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10th out of 20 books
—
38 voters
The Love of a Good Woman
by
Alice Munro
Alice Munro has a genius for entering the lives of ordinary people and capturing the passions and contradictions that lie just below the surface. In this brilliant new collection she takes mainly the lives of women - unruly, ungovernable, unpredictable, unexpected, funny, sexy and completely recognisable - and brings their hidden desires bubbling to the surface. The love o...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
March 2nd 2000
(first published 1998)
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Sottilissima, ineffabile, Munro. Entra nelle vite della gente evitando ogni didascalia. Sceglie un... “improvviso” e comincia a dire ciò che vede, a sguardi. Dopo un po', con la medesima istantanea leggerezza, si distacca, abbandona la vicenda al suo cammino e il lettore al suo pensiero. Non si dilunga, osserva e basta. Il racconto, poi, lo facciamo noi, con quel bisogno naturale di paragoni che distingue gli uomini, quando osservano l'altrui destino. Componiamo scenari, caratteri, vicende e giu...more
I do not often read short stories but after reading so many good reviews for Alice Munro's writing I at last decided to read her. And I was not disappointed - by her writing. But I am conflicted by the stories themselves. The stories are very intimate slices of life. It's as if across the span of someone's life, Munro reaches in and randomly grabs a moment when the character is at a crossroads. There is little introduction to each story, few details of what came before this moment. You get exact...more
In una raccolta di otto racconti che ruotano attorno agli stessi temi c'è il rischio di percepire ripetitività o, quanto meno, la sensazione di essere di fronte a continue variazioni sull'argomento, anche se poi di variazioni minime si tratta, ché l'angolo della visuale è sempre quello.
Si direbbe che la Munro abbia voluto esorcizzare il demone della vecchiaia e del trascorrere del tempo che modifica i rapporti con i coniugi, gli ex-coniugi, i figli, i nipoti e le loro speranze e aspettative - pe...more
Si direbbe che la Munro abbia voluto esorcizzare il demone della vecchiaia e del trascorrere del tempo che modifica i rapporti con i coniugi, gli ex-coniugi, i figli, i nipoti e le loro speranze e aspettative - pe...more
4 likes · like · see review
This is the first work by Alice Munro that I have read, and I an both impressed and moved. The seven stories in this volume depict the poignancy of life for a variety of "ordinary Canadians." The middle five stories are especially compelling, and only the last one failed to work for me at all. Munro is adept at reporting detail, especially in creating believable dialogue. The stories are plain and somewhat dark, and a kind of sadness pervades the book. Somehow, though, this did not depress me, a...more
DI NOTTE SI SENTE CRESCERE IL MAIS
Di notte si sente crescere il mais: semplice frase che contiene l'essenza di Alice Munro.
Come è possibile sentire il mais che cresce? Magia? Fantascienza? In qualsiasi caso, quintessenza di mistero. Mistero quotidiano, quasi banale: si tratta semplicemente di mais, una vegetale che cresce, niente di più.
Nel quotidiano, fra la gente e le cose di tutti i giorni, esiste il mistero: basta saperlo individuare. Ma soprattutto, occorre saperlo raccontare. Munro ci ri...more
Di notte si sente crescere il mais: semplice frase che contiene l'essenza di Alice Munro.
Come è possibile sentire il mais che cresce? Magia? Fantascienza? In qualsiasi caso, quintessenza di mistero. Mistero quotidiano, quasi banale: si tratta semplicemente di mais, una vegetale che cresce, niente di più.
Nel quotidiano, fra la gente e le cose di tutti i giorni, esiste il mistero: basta saperlo individuare. Ma soprattutto, occorre saperlo raccontare. Munro ci ri...more
I’m sure I’m not the first to point out how well Alice Munro does things like develop characters, convey a sense of place, and tell fully fleshed out stories, all in a fraction of the space it takes novelists. At the same time, she seems to leave pieces of the puzzle out, making us wonder what her bigger points may have been. We’re rarely bludgeoned by the obvious. I’m going to guess, though, that any signal distortion is a problem on my end, not hers.
The people in her stories are engrossing and...more
The people in her stories are engrossing and...more
5 likes · like · see review
"To me it seems that it was only then that I became female. I know that the matter was decided long before I was born and was plain to everybody else since he beginning of my life, but I believe that it was only at the moment when I decided to come back, when I gave up the fight against my mother (which must have been a fight for something like her total surrender) and when I chose survival over victory (death would have been victory), that I took on my female nature."
every story here is high qu...more
every story here is high qu...more
Huit nouvelles composent ce livre d'Alice Munro, auteur canadienne née en 1931, dont j'ai déjà lu Du côté de Castel Rock, où sous forme de nouvelles (déjà), l'auteur racontait les origines de sa famille, émigrée d'Écosse en Amérique du Nord.
Ici aussi, sans doute, il doit y avoir de nombreux éléments vécus par l'auteur dans ces récits qui mettent tous en scène des femmes, à différents âges de leur vie, dont la banalité de l'existence est un jour bousculé par un évènement, une révélation, comme un...more
Ici aussi, sans doute, il doit y avoir de nombreux éléments vécus par l'auteur dans ces récits qui mettent tous en scène des femmes, à différents âges de leur vie, dont la banalité de l'existence est un jour bousculé par un évènement, une révélation, comme un...more
JUST READ THESE STORIES! They are like those times when you fall into unintended reverie and there's that one memory that sticks out without you being totally conscious of it. Well, she is conscious of it, and that is the stuff good short stories are made of.
one of her better short story collections and they are all pretty darn good. Explores issues of what makes people stay or go without beating you over the head with the issue. Of coruse that is kind of her signature, subtlety.
One of my favorite books. I underlined, re-read, copied, re-read again. Eerie feelings like she had been inside my head, especially the story about the woman living below the annoying landlord. Fabulous. Read immediately.
This book was a present from Meg, who told me she thought it was interesting to read short stories by an expert in the form. And it is, and I don't do it a lot.
Generally I really enjoyed this collection, and at times it felt revelatory. Then I began to wonder if I was hoodwinked, because sometimes I get hoodwinked, as the last clump of stories at the end is not that awesome, and I started to feel frowny-face.
But it's ok. I dog-eared a lot of pages that were so smart or lovely I knew I'd have to...more
Generally I really enjoyed this collection, and at times it felt revelatory. Then I began to wonder if I was hoodwinked, because sometimes I get hoodwinked, as the last clump of stories at the end is not that awesome, and I started to feel frowny-face.
But it's ok. I dog-eared a lot of pages that were so smart or lovely I knew I'd have to...more
Just read the first story. And, again, I'm blown away. It's almost 80 pages. Long for Munro (whom I refer to as Alice, as if she new me, like Jesus is suppossed to personally know everybody who prays to him.)
1 like · like · see review
Haunting, open-ended, masterful stories. "Before the Change," about a woman who discovers her father is an illegal abortionist, left me breathless and stunned. People have said Munro's short stories are like novels, and "Before the Change" felt like listening to an entire symphony complete and clear in five minutes. People always mention "The Children Stay," and interestingly I put the story down and thought "That wasn't as good as I thought." And then for days later my mind kept going back to i...more
The perfect book to read on a sultry summer day in Prospect Park, lying on the grass with my daughter Zoe and her new baby Cleopatra --
1 like · like · see review
Alice Munro is my favorite short-story writer, but this particular collection did not impress me much. The stories almost seemed like fragments pulled together after an author's death, which is strange because Munro is thankfully still alive. One of the stories even had a Updikeian feel, but I read it anyway, and liked it better than any actual Updike writing. The one thing that struck me about these stores was that most were set during summer holidays in waterfront cottages. So I do not have to...more
It's been quite a while since I read Munro, and I don't remember being as unsettled (in a good way, I think) by her stories. She is so skilled that you are drawn into the depth and detail of her intimate, Canadian world(s) without knowing where you're heading, but trusting all the same that she is a sure guide. The thematic elements can be hard to decipher at times -- I think a testament to her patience -- but sometimes after a day (or more), an understanding (or another question) will arise and...more
ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é brava, ma quant'é bra...more
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Once again I find Munro to be sort of infuriatingly slow to read. It took me several weeks to get through this collection. Her prose is precise to the point at times almost of tedium, and yet her precision is also somehow effortless and right. So I find the stories simultaneously hard to get through and awfully engaging. It's obvious to me that she's a good writer, but I can't say that I find her writing inspiring. My favorite authors tend to be the ones who make me want to write my own work, an...more
Son iki öykünün vuruculuğuyla kaptı beşi. Teknik açıdan kusursuz, ayrıntılar, eğilimler, karakter profilleri bütünüyle gerçekçi. Ama daha önce de demiştim, anlattığı konular (boşanan çiftler, aldatılan eşler, doğarken annesini öldüren çocuklar, falan filan) pek benim öyküde aradığım konular değil.
30 yaş üstü kadınların ayrıca daha bir seveceğini düşünüyorum. pek efemine kaygılar, zaten had bilen bir yazar olan alice munro, bütün başrollerini de kadınlardan seçmiş neredeyse. bu demek değil ki er...more
30 yaş üstü kadınların ayrıca daha bir seveceğini düşünüyorum. pek efemine kaygılar, zaten had bilen bir yazar olan alice munro, bütün başrollerini de kadınlardan seçmiş neredeyse. bu demek değil ki er...more
These stories are intense! I had not read Munro before. It is unbelievable how much deep emotion, inner conflict, and relationship imperfection/disappointment are conveyed in her writing. I love reading this book; I have to stop and reflect (and feel sort of sad) for a while after each story.
Update after finishing: 4.5 stars. About 6 out of 8 of these stories were pure five star in the reading. The way Munro elicits a 'feel' of the characters and relationships is quite brilliant. Beautiful, real...more
Update after finishing: 4.5 stars. About 6 out of 8 of these stories were pure five star in the reading. The way Munro elicits a 'feel' of the characters and relationships is quite brilliant. Beautiful, real...more
Alice Munro is definitely the queen of the short story genre, and this book which was a Giller Prize Winner solidifies her position. I really like Ms. Munro's stories. They are about life, love, disappointments, and with a few zingers thrown in that sometimes change the entire direction of the story. It keeps them interesting and fresh. And Ms. Munro's writing is so wonderfully crafted. She is a wonderful author, and any of her books are well worth reading. The stories are each little gems in th...more
Wonderful collection of short stories. It's my second or third time reading them since they were first published in 1998. I am always so fascinated by the complexity of a story that she tells in 10 pages or so. Everything takes place in a small town....I assumed southern but Munro is from Ontario, Canada. Wonderful storyteller of what goes on in people's lives. Fascinating essay written about Munro by Cheryl Strayed who met Munro through a letter she wrote to/Munro wrote her, that changed Straye...more
Mar 28, 2012
Elizabeth (Alaska)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
rws-spring-2012
This book is a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. Each story was good, but not great; taken together, above average, the whole strengthening as each unrelated story is added with the others.
Munro's prose is almost soothing - in the first pages I could feel myself relax, just take it in, let the words wash over me. I think this is how most of the characters found life, too - that they just took it in, let it wash over them. None of the women seemed to have aspirations for...more
Munro's prose is almost soothing - in the first pages I could feel myself relax, just take it in, let the words wash over me. I think this is how most of the characters found life, too - that they just took it in, let it wash over them. None of the women seemed to have aspirations for...more
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While I still have something unread by Alice Munro I can look forward to it like a treat.
For whatever reason many of us have this enjoyment of absorbing stories. Mine started before I even knew how to read, when my grandmother, in the dark, the grown up world excluded outside the bedroom door, would tell me folk-tales of strange and dangerous happenings, trolls, elves, changelings and humans, usually engaged in a battle of wits. This was not a daily event because grandma lived in another house,...more
For whatever reason many of us have this enjoyment of absorbing stories. Mine started before I even knew how to read, when my grandmother, in the dark, the grown up world excluded outside the bedroom door, would tell me folk-tales of strange and dangerous happenings, trolls, elves, changelings and humans, usually engaged in a battle of wits. This was not a daily event because grandma lived in another house,...more
I read this with VIFF Friends book Club. Here's my review from Amazon.ca:
I am not usually a fan of short fiction, so when my book club decided we would read The Love of a Good Woman, I was skeptical. Yes, I've heard really great things about Alice Munro, but I like a book I can really "sink my teeth into". Alice Munro has changed my opinion.
Now I know why Alice Munro has been called the master of short story. Her artistry shines with broad stroke of her pen. One of my complaints of short storie...more
I am not usually a fan of short fiction, so when my book club decided we would read The Love of a Good Woman, I was skeptical. Yes, I've heard really great things about Alice Munro, but I like a book I can really "sink my teeth into". Alice Munro has changed my opinion.
Now I know why Alice Munro has been called the master of short story. Her artistry shines with broad stroke of her pen. One of my complaints of short storie...more
May 27, 2009
Relyn
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Blech!
Recommended to Relyn by:
I kept hearing her name...
audiobook
I listened to this as an audiobook, but I don't think "reading" it would have changed my opinion. It was depressing. The book really had no redeeming characters, but was without the benefit of an interesting jolt of darkness. Just icky. Regular life is hard enough. Why read about someone's sad, yucky, regular life? I didn't even finish it. That's rare. Once I've invested hours in a book, I usually finish it. No interest. Absolutely none. How's that for depressingly dull?
I listened to this as an audiobook, but I don't think "reading" it would have changed my opinion. It was depressing. The book really had no redeeming characters, but was without the benefit of an interesting jolt of darkness. Just icky. Regular life is hard enough. Why read about someone's sad, yucky, regular life? I didn't even finish it. That's rare. Once I've invested hours in a book, I usually finish it. No interest. Absolutely none. How's that for depressingly dull?
I'd like to give this book 3.5 stars, but I can't, so it only gets three. I don't know about Alice Munro. Her stories are compelling, but... I can't put my finger on it. Perhaps I just didn't like the theme of this collection.
I'm glad I read it, and I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't really grab me, or speak to me, or make me think in the ways others have. I found myself forgetting what happened in the previous stories, and having to remind myself of the "theme" of the collection, which the st...more
I'm glad I read it, and I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't really grab me, or speak to me, or make me think in the ways others have. I found myself forgetting what happened in the previous stories, and having to remind myself of the "theme" of the collection, which the st...more
Man. Alice Munro pulls the rug out from under you with such delicacy that you don't even realize it's happened until the next page. She's maybe the best author I've ever read for writing real humans, in all their complex and stupid foibles and motivations. That's often what the rug-pulling is about: the cresting realization that no, you're not reading the usual caricature of an unfaithful woman. You're reading a life, so much so that it can hurt.
When I first started making noises about wanting to be a writer (back in the days of late junior high), my dad bought me this book and The Moons of Jupiter by Alice Munro, and suggested I write short stories. There's still a few earnest annotations in Love of a Good Woman that are painfully bad, and in spite of having been written in pencil, I haven't erased yet. I'm a little too fond of them for that.
Alice Munro is one of the writers that I look to for inspiration, guidance, whatever you want t...more
Alice Munro is one of the writers that I look to for inspiration, guidance, whatever you want t...more
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Alice Ann Munro, née Laidlaw (born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short-story writer who is widely considered one of the world's premier fiction writers. Munro is a three-time winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction. Her stories focus on human relationships looked at through the lens of daily life. She has thus been referred to as "the Canadian Chekhov."
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“If I decided to send this to you, where would I send it? When I think of writing the whole address on the envelope I am paralyzed. It's too painful to think of you in the same place with your life going on in the same way, minus me. And to think of you not there, you somewhere else but I don't know where that is, is worse.”
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27 people liked it
“For we did makeup. But we didn't forgive each other. And we didn't take steps. And it got to be too late and we saw that each of us had invested too much in being in the right and we walked away and it was a relief. ”
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22 people liked it
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Nov 23, 2012 05:12am
updated Nov 23, 2012 05:20am