brani di conversazioni che le suggeriranno racconti. I suoi personaggi sono gente che vive di lavoro, piccoli commercianti, benzinai, venditori porta a porta e non si pongono problemi sofisticati. Un altro tratto che mi piace molto 猫 l鈥檃ssenza di moralismo e di ipocrisia. La sua fedelt脿 al mondo che l鈥檋a espressa fa comparire spesso famiglie che vivono di allevamento di volpi o di cattura di altri animali, perch茅 ammazzare per vivere non sembrava strano, prima che le pellicce sfilassero in passerella e ci si chiedesse se era necessario sopprimere 20 bestiole per ripararsi dal freddo. Questa 猫 la sua prima raccolta di racconti e alcune storie sono meno sviluppate rispetto a quanto si trover脿 in opere successive. Per貌, gi脿 in alto si vede l鈥檕cchio nel cielo, quella specie di divinit脿 primordiale che tutto vede e che non ti vuole n茅 bene n茅 male, ti osserva soltanto: per esempio nel racconto della madre trascurata e dei figlioli allo sbando, che le vicine cercano di aiutare, ma non si trattengono dal commentare sullo stato in cui hanno lasciato le lenzuola dopo aver dormito, perch茅 sono sudici. E soprattutto nella descrizione del bambino travolto dall鈥檃cqua bollente, che perdeva la pelle ed emetteva un suono di agonia, come quello del cane al quale erano state tranciate le zampe. Riesce a scrivere cose terribili, senza alcun compiacimento: soltanto perch茅 esisterebbero, anche se non venissero scritte. E鈥� bellissimo il racconto in cui pap脿 e bambina scendono per un pendio e la bambina vede giungere qualcosa che, 猫 sicura, esisteva da sempre nel loro destino e non riesce a formulare una parola per modificare il corso degli eventi. Alice Munro riesce a dar voce all鈥檌nesprimibile. Molto bello anche l鈥檜ltimo, nel quale la vecchia maestra, creduta personaggio sopravvissuto a se stesso, si rivela capace di creare un prodigio di armonia, un vero dono per quei bambini.
Amo il realismo col quale Alice Munro racconta le sue storie e condivide con noi incontri, fantasie, emozioni. La immagino camminare per le sue piccole cittadine dell鈥橭ntario, catturare con lo sguardo i volti, con l鈥檜dito brani di conversazioni che le suggeriranno racconti. I suoi personaggi sono gente che vive di lavoro, piccoli commercianti, benzinai, venditori porta a porta e non si pongono problemi sofisticati. Un altro tratto che mi piace molto 猫 l鈥檃ssenza di moralismo e di ipocrisia. La sua fedelt脿 al mondo che l鈥檋a espressa fa comparire spesso famiglie che vivono di allevamento di volpi o di cattura di altri animali, perch茅 ammazzare per vivere non sembrava strano, prima che le pellicce sfilassero in passerella e ci si chiedesse se era necessario sopprimere 20 bestiole per ripararsi dal freddo. Questa 猫 la sua prima raccolta di racconti e alcune storie sono meno sviluppate rispetto a quanto si trover脿 in opere successive. Per貌, gi脿 in alto si vede l鈥檕cchio nel cielo, quella specie di divinit脿 primordiale che tutto vede e che non ti vuole n茅 bene n茅 male, ti osserva soltanto: per esempio nel racconto della madre trascurata e dei figlioli allo sbando, che le vicine cercano di aiutare, ma non si trattengono dal commentare sullo stato in cui hanno lasciato le lenzuola dopo aver dormito, perch茅 sono sudici. E soprattutto nella descrizione del bambino travolto dall鈥檃cqua bollente, che perdeva la pelle ed emetteva un suono di agonia, come quello del cane al quale erano state tranciate le zampe. Riesce a scrivere cose terribili, senza alcun compiacimento: soltanto perch茅 esisterebbero, anche se non venissero scritte. E鈥� bellissimo il racconto in cui pap脿 e bambina scendono per un pendio e la bambina vede giungere qualcosa che, 猫 sicura, esisteva da sempre nel loro destino e non riesce a formulare una parola per modificare il corso degli eventi. Alice Munro riesce a dar voce all鈥檌nesprimibile. Molto bello anche l鈥檜ltimo, nel quale la vecchia maestra, creduta personaggio sopravvissuto a se stesso, si rivela capace di creare un prodigio di armonia, un vero dono per quei bambini.
March 10, 2025
Dance of the Happy Shades was the first collection of 15 short stories written by Alice Munro in 1968 and won the Governor General's Award for English fiction in Canada in that year.
These stories range in length from 10 to 18 pages and are written by a master of the art. If you write short stories yourself, Alice Munro is one of the first writers you should read to find out how this genre is written.
These stories range in length from 10 to 18 pages and are written by a master of the art. If you write short stories yourself, Alice Munro is one of the first writers you should read to find out how this genre is written.
December 26, 2020
Cleaning up: my goodness, I wrote this in 2014 and didn't get around to publishing it.听
Sociologically speaking, Munro's worth her weight in gold. Her stories preserve aspects of social history - mores, language, ways of living, the looks, the smells, the landscape - in a form that goes well beyond what is possible in documented sources. Nor does she need to introduce the drama necessary in movies. She can make things 3D without glasses. Layers of small vignettes that add up to a whole world - her world.
And because it is her world I suppose, her books, I see as I randomly attack them, seem to have a quality that reflects time and age. This set, her first, is preoccupied with the young and adolescent. It reads like a first. Slightly green and rough, they feel like maybe they were harder fought for than later stories, where she has found her exact voice and way. Even so, this first lot is still the same writer through and through. There is a sameness not just of topic and setting, but style which drove me to an impatient boredom in the end. Somehow Munro makes 3D very flat. I didn't care to finish the last two stories, much as it included the title piece. She'd been writing already for many years by the time this book came out, it covers over a decade in terms of her output, so although it's a first book, it isn't a first book the way all those hyped up creations by creative university literary courses are; the writing may be a bit green, but the writer isn't.
To be fair, as she writes largely of rural communities where her characters speak a very colloquial and uneducated brand of English, maybe green and rough reflects that, rather than her technique. That puts the reader of my edition, at least, in the bind in other ways. Mine is a shockingly proofread book. I have written to Vintage to try to find out more about this. We are talking about stories that were (in the main) published in magazine format, then into a book in 1968. My 2000 edition is a new one by Vintage/Random House.
Things don't start well for Random House as one opens the book and there in the author's biography is this in the opening sentence:
'...including Open Secrets which one the WH Smith Literary Award.'
Some sort of team at Random House can't tell the difference between its and it's. It's lacks its apostrophe at least nine times on pages 29, 129, 130, 138, 139, 141, and 156. Twice on two of those pages. There is nothing to suggest in the text as a whole that this is artifice on the part of the writer.
rest here:
Sociologically speaking, Munro's worth her weight in gold. Her stories preserve aspects of social history - mores, language, ways of living, the looks, the smells, the landscape - in a form that goes well beyond what is possible in documented sources. Nor does she need to introduce the drama necessary in movies. She can make things 3D without glasses. Layers of small vignettes that add up to a whole world - her world.
And because it is her world I suppose, her books, I see as I randomly attack them, seem to have a quality that reflects time and age. This set, her first, is preoccupied with the young and adolescent. It reads like a first. Slightly green and rough, they feel like maybe they were harder fought for than later stories, where she has found her exact voice and way. Even so, this first lot is still the same writer through and through. There is a sameness not just of topic and setting, but style which drove me to an impatient boredom in the end. Somehow Munro makes 3D very flat. I didn't care to finish the last two stories, much as it included the title piece. She'd been writing already for many years by the time this book came out, it covers over a decade in terms of her output, so although it's a first book, it isn't a first book the way all those hyped up creations by creative university literary courses are; the writing may be a bit green, but the writer isn't.
To be fair, as she writes largely of rural communities where her characters speak a very colloquial and uneducated brand of English, maybe green and rough reflects that, rather than her technique. That puts the reader of my edition, at least, in the bind in other ways. Mine is a shockingly proofread book. I have written to Vintage to try to find out more about this. We are talking about stories that were (in the main) published in magazine format, then into a book in 1968. My 2000 edition is a new one by Vintage/Random House.
Things don't start well for Random House as one opens the book and there in the author's biography is this in the opening sentence:
'...including Open Secrets which one the WH Smith Literary Award.'
Some sort of team at Random House can't tell the difference between its and it's. It's lacks its apostrophe at least nine times on pages 29, 129, 130, 138, 139, 141, and 156. Twice on two of those pages. There is nothing to suggest in the text as a whole that this is artifice on the part of the writer.
rest here:
December 15, 2017
賰卮禺氐 賯乇兀 兀毓賲丕賱 賲賵賳乇賵 丕賱賱丕丨賯丞貙 兀匕賰乇 賳賮爻賷 兀賳 賴匕賴 賲噩賲賵毓鬲賴丕 丕賱兀賵賱賶. 賷賲賰賳 賴賳丕 乇丐賷丞 丕賱禺胤賵丕鬲 丕賱兀賵賱賶 丕賱鬲賷 丕鬲禺匕鬲賴丕 亘丕鬲噩丕賴 丕賯鬲賳丕氐 丕賱賱丨馗丕鬲 丕賱丕賳爻丕賳賷丞 丕賱賮丕氐賱丞 賮賷 丕賱丨賷丕丞 賵鬲丿賵賷賳賴丕 賮賷 賯氐丞貙 賱賰賳賴丕 賴賳丕 鬲乇賰夭 兀賰孬乇 賮賷賲丕 亘丿丕 賱賷 毓賱賶 丕賱賵氐賮 丕賱禺丕乇噩賷 賱賱賲卮賴丿 (毓賵囟丕 毓賳 丕賱毓賲賯 賮賷 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賮賷 賯氐氐賴丕 丕賱賱丕丨賯丞)貙 賵毓賱賶 賮鬲乇丕鬲 夭賲賳賷丞 賯氐賷乇丞. 丕賱賯氐氐 兀賷囟丕 亘丿鬲 兀賯氐乇 賲賳 賯氐氐賴丕 丕賱賱丕丨賯丞貙 賵鬲賲賷夭鬲 亘賯賮賱丞 禺丕鬲賲丞 賮賷 賲毓馗賲賴丕.
兀賰孬乇 丕賱賯氐氐 丕賱鬲賷 兀丨亘亘鬲賴丕 賮賷 賴匕賴 丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞: 丕賱賲賰鬲亘 (丕賲乇兀丞 賰丕鬲亘丞 鬲丨丕賵賱 丕賱丨氐賵賱 毓賱賶 毓夭賱丞 賱賱賰鬲丕亘丞)貙 丕賱毓賱丕噩貙 賵賯鬲 丕賱賲賵鬲 (賲乇毓亘丞 賮賷 丕賱丕賯鬲乇丕亘 賲賳 丨丕丿孬 賲賵鬲 胤賮賱)貙 氐亘賷丕賳 賵亘賳丕鬲 (丕賱賳賲胤賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丨賰賲 鬲乇亘賷丞 丕賱亘賳丕鬲)貙 亘胤丕賯丞 亘乇賷丿賷丞 (丕賱禺匕賱丕賳 賵丕賱睾囟亘 丕賱賲賰亘賵鬲 丨賷賳 賷賳賮噩乇)貙 賮爻鬲丕賳 兀丨賲乇 (鬲亘丿賵 賲賵丕氐賱丞 賱氐亘賷丕賳 賵亘賳丕鬲貙 賲賯丕乇亘丞 噩丿賷丿丞 賱賱賳賲胤賷丞 賮賷 乇爻賲 兀丨賱丕賲 丕賱亘賳丕鬲)貙 爻賱丕賲 兀賵鬲乇禺鬲 (賵胤兀丞 丕賱賵丕噩亘 鬲噩丕賴 丌禺乇).
兀賰孬乇 丕賱賯氐氐 丕賱鬲賷 兀丨亘亘鬲賴丕 賮賷 賴匕賴 丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞: 丕賱賲賰鬲亘 (丕賲乇兀丞 賰丕鬲亘丞 鬲丨丕賵賱 丕賱丨氐賵賱 毓賱賶 毓夭賱丞 賱賱賰鬲丕亘丞)貙 丕賱毓賱丕噩貙 賵賯鬲 丕賱賲賵鬲 (賲乇毓亘丞 賮賷 丕賱丕賯鬲乇丕亘 賲賳 丨丕丿孬 賲賵鬲 胤賮賱)貙 氐亘賷丕賳 賵亘賳丕鬲 (丕賱賳賲胤賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丨賰賲 鬲乇亘賷丞 丕賱亘賳丕鬲)貙 亘胤丕賯丞 亘乇賷丿賷丞 (丕賱禺匕賱丕賳 賵丕賱睾囟亘 丕賱賲賰亘賵鬲 丨賷賳 賷賳賮噩乇)貙 賮爻鬲丕賳 兀丨賲乇 (鬲亘丿賵 賲賵丕氐賱丞 賱氐亘賷丕賳 賵亘賳丕鬲貙 賲賯丕乇亘丞 噩丿賷丿丞 賱賱賳賲胤賷丞 賮賷 乇爻賲 兀丨賱丕賲 丕賱亘賳丕鬲)貙 爻賱丕賲 兀賵鬲乇禺鬲 (賵胤兀丞 丕賱賵丕噩亘 鬲噩丕賴 丌禺乇).
February 12, 2024
Some of the stories were a bit tricky to follow that i ended up looking over different reviews to get a better handle of them but on the whole I was truly impressed by all exquisitely crafted stories as well as the author's literary style.can't wait to read more of Alice Munro's works :>
General theme of the book:
The story collection paints a rich tapestry of everyday life, woven with subtle yet profound insights into the human experience, loss, love,struggle of women for freedom,etc.
Here's a list of my favourite narratives :
.Images
.The Shining Houses
.Walker Brothers Cowboy
.The Time of Death
.Dance of the Happy Shades
General theme of the book:
The story collection paints a rich tapestry of everyday life, woven with subtle yet profound insights into the human experience, loss, love,struggle of women for freedom,etc.
Here's a list of my favourite narratives :
.Images
.The Shining Houses
.Walker Brothers Cowboy
.The Time of Death
.Dance of the Happy Shades
December 26, 2017
[rating = A-]
One of my: Best Books of the Year (for 2017)
Alice Munro is the best short story writer because she can take the most basic of lives and expose the subtle and underlying factors of it, making it interesting and at once realistic (very much like Anne Tyler at her best). I love how Munro hints at or furthers another story in the collection, yet at the same time keeping it individual and independent. She surprises you with the delicacy and veracity of her psychology and human behavior; she dazzles with the unexpected mundane; and she discovers her characters as she writes the story, not just revealing them to the reader but awakening them to their own fictional existence. Although Runaway is my favorite collection, The Dance of the Happy Shades showcases her early prowess at writing, and she is even adventurous in her narrative style and technique, which is a treat, for her latter work is usually told in the same format. A great collection of hate and power, love and injustice, guilt and ignorance, aging and living. Simply fantastic.
One of my: Best Books of the Year (for 2017)
Alice Munro is the best short story writer because she can take the most basic of lives and expose the subtle and underlying factors of it, making it interesting and at once realistic (very much like Anne Tyler at her best). I love how Munro hints at or furthers another story in the collection, yet at the same time keeping it individual and independent. She surprises you with the delicacy and veracity of her psychology and human behavior; she dazzles with the unexpected mundane; and she discovers her characters as she writes the story, not just revealing them to the reader but awakening them to their own fictional existence. Although Runaway is my favorite collection, The Dance of the Happy Shades showcases her early prowess at writing, and she is even adventurous in her narrative style and technique, which is a treat, for her latter work is usually told in the same format. A great collection of hate and power, love and injustice, guilt and ignorance, aging and living. Simply fantastic.
August 6, 2023
Have read and re-read some of these stories. Feels like historical fiction in that it takes us to a time where houses did not have electricity.
Munro's sentence structures can be idiosyncratic, yet as a writer she is always rewarding. This collection (her first) won a GG (prestigious Canadian literary award); yet her subsequent work is even better.
Her first collection still stands out after all these years.
Munro's sentence structures can be idiosyncratic, yet as a writer she is always rewarding. This collection (her first) won a GG (prestigious Canadian literary award); yet her subsequent work is even better.
Her first collection still stands out after all these years.
November 28, 2019
5 fucking stars my God. What a fantastic collection of stories.
July 22, 2020
夭賳丿诏蹖 毓夭蹖夭 乇丕 亘蹖卮鬲乇 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賲. I liked dear life more.
December 15, 2017
賲賯鬲胤賮丕鬲 賲賳 丨賷丕丞 兀卮禺丕氐 丕毓鬲賷丕丿賷賷賳貙 鬲噩丿 賳賮爻賰 兀丨賷丕賳丕 囟賲賳 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 兀賵 鬲噩丿 兀卮禺丕氐丕 賲乇乇鬲 亘賴賲 賮賷 賴匕賴 丕賱丨賷丕丞 囟賲賳 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賯氐氐 兀賱賷爻 賲賵賳乇賵.
賴賳丕賰 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賵氐賮貙 兀賰孬乇 亘賯賱賷賱 賲賲丕 賷丨鬲賲賱賴 匕賵賯賷. 賵賲毓 匕賱賰 賴賳丕賰 毓丿丿 賲賳 丕賱賯氐氐 丕賱鬲賷 兀馗賳 兀賳賴丕 爻鬲亘賯賶 賲囟賷卅丞 賮賷 匕丕賰乇鬲賷 賱賵賯鬲 胤賵賷賱.
賴賳丕賰 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賵氐賮貙 兀賰孬乇 亘賯賱賷賱 賲賲丕 賷丨鬲賲賱賴 匕賵賯賷. 賵賲毓 匕賱賰 賴賳丕賰 毓丿丿 賲賳 丕賱賯氐氐 丕賱鬲賷 兀馗賳 兀賳賴丕 爻鬲亘賯賶 賲囟賷卅丞 賮賷 匕丕賰乇鬲賷 賱賵賯鬲 胤賵賷賱.
April 28, 2025
3.5猸�
"Yo no era simplemente una chica, como hab铆a supuesto, sino que llegar铆a a serlo. Era una definici贸n, siempre con un deje de 茅nfasis, de reproche y de decepci贸n."
"Yo no era simplemente una chica, como hab铆a supuesto, sino que llegar铆a a serlo. Era una definici贸n, siempre con un deje de 茅nfasis, de reproche y de decepci贸n."
Currently reading
May 15, 2024Reading to remember, in memoriam. . .
March 7, 2020
Her first collection of short stories! Divine.
June 5, 2020
I haven't been able to focus at all since isolation started, but I read this in 24 hours.
January 13, 2016
兀賵賱 賲噩賲賵毓丞 賯氐氐賷丞 兀賯乇卅賴丕 賱兀賱賷爻 賲賵賳乇賵貙賵兀賵賱 賲噩賲賵毓丞 賯氐氐賷丞 賳卮乇鬲 賱賴丕. 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 亘亘爻丕胤丞 卮丿賷丿丞 賲亘賴乇 賵賲賲鬲毓貙 丕賱賯氐氐 賲爻鬲賳賷 卮禺氐賷賸賾丕 乇睾賲 賰賵賳賴丕 賲丨賱賷丞 噩丿賸丕 賱賵 噩丕夭 丕賱鬲毓亘賷乇 賲賳 亘賱丿 丌禺乇 賵孬賯丕賮丞 賲禺鬲賱賮丞.
丕賳胤丕亘毓賷 毓賳 兀賱賷爻 賲賵賳乇賵 亘毓丿 丕賳鬲賴丕亍 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賷鬲賱禺氐 賮賷 兀賳賴丕 賲賳 兀賮囟賱 賰鬲丕亘 丕賱賯氐氐 丕賱賯氐賷乇丞 丕賱賱賷 賯乇賷鬲 賱賴賲 丨鬲賶 丕賱丌賳貙 兀爻賱賵亘賴丕 丕賱賲賲賷夭貙 賵丕賱鬲賰賳賷賰 丕賱禺丕氐 丕賱匕賷 鬲爻鬲禺丿賲賴 賮賷 氐賷丕睾丞 丕賱賯氐丞 賵鬲乇鬲賷亘 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賲賱丨賵馗 賲賳 丕賱賯氐氐 丕賱兀賵賱賶 賮賷 丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞. 賴賷 賮毓賱丕賸 氐丕丨亘丞 賲丿乇爻丞 噩丿賷丿丞 賮賷 賰鬲丕亘丞 丕賱賯氐丞 丕賱賯氐賷乇丞貙 賵爻亘亘 賲賳丨賴丕 噩丕卅夭丞 賳賵亘賱.
乇睾賲 丕禺鬲賱丕賮 丕賱賯氐氐 賵鬲賳賵毓賴丕 亘鬲賳賵毓 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賵丕賱賲賵丕賯賮 賵丕賱兀賲丕賰賳 賮賷 禺胤 賵丕丨丿 賷乇亘胤賴丕 噩賲賷毓賸丕 禺胤 廿賳爻丕賳賷 賮賷 睾丕賷丞 丕賱亘爻丕胤丞 丿賵賳 兀丿賳賶 賯丿乇 賲賳 丕賱賲賷賱賵丿乇丕賲丕 兀賵 丕賱賲亘丕卮乇丞 賮賷 丕賱鬲賳丕賵賱. 賷馗賴乇 賴匕丕 丕賱禺胤 睾丕賱亘賸丕 毓亘乇 賳賯胤丞 氐乇丕毓 亘賷賳 胤乇賮賷賳貙 胤乇賮 賷賲賱賰 賰賱 卮賷亍 (丕賱丨噩丞 賵丕賱賲賳胤賯 賵丕賱賯賵丞) 賵胤乇賮 賱丕 賷賲賱賰 卮賷亍貙 賮賷 兀睾賱亘 丕賱丕丨賷丕賳 賷賮賵夭 丕賱胤乇賮 丕賱兀賯賵賶 乇睾賲 賲丨丕賵賱丕鬲 丕賱胤乇賮 丕賱丌禺乇 丕賱賷丕卅爻丞 賵丕賱亘丕卅爻丞 賱廿孬亘丕鬲 賵噩賵丿賴 賱賰賳 丕賱賴丿賮 賮賷 丕賱丨賯賷賯丞 賱丕 賷鬲毓賱賯 亘丕賳鬲氐丕乇 丕賱囟毓賮丕亍 賵丕賱乇禺氐 丕賱賲賷賱賵丿乇丕賲賷 丕賱賲毓鬲丕丿貙 廿賳賲丕 丕賱賴丿賮 賴賵 丕賱賮賴賲 賵丕賱鬲毓丕胤賮貙 賲賵賳乇賵 賳噩丨鬲 賮賷 廿賷氐丕賱 丕賱賯丕乇卅 賱賴匕賴 丕賱丨丕賱丞 丿賵賳 卮乇丨 賰孬賷乇 賲賳 兀亘胤丕賱賴丕 丕賱賲賴賲卮賷賳 兀賵 鬲亘乇賷乇 賱賲賵丕賯賮賴賲貙 賴賲 賮賷 丕賱兀睾賱亘 賱丕 賷賲賱賰賵賳 賲亘乇乇賸丕 賲賳胤賯賷賸賾丕 賱兀賮毓丕賱賴賲 亘賱 賷鬲氐乇賮賵賳 亘賳丕亍賸 毓賱賶 賲卮丕毓乇 丿丕禺賱賷丞 氐丕丿賯丞 賵賳亘賷賱丞 賷毓噩夭 丕賱賲丨賷胤賷賳 亘賴賲 毓賳 賮賴賲賴丕貙 賷賲賰賳 毓卮丕賳 賰丿丞 鬲亘丕賳 鬲氐乇賮丕鬲賴賲 毓亘孬賷丞. 賵丿賴 賵丕囟丨 鬲賲丕賲賸丕 賮賷 賯氐鬲賷賳 賲賳 兀噩賲賱 賯氐氐 丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞 賴賲丕: (氐亘賷丕賳 賵亘賳丕鬲)貙 丕賱賱賷 亘鬲丨賰賷 毓賳 賮鬲丕丞 氐睾賷乇丞 鬲賮鬲丨 丕賱亘賵丕亘丞 賱賮乇爻丞 鬲賴乇亘 賲賳 匕亘丨 乇睾賲 鬲賷賯賳賴丕 賲賳 兀賳 噩夭丕乇賷賴丕 賴賷賱丕賯賵賴丕 賮賷 丕賱賳賴丕賷丞 賵丕賳 賲賮賷卮 賲賮乇貨 賵(賲賳丕夭賱 賲囟賷卅丞) 丨賷孬 丕賲乇兀丞 鬲乇賮囟 丕賱鬲賵賯賷毓 毓賱賶 毓乇賷囟丞 賰鬲亘賴丕 丕賱噩賷乇丕賳 賱胤乇丿 噩丕乇丞 賯丿賷賲丞 睾賷乇 賲丨亘賵亘丞 兀氐亘丨 賲爻鬲賵丕賴丕 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷 賵賲賳夭賱賴丕 丕賱賲鬲丿丕毓賷 賱丕 賷賳丕爻亘 丕賱丨賷 亘毓丿賲丕 噩乇賶 鬲胤賵賷乇賴 賵兀氐亘丨 丨賷賸賾丕 乇丕賯賷賸賾丕貙 賵鬲毓噩夭 毓賳 廿賷噩丕丿 兀爻亘丕亘 賲賳胤賯賷丞 鬲賯賳毓賴賲 睾賷乇 丨噩噩 "丕賱毓卮乇丞" 賵兀賳賴賲 "賱丕 賷賲賱賰賵賳 賴匕丕 丕賱丨賯" 賵睾賷乇賴丕 賲賳 丕賱兀爻亘丕亘 丕賱乇賵賲丕賳爻賷丞 丕賱賵丕賴賷丞 賲賳 賲賳馗賵乇賴賲.
丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞 賲賱賷丕賳丞 賯氐氐 兀禺乇賶 乇丕卅毓丞 賲孬賱 "乇賯氐丞 丕賱馗賱丕賱 丕賱爻毓賷丿丞"貙 賵"卮賰乇賸丕 毓賱賶 丕賱賳夭賴丞"貙 賵"亘胤丕賯丞 亘乇賷丿賷丞"貙 賵丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賷爻鬲丨賯 賯乇丕亍丞 兀禺乇賶.
丕賳胤丕亘毓賷 毓賳 兀賱賷爻 賲賵賳乇賵 亘毓丿 丕賳鬲賴丕亍 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賷鬲賱禺氐 賮賷 兀賳賴丕 賲賳 兀賮囟賱 賰鬲丕亘 丕賱賯氐氐 丕賱賯氐賷乇丞 丕賱賱賷 賯乇賷鬲 賱賴賲 丨鬲賶 丕賱丌賳貙 兀爻賱賵亘賴丕 丕賱賲賲賷夭貙 賵丕賱鬲賰賳賷賰 丕賱禺丕氐 丕賱匕賷 鬲爻鬲禺丿賲賴 賮賷 氐賷丕睾丞 丕賱賯氐丞 賵鬲乇鬲賷亘 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賲賱丨賵馗 賲賳 丕賱賯氐氐 丕賱兀賵賱賶 賮賷 丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞. 賴賷 賮毓賱丕賸 氐丕丨亘丞 賲丿乇爻丞 噩丿賷丿丞 賮賷 賰鬲丕亘丞 丕賱賯氐丞 丕賱賯氐賷乇丞貙 賵爻亘亘 賲賳丨賴丕 噩丕卅夭丞 賳賵亘賱.
乇睾賲 丕禺鬲賱丕賮 丕賱賯氐氐 賵鬲賳賵毓賴丕 亘鬲賳賵毓 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賵丕賱賲賵丕賯賮 賵丕賱兀賲丕賰賳 賮賷 禺胤 賵丕丨丿 賷乇亘胤賴丕 噩賲賷毓賸丕 禺胤 廿賳爻丕賳賷 賮賷 睾丕賷丞 丕賱亘爻丕胤丞 丿賵賳 兀丿賳賶 賯丿乇 賲賳 丕賱賲賷賱賵丿乇丕賲丕 兀賵 丕賱賲亘丕卮乇丞 賮賷 丕賱鬲賳丕賵賱. 賷馗賴乇 賴匕丕 丕賱禺胤 睾丕賱亘賸丕 毓亘乇 賳賯胤丞 氐乇丕毓 亘賷賳 胤乇賮賷賳貙 胤乇賮 賷賲賱賰 賰賱 卮賷亍 (丕賱丨噩丞 賵丕賱賲賳胤賯 賵丕賱賯賵丞) 賵胤乇賮 賱丕 賷賲賱賰 卮賷亍貙 賮賷 兀睾賱亘 丕賱丕丨賷丕賳 賷賮賵夭 丕賱胤乇賮 丕賱兀賯賵賶 乇睾賲 賲丨丕賵賱丕鬲 丕賱胤乇賮 丕賱丌禺乇 丕賱賷丕卅爻丞 賵丕賱亘丕卅爻丞 賱廿孬亘丕鬲 賵噩賵丿賴 賱賰賳 丕賱賴丿賮 賮賷 丕賱丨賯賷賯丞 賱丕 賷鬲毓賱賯 亘丕賳鬲氐丕乇 丕賱囟毓賮丕亍 賵丕賱乇禺氐 丕賱賲賷賱賵丿乇丕賲賷 丕賱賲毓鬲丕丿貙 廿賳賲丕 丕賱賴丿賮 賴賵 丕賱賮賴賲 賵丕賱鬲毓丕胤賮貙 賲賵賳乇賵 賳噩丨鬲 賮賷 廿賷氐丕賱 丕賱賯丕乇卅 賱賴匕賴 丕賱丨丕賱丞 丿賵賳 卮乇丨 賰孬賷乇 賲賳 兀亘胤丕賱賴丕 丕賱賲賴賲卮賷賳 兀賵 鬲亘乇賷乇 賱賲賵丕賯賮賴賲貙 賴賲 賮賷 丕賱兀睾賱亘 賱丕 賷賲賱賰賵賳 賲亘乇乇賸丕 賲賳胤賯賷賸賾丕 賱兀賮毓丕賱賴賲 亘賱 賷鬲氐乇賮賵賳 亘賳丕亍賸 毓賱賶 賲卮丕毓乇 丿丕禺賱賷丞 氐丕丿賯丞 賵賳亘賷賱丞 賷毓噩夭 丕賱賲丨賷胤賷賳 亘賴賲 毓賳 賮賴賲賴丕貙 賷賲賰賳 毓卮丕賳 賰丿丞 鬲亘丕賳 鬲氐乇賮丕鬲賴賲 毓亘孬賷丞. 賵丿賴 賵丕囟丨 鬲賲丕賲賸丕 賮賷 賯氐鬲賷賳 賲賳 兀噩賲賱 賯氐氐 丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞 賴賲丕: (氐亘賷丕賳 賵亘賳丕鬲)貙 丕賱賱賷 亘鬲丨賰賷 毓賳 賮鬲丕丞 氐睾賷乇丞 鬲賮鬲丨 丕賱亘賵丕亘丞 賱賮乇爻丞 鬲賴乇亘 賲賳 匕亘丨 乇睾賲 鬲賷賯賳賴丕 賲賳 兀賳 噩夭丕乇賷賴丕 賴賷賱丕賯賵賴丕 賮賷 丕賱賳賴丕賷丞 賵丕賳 賲賮賷卮 賲賮乇貨 賵(賲賳丕夭賱 賲囟賷卅丞) 丨賷孬 丕賲乇兀丞 鬲乇賮囟 丕賱鬲賵賯賷毓 毓賱賶 毓乇賷囟丞 賰鬲亘賴丕 丕賱噩賷乇丕賳 賱胤乇丿 噩丕乇丞 賯丿賷賲丞 睾賷乇 賲丨亘賵亘丞 兀氐亘丨 賲爻鬲賵丕賴丕 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷 賵賲賳夭賱賴丕 丕賱賲鬲丿丕毓賷 賱丕 賷賳丕爻亘 丕賱丨賷 亘毓丿賲丕 噩乇賶 鬲胤賵賷乇賴 賵兀氐亘丨 丨賷賸賾丕 乇丕賯賷賸賾丕貙 賵鬲毓噩夭 毓賳 廿賷噩丕丿 兀爻亘丕亘 賲賳胤賯賷丞 鬲賯賳毓賴賲 睾賷乇 丨噩噩 "丕賱毓卮乇丞" 賵兀賳賴賲 "賱丕 賷賲賱賰賵賳 賴匕丕 丕賱丨賯" 賵睾賷乇賴丕 賲賳 丕賱兀爻亘丕亘 丕賱乇賵賲丕賳爻賷丞 丕賱賵丕賴賷丞 賲賳 賲賳馗賵乇賴賲.
丕賱賲噩賲賵毓丞 賲賱賷丕賳丞 賯氐氐 兀禺乇賶 乇丕卅毓丞 賲孬賱 "乇賯氐丞 丕賱馗賱丕賱 丕賱爻毓賷丿丞"貙 賵"卮賰乇賸丕 毓賱賶 丕賱賳夭賴丞"貙 賵"亘胤丕賯丞 亘乇賷丿賷丞"貙 賵丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賷爻鬲丨賯 賯乇丕亍丞 兀禺乇賶.
November 23, 2020
This kinda left me cold, which surprised me! I like Alice Munro, and I like what she's trying to do in her stories, but there was only one that got me on an emotional level, and for the rest, I felt like I could appreciate the technical mastery of the form, but that's all. It ended up being a bit of a slog.
My favourite story was about a girl in grade 9 attending her first high school dance. She's been feeling awkward since she started, is worried that her only friend isn't really her friend, and wearing a dress her mother made that she doesn't really like. She doesn't want to go, but can't see how to opt out. When she arrives at the dance, after a few rounds of being passed over by the boys looking for partners, she hides in the bathroom. She meets an older girl who is an athlete and generally popular. While they smoke in the janitors closet, our narrator begins to connect with this older girl, who says a lot of the things she's thinking out loud, and echoes her dislike of much of the high school social mores. The girl invites her to a diner for a cup of coffee and to keep talking. But on their way through the gym to get their coats, a boy asks our narrator to dance, and she waves the girl off, feeling like she can't say no to the boy, and equally relieved to be fitting in. It broke my heart.
I'll be reading more Munro, and I'm as surprised as anyone that I didn't connect with this. I wouldn't stop anyone from picking it up. I love Munro's explorations of small town Ontario, and her incisive depictions of character. But, somehow, this one missed the mark for me.
My favourite story was about a girl in grade 9 attending her first high school dance. She's been feeling awkward since she started, is worried that her only friend isn't really her friend, and wearing a dress her mother made that she doesn't really like. She doesn't want to go, but can't see how to opt out. When she arrives at the dance, after a few rounds of being passed over by the boys looking for partners, she hides in the bathroom. She meets an older girl who is an athlete and generally popular. While they smoke in the janitors closet, our narrator begins to connect with this older girl, who says a lot of the things she's thinking out loud, and echoes her dislike of much of the high school social mores. The girl invites her to a diner for a cup of coffee and to keep talking. But on their way through the gym to get their coats, a boy asks our narrator to dance, and she waves the girl off, feeling like she can't say no to the boy, and equally relieved to be fitting in. It broke my heart.
I'll be reading more Munro, and I'm as surprised as anyone that I didn't connect with this. I wouldn't stop anyone from picking it up. I love Munro's explorations of small town Ontario, and her incisive depictions of character. But, somehow, this one missed the mark for me.
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