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ina_bo's review against another edition
4.0
Compelling stories keeping the reader wanting to continue. Interesting characters, unexpected narratives.
In the last story which has given the name to the anthology the author confused Elsinore with Helsingborg and then Helsingborg with the old name of Helsinki, Helsingford. I’m quite surprised it was published without proper fact-checking.
In the last story which has given the name to the anthology the author confused Elsinore with Helsingborg and then Helsingborg with the old name of Helsinki, Helsingford. I’m quite surprised it was published without proper fact-checking.
sarahmell's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I hated this book so much
kennyrae89's review against another edition
Not in the mood to read about a man killing his children.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
bethalow's review against another edition
2.0
I think I have determined I am not a fan of short stories. I just wanted more! I enjoyed the stories, but I wanted to know more about the characters. It feels like they are snippets into what would be amazing novels.
beatarambaud's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
idunna's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
Might go back to some of the stories, especially the ones in the first half of the book. It took me quite a long time to finish because I felt the need for a break in-between stories, but then it was very difficult to pick it up again. Some stories I devoured, some I couldn’t wait to end (to be honest, I didn’t really find the story “Too Much Happiness” that interesting, I probably need to re-read it). The short stories felt like poetry, you need to be in a certain mood to resonate with them. It’s the kind of book that I imagine being studied in high-schools. The stories need to be read, re-read and dissected in order to really understand their meaning. I think that would be great for schools.
Might go back to some of the stories, especially the ones in the first half of the book. It took me quite a long time to finish because I felt the need for a break in-between stories, but then it was very difficult to pick it up again. Some stories I devoured, some I couldn’t wait to end (to be honest, I didn’t really find the story “Too Much Happiness” that interesting, I probably need to re-read it). The short stories felt like poetry, you need to be in a certain mood to resonate with them. It’s the kind of book that I imagine being studied in high-schools. The stories need to be read, re-read and dissected in order to really understand their meaning. I think that would be great for schools.
vegantrav's review against another edition
3.0
Alice Munro has been acclaimed as one of our greatest contemporary writers, and she won the Nobel Prize for literature last year (2013) and a Man Booker Prize in 2009. Such accolades induced me to read this collection of her short stories.
The stories were enjoyable, like a stroll through a foreign yet vaguely familiar forest, but a forest where there is something amiss. In most of the stories in this collection, we readers, at some point, are taken by surprise, yet the stories all unfold rather serenely, though often with startling revelations that disrupt our expectations. Still, there are no galloping plots with thrills and chills or fantastic twists--except in "Child's Play", which was my personal favorite. These are stories about, on the whole, ordinary people facing unusual and often extraordinary circumstances but doing so in ordinary ways.
While I did like this collection, I must say that I was not struck by any special literary genius on the part of Munro. Now, she is a wonderful writer, but her stories don't resonate with me as do those of some other writers. (With respect to short story writers, I much prefer George Saunders.) What I did like, though, were some of the very strange situations into which Munro cast her characters: these aren't unheard of situations, but they are situations that we rarely see treated in literature or film, and perhaps that's why so many are drawn to Munro: she takes us places that few other authors do.
Nevertheless, Munro's stories didn't make a huge impression on me. A year from now, I doubt I will remember any of these stories other than the aforementioned "Child's Play", but they were enjoyable for the time I was reading them.
"Child's Play" clearly stands out above the other stories. The protagonist is called to the bedside of a dying friend--but not a close friend, just a friend she knew for only a few weeks of summer camp many years in the past when they were both pre-teen girls. But she and her friend harbor a secret that, when it is revealed at the end of the story, takes one's breath away: it's a real punch in the gut or even kick in the head. This story deeply affected me and will stay with me for a while. This story alone made this collection worth the read--not that the other stories are bad or that without "Child's Play" the collection would have seemed poorer to me but rather that "Child's Play" is extraordinarily good. A whole collection of stories like "Child's Play" would have earned this novel, in my estimation, 4 1/2 or 5 stars.
So, I've now seen what Alice Munro has to offer. Does she live up to the hype? Honestly, I don't think so. I enjoyed this collection, but will I seek out any of her other short stories? I doubt it.
The stories were enjoyable, like a stroll through a foreign yet vaguely familiar forest, but a forest where there is something amiss. In most of the stories in this collection, we readers, at some point, are taken by surprise, yet the stories all unfold rather serenely, though often with startling revelations that disrupt our expectations. Still, there are no galloping plots with thrills and chills or fantastic twists--except in "Child's Play", which was my personal favorite. These are stories about, on the whole, ordinary people facing unusual and often extraordinary circumstances but doing so in ordinary ways.
While I did like this collection, I must say that I was not struck by any special literary genius on the part of Munro. Now, she is a wonderful writer, but her stories don't resonate with me as do those of some other writers. (With respect to short story writers, I much prefer George Saunders.) What I did like, though, were some of the very strange situations into which Munro cast her characters: these aren't unheard of situations, but they are situations that we rarely see treated in literature or film, and perhaps that's why so many are drawn to Munro: she takes us places that few other authors do.
Nevertheless, Munro's stories didn't make a huge impression on me. A year from now, I doubt I will remember any of these stories other than the aforementioned "Child's Play", but they were enjoyable for the time I was reading them.
"Child's Play" clearly stands out above the other stories. The protagonist is called to the bedside of a dying friend--but not a close friend, just a friend she knew for only a few weeks of summer camp many years in the past when they were both pre-teen girls. But she and her friend harbor a secret that, when it is revealed at the end of the story, takes one's breath away: it's a real punch in the gut or even kick in the head. This story deeply affected me and will stay with me for a while. This story alone made this collection worth the read--not that the other stories are bad or that without "Child's Play" the collection would have seemed poorer to me but rather that "Child's Play" is extraordinarily good. A whole collection of stories like "Child's Play" would have earned this novel, in my estimation, 4 1/2 or 5 stars.
So, I've now seen what Alice Munro has to offer. Does she live up to the hype? Honestly, I don't think so. I enjoyed this collection, but will I seek out any of her other short stories? I doubt it.