The only novel from Alice Munro-award-winning author of The Love of a Good Woman--is an insightful, honest book, "autobiographical in f...
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Mar 07, 2009
Bonnie
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I love everything Alice Munro writes, but this one has to be one of my favourites.
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Jan 24, 2012
Cynthia
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Where to start. Munro had me hooked in the first paragraph: "We spent days along the Wawanash River, helping Uncle Benny fish....
He was not our uncle, or anybody's."
"He was not our uncle, or anybody's." That line is so short and so brilliant--can't you just picture Uncle Benny in your head right now? Munro does not mock the characters in this small-town story the way Flannery O'Connor might.
Indeed Del Jordan, our young narrator, has never really More...
He was not our uncle, or anybody's."
"He was not our uncle, or anybody's." That line is so short and so brilliant--can't you just picture Uncle Benny in your head right now? Munro does not mock the characters in this small-town story the way Flannery O'Connor might.
Indeed Del Jordan, our young narrator, has never really More...
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Mar 01, 2009
Braden
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These characters! Painted with such humor and subtlety...love Aunties Grace and Elspeth, and Aunt Nile with her green fingernails, and Del's mother, and the school friends, and Miss Farris....
The best thing about this book, however, is the portrayal of Del's emotional landscape as she moves through adolescence. Among my favorite passages:
--after Del's fight with Mary Agnes ("Being forgiven creates a peculiar shame....")
--Del's observations about her mother's attemp More...
The best thing about this book, however, is the portrayal of Del's emotional landscape as she moves through adolescence. Among my favorite passages:
--after Del's fight with Mary Agnes ("Being forgiven creates a peculiar shame....")
--Del's observations about her mother's attemp More...
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Jun 24, 2010
Knucklefish
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Alice Munro is principally a short story writer. This is a novel, but really it feels like a book of eight short stories about the same girl at different points in her life, from hitting puberty to the brink of adulthood. Each story focuses on different people in her life so that there isn't a lot of ongoing conflict throughout the book as a whole. What makes it flow is the evolution of Del's character.
I dragged my feet through the early years, but I felt more interest once Del began More...
I dragged my feet through the early years, but I felt more interest once Del began More...
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Jun 12, 2010
Brittany
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How I Came To Read This Book: It was kicking around on my bookshelf, a product of the boyfriend's book collection from school.
The Plot: The book is a series of interweaving short stories that frequently reference one another - those expecting a traditional continuous narrative shouldn't. If you've read Curtis Sittenfeld's "Prep" it's a similar style of self-contained chapters that draw from earlier 'stories'. Our protagonist is Della, a young girl on the cusp of teenagehood More...
The Plot: The book is a series of interweaving short stories that frequently reference one another - those expecting a traditional continuous narrative shouldn't. If you've read Curtis Sittenfeld's "Prep" it's a similar style of self-contained chapters that draw from earlier 'stories'. Our protagonist is Della, a young girl on the cusp of teenagehood More...
Jan 08, 2012
Colleen O'Neill
rated it:
Any of these chapters could stand alone as a fully realized, contained short story. At first that made this book seem un-novelistic, but as I read along, it worked pretty well. The title, also the title of one of the chapters, really summarizes the book. It starts with Del as a young girl living on the wilder outskirts of town on the Flats Road, where her father has a silver fox farm and her mother seems to be a somewhat frustrated intellectual.. At first her interactions are with her mother, fa
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Sep 21, 2010
Mommalibrarian
rated it:
Is it historical fiction if it is set in small-town Canada just after WWII. I guess I am becoming a historical person. This is a coming of age story. Smart girl tries to figure out life. Short (250 p) Mostly quiet easy reading. At one point the mother tries to tell the daughter that birth control is not enough.
"That is not enough, though of course it is a great boon . . . It is self-respect I am really speaking of. Self respect."
The daughter is not on the age or in the More...
"That is not enough, though of course it is a great boon . . . It is self-respect I am really speaking of. Self respect."
The daughter is not on the age or in the More...
Sep 30, 2008
kate
rated it:
this was the first book i've read by alice munro, so obviously i've never read her short stories. i enjoyed it to an extent, but at times found it plodding and slow. there were certain things in her descriptions of del's feelings that i could really relate to. all in all i'd probably give it 3.5 stars, but i'm not really all that interested in reading more of her work after reading this. totally mixed feelings.
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Mar 21, 2008
Stacy
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Like much of the Southern Ontario Gothic sub-genre, “Lives” is an acquired taste. But whether or not small towns and angsty woman is your thing, it is undeniable that Alice Munro is a woman of considerable talent. “Baptized” was probably the single best chapter I’ve ever read about growing up. Be patient with this book, and you will be rewarded – the insight is subtle, hard won, and absolutely worth it.
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Nov 01, 2011
Anita
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This was an odd read for me, perhaps because I began it assuming it to be a novel when in fact it originated as a collection of short stories and it reads as such. It has a rather disjointed feel to it and certain elements are off for example questions are raised in one ‘chapter’ that had already been answered in the previous one, ideas are repeated etc.
It is primarily a tale of a young girl, Del Jordan, and her growth from childhood to maturity in a small town in Ontario, it is a catalogue More...
It is primarily a tale of a young girl, Del Jordan, and her growth from childhood to maturity in a small town in Ontario, it is a catalogue More...
Jun 13, 2011
Beth
rated it:
For some reason, this was a tough one to rate. There are things I loved about this book. It really beautifully captures that somewhat terrible and sometimes terrifying aspect of 'growing up'. Forming friendships, the cruelty of children, growing distant from old friends, getting disappointed, troubling parents, rumors and gossip and guilt and love...it's all there, and all explored in a really interesting way.
But it did take me a really long time to get into the story and start to care More...
But it did take me a really long time to get into the story and start to care More...
Sep 02, 2007
Mary
rated it:
This was the book that got me hooked on Alice Munro. It was on a college reading list and it is a beautifully written coming of age story of a girl named Del in rural 1950s Ontario. It is one of the few books that I have read more than once.
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Apr 02, 2010
Troy
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Quiet, introspective, observant, and beautiful. Alice Munro's stories are surprising, which is something I love in writing. Her characters, observations, and settings are all full of oblique angles that are not obvious and not predictable. Munro points out that people (and the world) are both more mundane and infinitely more complex than their fictional counterparts. Real tragedy is never as exciting as its fictional counterpart. Real people both stay the same, remain boring, and often do things
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Dec 20, 2009
Marieke
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A quiet little book, yet stunningly evocative. Lives of Girls and Women is absolutely alive with truth and experience, novelty, curiosity and the shock of growing up.
When reading this novel, I had the feeling of dipping in and out of a community. While I was there I got to know some of the townspeople of Jubilee--the nutty schoolteacher who puts on the school musical every year, Fern the boarder and her sterile suitor, the nurse's daughter Naomi and her morality tales of sex and dea More...
When reading this novel, I had the feeling of dipping in and out of a community. While I was there I got to know some of the townspeople of Jubilee--the nutty schoolteacher who puts on the school musical every year, Fern the boarder and her sterile suitor, the nurse's daughter Naomi and her morality tales of sex and dea More...
Feb 03, 2012
Theresa
rated it:
It always takes a while for me to really get into a book that starts slow (doesn't get to the point fast enough). I felt this way about "Never Let Me Go" and that turned out to be one of my favourites. This too - I wasn't sure where it was going, but started to see the bigger picture about half way through. This book reminds me of the movie "An Education." Both are about the experience growing up from girls to women, and the inner struggles and discoveries we have. Not that g
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May 15, 2011
Georgiana
rated it:
Six stars--probably my favorite book ever. The quality of the writing is similar to that of Kazuo Ishiguro's, but the story hit closer to home, which is part of the reason why I enjoyed this book more.
I was watching some YouTube videos last night, and apparently the book was (used to be?) banned by some schools. I find it as crazy as some universities banning Patchett's Truth & Beauty. If anyone is going to make stupid choices, I very much doubt "protecting" people from book More...
I was watching some YouTube videos last night, and apparently the book was (used to be?) banned by some schools. I find it as crazy as some universities banning Patchett's Truth & Beauty. If anyone is going to make stupid choices, I very much doubt "protecting" people from book More...
Jan 16, 2010
Kathleen
rated it:
Oh, the pain of growing up! The humiliation of having others find out your secrets! Del, is growing up in a small town on the Canadian prairie. I have lived in samll towns when I was first married, but I forgot about the aunts, the churches, who got pregnant and disappeared. For me the best part was when she was trying to learn to sew, but just couldn't get it right. The teacher asks her to stop and take on sweeping the flour. She thought a prayer had been answered! Makes me want to go out and s
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Sep 09, 2009
Rebecca
rated it:
Book #2 in the series Read the Books You Already Own Before Buying New Books. Also an attempt to get more into Canadian authors that aren't Margaret Atwood.
The book is well-written and relatable enough, but it's not very compelling - I had to force myself to keep reading it. It's one of those books of loose vignettes that all tangentially relate because of one character. I don't really like those kinds of books. It's not terribly surprising that that's how it's structured considering More...
The book is well-written and relatable enough, but it's not very compelling - I had to force myself to keep reading it. It's one of those books of loose vignettes that all tangentially relate because of one character. I don't really like those kinds of books. It's not terribly surprising that that's how it's structured considering More...
Sep 02, 2011
Amy
rated it:
Title: Lives of Girls and Women
Author: Alice Munro
ISBN: 978-0375707490
Pages: 288
Release Date: February 13, 2001
Publisher: Vintage
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Book Summary: Lives of Girls and Women is an insightful, honest book, "autobiographical in form but not in fact," that chronicles a young girl's growing up in rural Ontario in the 1940's.
Del Jordan lives out at the end of the Flats Road on her fath More...
Author: Alice Munro
ISBN: 978-0375707490
Pages: 288
Release Date: February 13, 2001
Publisher: Vintage
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Book Summary: Lives of Girls and Women is an insightful, honest book, "autobiographical in form but not in fact," that chronicles a young girl's growing up in rural Ontario in the 1940's.
Del Jordan lives out at the end of the Flats Road on her fath More...
Feb 11, 2008
Anne
rated it:
This is a lovely semi-autobiographical novel about a boyish girl (in the spirit of Scout Finch) growing up on the Canadian prairie. Living in New York makes me hungry for books like these that treat the landscape like one more complicated lovable character. The cover of my 1974 paperback edition (courtesy of Jason) features an illustration of a couple in the far distance of a wheat field, big pseudo-calligraphic typography, and, on the back, three instances of the word 'sexual' in just four sent
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Jul 26, 2007
Katie
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This book takes place in rural Ontario. It starts when the main character, Del Jordan, who is also the narrator, is about 10 years old, just before WWII, and goes up to the end of high school.
I really identified with Del. Throughout the book, she seems to be pushed along by the circumstances around her - no one asks what she wants, they just sort of expect her to go along with the small town flow. It's not easy for her, though, because her mother resists pretty much all aspects of s More...
I really identified with Del. Throughout the book, she seems to be pushed along by the circumstances around her - no one asks what she wants, they just sort of expect her to go along with the small town flow. It's not easy for her, though, because her mother resists pretty much all aspects of s More...
Dec 29, 2009
Tzviya
rated it:
This novel illustrates well that Alice Munro writes great short stories. Each chapter is a self-contained short story. They are all about the same characters, and after a few chapter they shape a story together. In the end, it's a good book that explores a lot of interesting themes about growing up in post-WWII America with an "intellectual" mother in a rural area. Del is on the brink of the feminist movement and sexual revolution, and her mother is sometimes steps ahead of her, someti
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Oct 01, 2009
Monica
rated it:
This book is lovely, lovely, lovely. Everything feels immediate and true and the coming of age stuff is totally on point. There are little bits of growing up in here I swear I've never seen tackled in any novel. Seriously, big kudos to Munro for pulling off something that feels so fresh out of such well traveled material.
I think this is Munro's only novel, and even this feels like a series of short stories about one girl, her mother, and the women that surround her in her rural On More...
I think this is Munro's only novel, and even this feels like a series of short stories about one girl, her mother, and the women that surround her in her rural On More...
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Aug 11, 2010
Guy
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I read this book within the context of a university 'introduction to the novel' 101 course. At first I was disappointed in the book, and then I found it very amusing because within it was a constant, very quiet, misandrist sexism. Now, I do not know if that was deliberate on the part of Munro, but I did not see this commented on when I did my research for the paper. The book was much better on re-read for the paper than on my first perusal.
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Oct 16, 2009
Kate
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I finished this at work today and I'm still dealing with exactly what it means to me. It's short story collection that really reads like a novel and it's so hauntingly gorgeous. I also see a lot of the rites of passage for young girls, or even just young people in general. Your first time at a funeral, your first kiss, the day you sit there and wonder why you're still in school while everyone else seems to be getting on with their lives. It's all so poignant and so human that it almost makes
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Mar 10, 2010
Lynne
rated it:
I like Munro's writing style and wasn't disappointed. You can't read her books with a hope of resolution and this one mirrors real life in its up and down meandering. Was not her best effort... or at least not her best result. I don't think she should have left her nicely developed main character stepping off a cliff of unrealistic stupidity. I don't mind the stupidity part, but I want to be able to believe it.
Aug 18, 2010
Sarah
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Alice Munro crafts stories that make me hold my breath. While allowing her shrewd, tough women to walk the world, she emphasizes the importance of their explorations and adventures across their small town lives, so we know they are never too far from making mistakes that may lock them into dreary, boxed-in existences in these aforementioned small towns.
That ever-present temptation to slip up and settle surrounds the main character of Lives of Girls and Women. And how she learns fro More...
That ever-present temptation to slip up and settle surrounds the main character of Lives of Girls and Women. And how she learns fro More...
Jul 24, 2011
Crin
rated it:
I've never read a book where I kept saying, "Oh yes, that is exactly how that feels," so much. This book is what it feels like in those moments just before you fall asleep, or when a 14 year old best friend hurts you so much with a stinging comment or how walking in a daze in those first moments of seeing a face that you just know you will love. It is remarkable the way Alice Munroe captures essences of being.
May 19, 2008
Julia
rated it:
When I first started this book, I was skeptical that I would enjoy it throughout. I've never been a big fan of what I call "flowery description." However, I realized that Munro's descriptive capabilites are anything but flowery. Rather, they are deep and insightful and nonobvious. Example: "We had seen in each other what we could not bear, and we had no idea that people do see that, and go on, and hate and fight and try to kill each other, various ways, then love some more."
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Sep 09, 2011
Carol
rated it:
***contains spoiler***I liked the beginning part of this novel when the heroine was a child and a teenager searching for truth and God. When she became an adult, I was disappointed with her decisions, which doesn't mean that the book wasn't well written.
The ending is ambiguous and would take a reread to understand. It might also be helpful in understanding why many people choose not to believe.
The ending is ambiguous and would take a reread to understand. It might also be helpful in understanding why many people choose not to believe.
