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327th out of 373 books
—
265 voters
Varieties of Exile
Mavis Gallant is the modern master of what Henry James called the international story, the fine-grained evocation of the quandaries of people who must make their way in the world without any place to call their own. The irreducible complexity of the very idea of home is especially at issue in the stories Gallant has written about Montreal, where she was born, although she...more
Paperback, 324 pages
Published
November 30th 2003
by NYRB Classics
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Mavis Gallant grew up in and around Montreal, but has been living in Paris for the last half century. She's published mainly short stories (her stories have appeared in the New Yorker since the 1950s. The backdrop of this particular collection of short stories is Canada. Her upbringing, as the lone Protestant/English child that went through the conservative school system of the French Catholic church)in pre-post war Montreal is mirrored in many of these stories. Her writing captures the duality...more
In his introduction to Mavis Gallant’s short story collection, Varieties of Exile, Russell Banks offers us a quote from the other herself—
"Stories are not chapters of novels. They should not be read one after another, as if they were meant to follow along. Read one. Shut the book. Read something else. Come back later. Stories can wait."
Banks, of course, offers the feeble, “But, trust me, these can’t.” As particular as the advice may come to readers of short story collections—among them, the odd...more
"Stories are not chapters of novels. They should not be read one after another, as if they were meant to follow along. Read one. Shut the book. Read something else. Come back later. Stories can wait."
Banks, of course, offers the feeble, “But, trust me, these can’t.” As particular as the advice may come to readers of short story collections—among them, the odd...more
Aug 11, 2012
charta
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
narrativa,
nordamerica
Quattro racconti di media lunghezza che parlano di separazioni per abbandono o rimozione. Di solitudine. Di incomunicabilità. E, soprattutto, del fare e dell'essere per l'utile.
Quattro storie come tante, nascono nella banalità e in essa si sviluppano e concludono.
L'io narrante, odiosamente ironico e onnisciente, mai identificabile con uno dei personaggi, gronda distacco e superiorità. Lo sguardo è gelido, manca del tutto un barlume d'afflato umano, un'ombra di dolore nel rappresentare pochezze e...more
Quattro storie come tante, nascono nella banalità e in essa si sviluppano e concludono.
L'io narrante, odiosamente ironico e onnisciente, mai identificabile con uno dei personaggi, gronda distacco e superiorità. Lo sguardo è gelido, manca del tutto un barlume d'afflato umano, un'ombra di dolore nel rappresentare pochezze e...more
The most wonderful writer I'd never heard of. Many stories' narratives are nearly absent, replaced by adult ruminations on a naive yet highly intelligent and perceptive girlhood. Each story needs and deserves to be reread and reread.
Gorgeous interlocking stories about French- and English-speaking Montreal through most of the 20th century. Reminded me a great deal of Brodkey, whose stories I'd just discovered, because of the way in which Gallant tells & re-tells the same person's life at different points and from different places. Also, because of the way in which childhood memory is so sensual. I found that in reading about her characters' childhoods, I could remember more of my own. Which of course made me suspicious....more
Everyone else seems to think this book deserves a minimum of 4 stars, and maybe it does. Maybe it's some kind of highbrow chicklit. No matter. I disliked it thoroughly -- I found these stories almost unreadable.
The marketing hook for this collection (in the jacket blurb and the worshipful introduction by Russell Banks) is a biographical one. Gallant was born in Montreal to English-speaking, Protestant parents, an only child who was shipped off to a French Catholic boarding school at age four. H...more
The marketing hook for this collection (in the jacket blurb and the worshipful introduction by Russell Banks) is a biographical one. Gallant was born in Montreal to English-speaking, Protestant parents, an only child who was shipped off to a French Catholic boarding school at age four. H...more
This book took me forever to finish. Even now, I feel like I haven't truly read this book, despite taking my time on each individual story. As Gallant herself says, "Stories are not chapters of novels. They should not be read one after another, as if they were meant to follow along. Read one. Shut the book. Read something else. Come back later. Stories can wait."
However, this collection really should be read cover-to-cover, as many of the stories follow after one another: 3 stories focus on Linn...more
However, this collection really should be read cover-to-cover, as many of the stories follow after one another: 3 stories focus on Linn...more
Absolutely fell in love with Mavis Gallant here. I'd highly reccommend it to anyone interested in short stories, she hasn't got nearly as much exposure as she deserves.
Its a collection of fantastic short stories about people apart, or outside, or in some way, well, exiled. They're set in canada, which adds another interesting element... i had no idea the dynamics in quebec....
Its a collection of fantastic short stories about people apart, or outside, or in some way, well, exiled. They're set in canada, which adds another interesting element... i had no idea the dynamics in quebec....
There were points where I was sick of the characters (as this collection has several groupings of stories where the characters are carried over) but I was almost never sick of Gallant. She is conspicuously good. I will most definitely be seeking out more of her work.
I first read the collection "Paris Stories" and thought perhaps I was a wee-bit in love with Mavis Gallant because of the Paris backdrop of her stories. But no. Paris, Quebec, Florida, she can take me wherever, and I am just as as enthralled.
Gallant's stories are unique in their setting as well as their voice. She's able to perfectly capture a person in a physical detail or a quirk with almost tender ruthlessness. Her writing is absolutely amazing.
These are great. Linnet Muir and Martha Quest would be such great friends.
crystalline.
Mavis Gallant is a master. These stories are so good, I am at a loss as to how to review them. This collection is cool because it groups together her linked stories which involve the same characters but originally appeared in different collections or magazines - so you can read them one at a time, or follow a character like Linnet Muir through four or five stories.
I love Mavis Gallant. I can't believe it took me this long to discover her stories. A new favorite. I especially love the Linnet Muir stories. Gallant manages to do things in her stories that I have been trying (but failing) to do in my own. Her work resonates with me on so many levels that I wish I could fly to Paris right now and talk to her.
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Canadian journalist and fiction writer. In her twenties, Gallant worked as a reporter for the Montreal Standard. She left journalism in 1950 to pursue fiction writing. To that end, always needing autonomy and privacy, she moved to France.
In 1981, Gallant was honoured by her native country and made an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contribution to literature. That same year she also receive...more
More about Mavis Gallant...
In 1981, Gallant was honoured by her native country and made an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contribution to literature. That same year she also receive...more
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Mar 13, 2010 06:21am