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krispet's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
teresatumminello's review against another edition
5.0
Every time I read Munro, I wonder what took me so long to get back to her. But it’s good to have space with her. Her stories are overwhelming, leaving you thinking long past you’ve read their last pages. A story I thought would be my least favorite (“What Is Remembered”), I read a second time because my mind was completely changed by its end.
Her characters linger in the mind and the themes—family furniture; suicide; marriages of the 1950s and 60s, and their expectations; ‘extraneous’ people as comfort, or bridges—need to percolate. Nothing is clear-cut in any of these finely crafted stories, or in the lovely prose of her endings in particular, though I love the way she words everything, her articulation of feelings and of moments that mean more than something momentary. Her handling of time is masterful. Each story is as rich as a novel.
One story in particular (“Floating Bridge”) reminded me that life is not one big epiphany (like some short stories make it seem), but a series of mini-epiphanies, not all of which will stick, most having only that momentary effect, but even that helps with life’s rough spots.
Her characters linger in the mind and the themes—family furniture; suicide; marriages of the 1950s and 60s, and their expectations; ‘extraneous’ people as comfort, or bridges—need to percolate. Nothing is clear-cut in any of these finely crafted stories, or in the lovely prose of her endings in particular, though I love the way she words everything, her articulation of feelings and of moments that mean more than something momentary. Her handling of time is masterful. Each story is as rich as a novel.
One story in particular (“Floating Bridge”) reminded me that life is not one big epiphany (like some short stories make it seem), but a series of mini-epiphanies, not all of which will stick, most having only that momentary effect, but even that helps with life’s rough spots.
lucylou's review against another edition
3.5
“Hateship Friendship Courtship Loveship Marriage“ was my favorite story, but I think about “Away From Her” very often since reading it.
blackangel's review against another edition
Only had to read the title story and "Comfort" (circa 30 pages) for English class
sanfordc11's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
savvygreads's review against another edition
3.0
Some of the stories were great, my favorite was Queenie, but most I just dragged my feet through. I almost even gave up on a couple, thank goodness they’re short! But the highs were highs, there were a couple great ones.
labinsky's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
it was only while reading this book that i learned that alice munro silenced her daughter when she was sexually abused by her father and all the articles i read about it were so shocked bc she wrote about women and women's experiences and like sure yea but she was also very clearly one of the repressed women she wrote about. what's the surprise here ?
anyway the book was a perfectly fine collection of short stories, each of them felt like a condensed novel, every time with a solid twist without feeling like a boilerplate gimmick. but i don't doubt for a minute that munro or any of the women in her stories would act any differently than the treatment her daughter spoke out about.
anyway the book was a perfectly fine collection of short stories, each of them felt like a condensed novel, every time with a solid twist without feeling like a boilerplate gimmick. but i don't doubt for a minute that munro or any of the women in her stories would act any differently than the treatment her daughter spoke out about.
jaakko_s's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
yarnmaus's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Queenie und Trost waren sehr berührend!