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hcube3's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
geoffdgeorge's review against another edition
Took my time with this one. Only read about a story a month. Munro puts together some of the densest, richest forty- to sixty-page stretches out there. She pushes you to pay attention, focus in on every detail, the importance of which might not emerge till twenty pages later. Stand-out stories included “A Real Life,” “Open Secrets,” and “The Jack Randa Hotel.”
I’m convinced it’s not a question of whether Munro had an affair but how many, given that it’s such a consistent, intimately explored theme throughout her work. From all angles, too—the cheaters, the cheated on, the third-hand witnesses, in trysts ranging from minutes or hours to months or years.
Most of the stories take place in small towns in the Canadian countryside, but they hit home just as well here in the US Midwest. And they aren’t the small towns of Norman Rockwell, either. So many characters are refreshingly opinionated, distant, or sometimes outright mean, just in that way endemic to rural areas where everyone often puts on a veil of politeness: Muriel Snow had not been Millicent’s first choice for best friend. What a cold line!
I think the stories in "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage” might still have packed a greater emotional wallop for me, but you can still see here why Munro’s one of the greats.
I’m convinced it’s not a question of whether Munro had an affair but how many, given that it’s such a consistent, intimately explored theme throughout her work. From all angles, too—the cheaters, the cheated on, the third-hand witnesses, in trysts ranging from minutes or hours to months or years.
Most of the stories take place in small towns in the Canadian countryside, but they hit home just as well here in the US Midwest. And they aren’t the small towns of Norman Rockwell, either. So many characters are refreshingly opinionated, distant, or sometimes outright mean, just in that way endemic to rural areas where everyone often puts on a veil of politeness: Muriel Snow had not been Millicent’s first choice for best friend. What a cold line!
I think the stories in "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage” might still have packed a greater emotional wallop for me, but you can still see here why Munro’s one of the greats.
lindseyzwilson's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
subvino's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. It was good but not great. This was my only exposure to Munro but my curiosity has been piqued and I'm definitely going to seek out more. She's clearly a good author that works well with subtlety.
calthapalustris's review against another edition
Putting reviews on the cover of this calling it a "superb collection" with "perfect stories" "that dazzles" was honestly criminal.
tani's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a big fan of short stories, but these were interesting. Strong characters and intriguing stories made this a pretty much effortless read.
canpolat61's review against another edition
4.0
Sprachlich sehr schön, allerdings sind Kurzgeschichten nicht mein Fall.
marysummerby's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25