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De manen van Jupiter
Elf verhalen over vrouwen die, ieder op eigen wijze, ontdekken dat de liefde maar zelden eerlijk en betrouwbaar is. De vrouwen zijn van verschillende leeftijden en achtergronden, maar hebben gemeen dat ze geleerd hebben dat liefde en relaties zelden zo romantisch en meeslepend zijn als in sprookjes. In De manen van Jupiter vertelt Alice Munro op rake manier, met oog voor detail, hoe onverwachte gebeurtenissen de romantische dromen van vrouwen verstoren en hun een praktische kijk op de werkelijkheid geven.
315 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
682 people are currently reading
7024 people want to read
About the author
Alice Munro
239 books6,597 followersCollections of short stories of noted Canadian writer Alice Munro of life in rural Ontario include
Dance of the Happy Shades
(1968) and
Moons of Jupiter
(1982); for these and vivid novels, she won the Nobel Prize of 2013 for literature.
People widely consider her premier fiction of the world. Munro thrice received governor general's award. She focuses on human relationships through the lens of daily life. People thus refer to this "the Canadian Chekhov."
(Arabic: أليس مونرو)
(Persian: آلیس مانرو)
(Russian Cyrillic: Элис Манро)
(Ukrainian Cyrillic: Еліс Манро)
(Bulgarian Cyrillic: Алис Мънро)
(Slovak: Alice Munroová)
(Serbian: Alis Manro)
People widely consider her premier fiction of the world. Munro thrice received governor general's award. She focuses on human relationships through the lens of daily life. People thus refer to this "the Canadian Chekhov."
(Arabic: أليس مونرو)
(Persian: آلیس مانرو)
(Russian Cyrillic: Элис Манро)
(Ukrainian Cyrillic: Еліс Манро)
(Bulgarian Cyrillic: Алис Мънро)
(Slovak: Alice Munroová)
(Serbian: Alis Manro)
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February 21, 2019
أخيراً انتهيت منها
ليس العمل الأول الذي أقرأه لأليس مونرو، الكاتبة الحاصة على جائزة نوبل للآداب والمتخصصة بشكل رئيسي في كتابة القصة القصيرة- لكني اعتقد أنه سيكون الأخير، فالملل لم يفارقني طوال صفحات الكتاب
مشكلة أليس مونرو أنها لا تفرق بين القص والثرثرة، معظم قصصها عبارة عن "ثرثرة" تطلق فيها العنان لخيالها دون رسالة واضحة أو مغزى عميق تدور حوله الأحداث، تكتشف ببساطة عند نهاية السطر الأخير من القصة أنك لم تخرج بفكرة أو مغزى ما للقصة، ربما تؤثر بك بعض التفاصيل الانسانية التي تعرضها، لكنك ستنساها سريعاً لأنها مكتوبة دون غرض درامي قوي
ربما كان العيب في القصص، أو في البيئة المحلية التي تصر مونرو أن تدور بها أحداث معظم القصص، وهي البيئة التي لا تبدو مألوفة لنا ولا تثير بداخلنا أي مشاعر، أو شخصيات قصصها المتشابهة أحياناً، وقد يكمن العيب في كم التفاصيل الرهيب الذي يشتت القارئ ويخرجه عن التركيز، أو الترجمة الحرفية، وربما كل ذلك
لا انصح به لمحبي القراءات الخفيفة، فهي قراءة تحتاج إلى صبر وقدرة هائلة على التركيز
ليس العمل الأول الذي أقرأه لأليس مونرو، الكاتبة الحاصة على جائزة نوبل للآداب والمتخصصة بشكل رئيسي في كتابة القصة القصيرة- لكني اعتقد أنه سيكون الأخير، فالملل لم يفارقني طوال صفحات الكتاب
مشكلة أليس مونرو أنها لا تفرق بين القص والثرثرة، معظم قصصها عبارة عن "ثرثرة" تطلق فيها العنان لخيالها دون رسالة واضحة أو مغزى عميق تدور حوله الأحداث، تكتشف ببساطة عند نهاية السطر الأخير من القصة أنك لم تخرج بفكرة أو مغزى ما للقصة، ربما تؤثر بك بعض التفاصيل الانسانية التي تعرضها، لكنك ستنساها سريعاً لأنها مكتوبة دون غرض درامي قوي
ربما كان العيب في القصص، أو في البيئة المحلية التي تصر مونرو أن تدور بها أحداث معظم القصص، وهي البيئة التي لا تبدو مألوفة لنا ولا تثير بداخلنا أي مشاعر، أو شخصيات قصصها المتشابهة أحياناً، وقد يكمن العيب في كم التفاصيل الرهيب الذي يشتت القارئ ويخرجه عن التركيز، أو الترجمة الحرفية، وربما كل ذلك
لا انصح به لمحبي القراءات الخفيفة، فهي قراءة تحتاج إلى صبر وقدرة هائلة على التركيز
January 6, 2022
Updated May 2016
Alice Munro, around the time that The Moons Of Jupiter was published
***
The Moons Of Jupiter is Munro's fifth book, and I think it marked a turning point in her writing.
A few stories ("Mrs. Cross And Mrs. Kidd," "Visitors") feel anachronistic, well-written and polished tales that could have been part of her first collection, Dance Of The Happy Shades. Others, like "Bardon Bus" and "Hard-Luck Stories," are cool, playful experiments – they're like literary puzzles.
Most importantly, Munro starts doing fascinating stuff with time and perspective in a way that she'd perfect in her next few books (The Progress Of Love, Friend Of My Youth, Open Secrets), demonstrating not just how much a short story can pack in but how shape and form – turning an event this way and that – can make you see life in a different way.
Moons includes some of my all-time favourite Munro stories: the opening, two-part "Chaddeleys And Flemings," about the narrator's memories of her mother's and her father's families; the much-anthologized charmer "The Turkey Season," about a young girl's discovery of jealousy, sexual competition and humiliation while working at a turkey-gutting farm one Christmas; "Dulse," a tough look at a middle-aged poet's recovery from an affair (there's a nice subplot about a Willa Cather fan in this one); the mysterious "Labor Day Dinner," which has a conclusion that I still find thrilling; "Accident," which recounts an affair tinged by tragedy and features one of those time-leaping finales I mentioned earlier; and the poignant title tale, a personal story about a writer visiting her father in the hospital, which connects back to the book's opening diptych. (This last story also includes a brilliant scene set in one of Toronto's more recognizable landmarks, the planetarium, attached to the Royal Ontario Museum.)
I revisit many of these stories often, but this was the first time I'd read the book again all the way through. With a writer like Munro, you see things you didn't before, if only because you've lived more life and can appreciate her profound insights into the human condition.
Alice Munro, around the time that The Moons Of Jupiter was published
***
The Moons Of Jupiter is Munro's fifth book, and I think it marked a turning point in her writing.
A few stories ("Mrs. Cross And Mrs. Kidd," "Visitors") feel anachronistic, well-written and polished tales that could have been part of her first collection, Dance Of The Happy Shades. Others, like "Bardon Bus" and "Hard-Luck Stories," are cool, playful experiments – they're like literary puzzles.
Most importantly, Munro starts doing fascinating stuff with time and perspective in a way that she'd perfect in her next few books (The Progress Of Love, Friend Of My Youth, Open Secrets), demonstrating not just how much a short story can pack in but how shape and form – turning an event this way and that – can make you see life in a different way.
Moons includes some of my all-time favourite Munro stories: the opening, two-part "Chaddeleys And Flemings," about the narrator's memories of her mother's and her father's families; the much-anthologized charmer "The Turkey Season," about a young girl's discovery of jealousy, sexual competition and humiliation while working at a turkey-gutting farm one Christmas; "Dulse," a tough look at a middle-aged poet's recovery from an affair (there's a nice subplot about a Willa Cather fan in this one); the mysterious "Labor Day Dinner," which has a conclusion that I still find thrilling; "Accident," which recounts an affair tinged by tragedy and features one of those time-leaping finales I mentioned earlier; and the poignant title tale, a personal story about a writer visiting her father in the hospital, which connects back to the book's opening diptych. (This last story also includes a brilliant scene set in one of Toronto's more recognizable landmarks, the planetarium, attached to the Royal Ontario Museum.)
I revisit many of these stories often, but this was the first time I'd read the book again all the way through. With a writer like Munro, you see things you didn't before, if only because you've lived more life and can appreciate her profound insights into the human condition.
October 6, 2020
This site seems quite badly broken at the moment. The absence of notifications seems like some internet version of social distancing. What it's made me realise is how much I'd miss GR if it went down, never to resurface. At the moment it certainly seems to be short of breath.
Anyway, to the book. I've read a lot of Alice Munro stories this year and last night I put myself to the test: how many of them could I still remember? I discovered, very few. She doesn't really come up with memorable plots or charismatic unforgettable characters. The ordinary is her domain. Almost all her stories have a disappointed woman at their heart and are set in rural or small town Canadian backdrops. But because she's got a fantastic way with words she generally enlivens and even poeticises the ordinary. That said, this collection was my least favourite of her works. It begins well but towards the end inspiration seems to be running dry and there are a couple of rather dull stories, as if she's on automatic pilot. I did though enjoy her introduction where she speaks of the embarrassment of reading her own work. I've often wondered what that experience is like for a writer and imagined it might be like reading one's old love letters. She confirms this hunch.
Anyway, to the book. I've read a lot of Alice Munro stories this year and last night I put myself to the test: how many of them could I still remember? I discovered, very few. She doesn't really come up with memorable plots or charismatic unforgettable characters. The ordinary is her domain. Almost all her stories have a disappointed woman at their heart and are set in rural or small town Canadian backdrops. But because she's got a fantastic way with words she generally enlivens and even poeticises the ordinary. That said, this collection was my least favourite of her works. It begins well but towards the end inspiration seems to be running dry and there are a couple of rather dull stories, as if she's on automatic pilot. I did though enjoy her introduction where she speaks of the embarrassment of reading her own work. I've often wondered what that experience is like for a writer and imagined it might be like reading one's old love letters. She confirms this hunch.
November 19, 2021
Esta colección de relatos de la Premio Nobel Alice Munro explora principalmente, como casi toda su obra, el imaginario femenino. La mujer y el amor, la mujer en la familia, la mujer y los hijos, la mujer y las amistades. Y digo explora porque no llega a conclusiones ni da lecciones, simplemente muestra fragmentos de la realidad que van componiendo un buen retrato de las mujeres de su generación y sobre todo sus razones para ser infelices.
Mucha de la infelicidad que se nos muestra deriva del arraigado concepto del amor romántico idealizado y la frustración consiguiente ante la incapacidad de alcanzarlo:
Como muchas mujeres de su generación, tiene una idea del amor que es destructiva, pero que de algún modo no es seria, no es respetuosa.
Eso hace que estas mujeres vivan el fracaso de la pareja como una culpa personal, acompañada del sentimiento de fracaso vital:
Encerrados juntos, conduciendo por las carreteras de gravilla caliente y a un paso casi fúnebre, estaban inmovilizados por un silencio devastador. Al filo del silencio, Roberta se siente encoger como una hoja amarillenta.
El miedo a envejecer, la pérdida del atractivo físico, la relación difícil con los hijos, son temas que también van apareciendo a lo largo de los relatos. Pero creo que el principal tema de fondo es el miedo de no hallar un sitio propio en el esquema social, a sentirse de más si no es en el rol de amante, esposa o cuidadora. El feminismo en la obra de Munro parece pacífico, resignado, pero si se lee bien es una carga de profundidad contra un sistema que hace infelices a muchas mujeres.
La desconfianza hacia el concepto de amor como panacea para la situación de la mujer es constante:
Su vida y su presencia, más que cualquier opinión de las que expresa, te recuerdan que el amor no es amable ni honesto y que no contribuye a la felicidad de ninguna forma fiable
La narrativa de Alice Munro es lenta, detallada, requiere una lectura atenta y reflexiva porque se limita a reflejar escenas cotidianas, casi estáticas, poniendo el foco en los pensamientos y sentimientos de los personajes femeninos. Su uso del lenguaje es magnífico, con descripciones como:
Es una mujer alta, de poco pecho, cuya cara larga y ordinaria parece resplandecer de agrado, de impaciente comprensión, de humor, inteligencia y aprecio.
Ha sido mi primera incursión en el universo Munro, pero seguramente no será la última.
4,5 estrellas
Mucha de la infelicidad que se nos muestra deriva del arraigado concepto del amor romántico idealizado y la frustración consiguiente ante la incapacidad de alcanzarlo:
Como muchas mujeres de su generación, tiene una idea del amor que es destructiva, pero que de algún modo no es seria, no es respetuosa.
Eso hace que estas mujeres vivan el fracaso de la pareja como una culpa personal, acompañada del sentimiento de fracaso vital:
Encerrados juntos, conduciendo por las carreteras de gravilla caliente y a un paso casi fúnebre, estaban inmovilizados por un silencio devastador. Al filo del silencio, Roberta se siente encoger como una hoja amarillenta.
El miedo a envejecer, la pérdida del atractivo físico, la relación difícil con los hijos, son temas que también van apareciendo a lo largo de los relatos. Pero creo que el principal tema de fondo es el miedo de no hallar un sitio propio en el esquema social, a sentirse de más si no es en el rol de amante, esposa o cuidadora. El feminismo en la obra de Munro parece pacífico, resignado, pero si se lee bien es una carga de profundidad contra un sistema que hace infelices a muchas mujeres.
La desconfianza hacia el concepto de amor como panacea para la situación de la mujer es constante:
Su vida y su presencia, más que cualquier opinión de las que expresa, te recuerdan que el amor no es amable ni honesto y que no contribuye a la felicidad de ninguna forma fiable
La narrativa de Alice Munro es lenta, detallada, requiere una lectura atenta y reflexiva porque se limita a reflejar escenas cotidianas, casi estáticas, poniendo el foco en los pensamientos y sentimientos de los personajes femeninos. Su uso del lenguaje es magnífico, con descripciones como:
Es una mujer alta, de poco pecho, cuya cara larga y ordinaria parece resplandecer de agrado, de impaciente comprensión, de humor, inteligencia y aprecio.
Ha sido mi primera incursión en el universo Munro, pero seguramente no será la última.
4,5 estrellas
May 15, 2022
The Moons of Jupiter is the seventh literary work I have read by Alice Munro, a Canadian author. Known as ‘a master of the contemporary short story, Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature.
This collection of eleven stories depicted women making sense of their own identity through their relationship with their families and romantic or marriage partners. A common experience for the female protagonists was an unhappy marriage culminating in divorce or extra-marital affairs that only accentuated the emptiness they sought to fill. I find the vacuousness in these stories rather depressing. Not a single woman in these stories was happy.
Munro’s writerly skills are evident in her character portraits where a gesture or unspoken word offers hint of the hidden person. She has a good ear for dialogue and some exchanges are humorous. She writes a strong and pleasing prose. Personally, I found her approach somewhat oblique and there are times I could not see the point she wished to make.
Below is a synopsis of the eleven stories. You may wish to stop reading here if you have not read this work.
Chaddeleys and Flemings
A story about family connections and how they define us. Class consciousness held center stage. Connections to ancestry in England seemed important. Rural accents were despised. The narrator compared two sets of maiden aunts and recalled their eccentricities. Her mother’s cousins (Chaddeleys) had impressive and intimidating bosoms, and they dressed to kill. In contrast her father’s sisters (Flemings) were homely and content with living simply. She mused that she carried something of her mother’s cousins and her paternal aunts in her.
Dulse
Lydia, a divorced woman in her forties, took a solo vacation to an island where she stayed in a guesthouse that was apparently Willa Cather’s summer haunt. Cather’s fans may be interested to know more about her in this story. On this island, Cather wrote ‘A Lost Woman.’ In this story, Lydia too was a lost woman. An affair had ended. It dawned on her that she was entering a phase of life where men were no longer interested in her. A bag of dulse, a seaweed snack, left for her by a male hotel guest left Lydia and the reader wondering if this meant anything at all.
The Turkey Season
A coming-of-age story of a 14-year-old girl who worked as a turkey gutter on a Turkey Barn one Christmas. (I wanted to know what the job of a turkey gutter entailed). Munro captured the harsh life circumstances of the rather coarse women who worked here and the sad state of their married lives.
Accident
December, 1943. Frances, a high school music teacher was having an affair with Ted Makkavala, a Science teacher. A fatal accident in Ted’s family precipitated discovery of their liaison and much more.
Bardon Bus
A writer recalled an affair with an anthropologist (she named X) while researching a book in Australia. Much of it was about her helpless longing after an ex-lover. Her friend, Kat, too had many affairs that led to naught but was undamaged. This story offered up cynical views about love and a clever ending. Munro aced this story!
Prue
Another story about a woman and a man having an extramarital relationship. Prue, however, was totally unsentimental about her dalliance with Gordon who claimed he wished to marry her in a few years’ time after he had stopped being in love with a younger woman he was currently dating. Prue made no claims on anyone and laughed about her messed up love life. Why?!
Labor Day Dinner
The story centered on Roberta, a woman in crisis. Divorced with two teenage daughters, she was into her first year of her relationship with George whom she sensed was loathing her. George humiliated her and insulted her about her flabby armpits. We were given the perspectives of George, the two daughters, Valerie the host who invited Roberta and family to dinner, and that of Valerie’s adult children. Again, another unhappy woman who was wounded in love. Then a near fatal accident on the way home reminded Roberta, George and the girls of what mattered in life and what did not.
Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Kidd
Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Kidd had been friends since kindergarten. Both were wheelchair bound and lived in a home. The new friendship they each formed with other residents and petty jealousies affected their relationship with each other.
Hard-Luck Stories
Three people (two ladies who were friends and a guy they met at a conference) shared a drive back to Toronto. The two women told interesting hard-luck stories about the lovers they had. I love the eye-opening definitely of a femme fatale: ‘To be a femme fatale you don’t have to be slinky and sensuous and disastrously beautiful, you just have to have the will to disturb.’
Visitors
Wilfred and Mildred, a retired couple, lived in a very small house. Albert (Wilfred‘s brother) came to visit after more than 30 years. Albert came with Grace (his wife) and Vera (Grace’s sister). Mildred marveled at how much the two brothers, Wilfred and Albert, differed from each other almost as if they were not connected, and how the two sisters, Grace and Vera, seemed to speak from the same mouth. It was not a pleasant visit. Despite this, Wilfred longed for his brother when the latter returned home.
The Moons of Jupiter
In this titular story, the narrator was anxious about her elderly father’s impending heart surgery. She visited the planetarium to watch a show about the thirteen moons of Jupiter. The back story was her father’s impoverished and harsh childhood and the narrator’s relationship with her daughters, one of whom had chosen to be incommunicado. A rather tender story about parent-child relationship and the choices we make.
This collection of eleven stories depicted women making sense of their own identity through their relationship with their families and romantic or marriage partners. A common experience for the female protagonists was an unhappy marriage culminating in divorce or extra-marital affairs that only accentuated the emptiness they sought to fill. I find the vacuousness in these stories rather depressing. Not a single woman in these stories was happy.
Munro’s writerly skills are evident in her character portraits where a gesture or unspoken word offers hint of the hidden person. She has a good ear for dialogue and some exchanges are humorous. She writes a strong and pleasing prose. Personally, I found her approach somewhat oblique and there are times I could not see the point she wished to make.
Below is a synopsis of the eleven stories. You may wish to stop reading here if you have not read this work.
Chaddeleys and Flemings
A story about family connections and how they define us. Class consciousness held center stage. Connections to ancestry in England seemed important. Rural accents were despised. The narrator compared two sets of maiden aunts and recalled their eccentricities. Her mother’s cousins (Chaddeleys) had impressive and intimidating bosoms, and they dressed to kill. In contrast her father’s sisters (Flemings) were homely and content with living simply. She mused that she carried something of her mother’s cousins and her paternal aunts in her.
Dulse
Lydia, a divorced woman in her forties, took a solo vacation to an island where she stayed in a guesthouse that was apparently Willa Cather’s summer haunt. Cather’s fans may be interested to know more about her in this story. On this island, Cather wrote ‘A Lost Woman.’ In this story, Lydia too was a lost woman. An affair had ended. It dawned on her that she was entering a phase of life where men were no longer interested in her. A bag of dulse, a seaweed snack, left for her by a male hotel guest left Lydia and the reader wondering if this meant anything at all.
The Turkey Season
A coming-of-age story of a 14-year-old girl who worked as a turkey gutter on a Turkey Barn one Christmas. (I wanted to know what the job of a turkey gutter entailed). Munro captured the harsh life circumstances of the rather coarse women who worked here and the sad state of their married lives.
Accident
December, 1943. Frances, a high school music teacher was having an affair with Ted Makkavala, a Science teacher. A fatal accident in Ted’s family precipitated discovery of their liaison and much more.
Bardon Bus
A writer recalled an affair with an anthropologist (she named X) while researching a book in Australia. Much of it was about her helpless longing after an ex-lover. Her friend, Kat, too had many affairs that led to naught but was undamaged. This story offered up cynical views about love and a clever ending. Munro aced this story!
Prue
Another story about a woman and a man having an extramarital relationship. Prue, however, was totally unsentimental about her dalliance with Gordon who claimed he wished to marry her in a few years’ time after he had stopped being in love with a younger woman he was currently dating. Prue made no claims on anyone and laughed about her messed up love life. Why?!
Labor Day Dinner
The story centered on Roberta, a woman in crisis. Divorced with two teenage daughters, she was into her first year of her relationship with George whom she sensed was loathing her. George humiliated her and insulted her about her flabby armpits. We were given the perspectives of George, the two daughters, Valerie the host who invited Roberta and family to dinner, and that of Valerie’s adult children. Again, another unhappy woman who was wounded in love. Then a near fatal accident on the way home reminded Roberta, George and the girls of what mattered in life and what did not.
Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Kidd
Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Kidd had been friends since kindergarten. Both were wheelchair bound and lived in a home. The new friendship they each formed with other residents and petty jealousies affected their relationship with each other.
Hard-Luck Stories
Three people (two ladies who were friends and a guy they met at a conference) shared a drive back to Toronto. The two women told interesting hard-luck stories about the lovers they had. I love the eye-opening definitely of a femme fatale: ‘To be a femme fatale you don’t have to be slinky and sensuous and disastrously beautiful, you just have to have the will to disturb.’
Visitors
Wilfred and Mildred, a retired couple, lived in a very small house. Albert (Wilfred‘s brother) came to visit after more than 30 years. Albert came with Grace (his wife) and Vera (Grace’s sister). Mildred marveled at how much the two brothers, Wilfred and Albert, differed from each other almost as if they were not connected, and how the two sisters, Grace and Vera, seemed to speak from the same mouth. It was not a pleasant visit. Despite this, Wilfred longed for his brother when the latter returned home.
The Moons of Jupiter
In this titular story, the narrator was anxious about her elderly father’s impending heart surgery. She visited the planetarium to watch a show about the thirteen moons of Jupiter. The back story was her father’s impoverished and harsh childhood and the narrator’s relationship with her daughters, one of whom had chosen to be incommunicado. A rather tender story about parent-child relationship and the choices we make.
December 22, 2016
Primer libro que leo de Alice Munro, y me gustó bastante, aunque esperaba más...
En sus historias, todas breves, se destacan mujeres fuertes y decididas, seguras de sí mismas pero agobiadas por conflictos tanto internos como externos, todo esto sin dejar de mostrar las vulnerabilidades inherentes al ser humano. Estos diez relatos —en apariencia simples, llanos y monótonos— desarrollan tramas generalmente domésticas y que resaltan las relaciones interpersonales entre sus personajes. Porque esta es la esencia de al menos esta antología, la conexión humana y el daño que acarrea consigo esa necesidad de rehuir la soledad, en parte debido al vínculo con personas con las que jamás llegamos a elegir relacionarnos y por otra parte debido a nuestra incapacidad de comunicarnos.
Y este es otro punto de estos cuentos: los personajes de The Moons of Jupiter ponen en evidencia que no es posible elegir de quién nos enamoramos, ni con quién terminaremos desarrollando una amistad, tanto como tampoco podemos elegir a nuestra familia, y debemos vivir con ello.
El último tema (al menos de los más importantes) es la muerte, que está siempre presente, de manera discreta, como en una especie de background, que le pone en ocasiones un límite a los conflictos personales de cada personaje. El relato que mejor distingue esto, y creo que es mi favorito junto con "Chaddeleys and Flemings I y II", es “Labor Day Dinner”.
La escritura es limpia, con un vocabulario refinado pero no demasiado y unas descripciones de Canadá que personalmente me parecieron espectaculares.
Lo que tengo que criticarle a este libro es que sus relatos son prácticamente monotemáticos y simples, simples en exceso para mi gusto, y no me llevo mucho de cada uno.
En sus historias, todas breves, se destacan mujeres fuertes y decididas, seguras de sí mismas pero agobiadas por conflictos tanto internos como externos, todo esto sin dejar de mostrar las vulnerabilidades inherentes al ser humano. Estos diez relatos —en apariencia simples, llanos y monótonos— desarrollan tramas generalmente domésticas y que resaltan las relaciones interpersonales entre sus personajes. Porque esta es la esencia de al menos esta antología, la conexión humana y el daño que acarrea consigo esa necesidad de rehuir la soledad, en parte debido al vínculo con personas con las que jamás llegamos a elegir relacionarnos y por otra parte debido a nuestra incapacidad de comunicarnos.
Y este es otro punto de estos cuentos: los personajes de The Moons of Jupiter ponen en evidencia que no es posible elegir de quién nos enamoramos, ni con quién terminaremos desarrollando una amistad, tanto como tampoco podemos elegir a nuestra familia, y debemos vivir con ello.
El último tema (al menos de los más importantes) es la muerte, que está siempre presente, de manera discreta, como en una especie de background, que le pone en ocasiones un límite a los conflictos personales de cada personaje. El relato que mejor distingue esto, y creo que es mi favorito junto con "Chaddeleys and Flemings I y II", es “Labor Day Dinner”.
La escritura es limpia, con un vocabulario refinado pero no demasiado y unas descripciones de Canadá que personalmente me parecieron espectaculares.
Lo que tengo que criticarle a este libro es que sus relatos son prácticamente monotemáticos y simples, simples en exceso para mi gusto, y no me llevo mucho de cada uno.
January 15, 2016
Let the record show, as it does, that I started reading this collection back in the beginning of February 2015. Let it also show that I barely managed to finish it in time to tuck it into my 2015 reading list. This is how I read Alice Munro, because I suspect that this is the only way my brain and heart can heal itself after most of her stories.
I recall when Munro won her Nobel Prize that many people wondered why she deserved it. There is nothing exceptional about her writing, except that it is always exceptionally good. She doesn't experiment with syntax or shape, though her shape and syntax is always too precise to be anything other than the production of a great many experiments. There is no moral urgency to her stories, except that her stories are about the quotidien and the urgencies that we bypass in our sunrise to sunset lives.
Sometimes I wonder, while reading one or two of her stories, or while sitting between the stories and reading something else, if maybe they were right. But each time I conclude, out of necessity, that they are wrong.
I have strong feelings about her, I suppose. Her writing is beautiful, her pacing is perfection, her shape and format of her stories are remarkably well tuned, her characters sound and feel alive and present and burdened. She has a deeply moral sense of the world, of justice, and resilience, and of resignation. Every story has a turn of phrase, at least one and often more, that is undeniably perfect, which cuts to the bone and a little deeper, hits the heart, and goes deeper because it is filled with a sadness that aches as though it depresses and moves the body through space - a sadness and reality that is, somehow, the very motivational discovery of humanity.
And this is the reality that I find when reading Munro - every now and then you read a story like "Accident" or "Labor Day Dinner" or "The Turkey Season" which are quite good, much better than most other stories you read from most any other writer, the kind of works that are masterful in many technical ways and which will keep you up at night as you race through hoping to finish before sleep once again claims you. Sometimes there is the occasional story that doesn't ring with the same kind of presence as most Munrovian works, like "Prue", but which is itself good enough to be published in The New Yorker (because even a bad Munro story is as good as most anybody else can hope for). And then sometimes, and it happens often, the truly masterful pops up and you feel as though Munro is shaping and revealing her knowledge of human nature. "Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Kidd", "The Moons of Jupiter", "Dulse", "Hard-Luck Stories", "Visitors".
My admiration for her work only grows as I read more. Now that I'm done this one and am reading a short-story collection by some other writer (one who is also very highly regarded for her accomplishments with the form) I can't help but feel a sense of disappointment. The writing isn't as precise, the characters seem more like caricatures, the stories are the kind of thing you'd give to a high school student to enjoy and tease out some superficial moral. But maybe I'm just in withdrawal and I'm craving something written by the master of the form.
I recall when Munro won her Nobel Prize that many people wondered why she deserved it. There is nothing exceptional about her writing, except that it is always exceptionally good. She doesn't experiment with syntax or shape, though her shape and syntax is always too precise to be anything other than the production of a great many experiments. There is no moral urgency to her stories, except that her stories are about the quotidien and the urgencies that we bypass in our sunrise to sunset lives.
Sometimes I wonder, while reading one or two of her stories, or while sitting between the stories and reading something else, if maybe they were right. But each time I conclude, out of necessity, that they are wrong.
I have strong feelings about her, I suppose. Her writing is beautiful, her pacing is perfection, her shape and format of her stories are remarkably well tuned, her characters sound and feel alive and present and burdened. She has a deeply moral sense of the world, of justice, and resilience, and of resignation. Every story has a turn of phrase, at least one and often more, that is undeniably perfect, which cuts to the bone and a little deeper, hits the heart, and goes deeper because it is filled with a sadness that aches as though it depresses and moves the body through space - a sadness and reality that is, somehow, the very motivational discovery of humanity.
And this is the reality that I find when reading Munro - every now and then you read a story like "Accident" or "Labor Day Dinner" or "The Turkey Season" which are quite good, much better than most other stories you read from most any other writer, the kind of works that are masterful in many technical ways and which will keep you up at night as you race through hoping to finish before sleep once again claims you. Sometimes there is the occasional story that doesn't ring with the same kind of presence as most Munrovian works, like "Prue", but which is itself good enough to be published in The New Yorker (because even a bad Munro story is as good as most anybody else can hope for). And then sometimes, and it happens often, the truly masterful pops up and you feel as though Munro is shaping and revealing her knowledge of human nature. "Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Kidd", "The Moons of Jupiter", "Dulse", "Hard-Luck Stories", "Visitors".
My admiration for her work only grows as I read more. Now that I'm done this one and am reading a short-story collection by some other writer (one who is also very highly regarded for her accomplishments with the form) I can't help but feel a sense of disappointment. The writing isn't as precise, the characters seem more like caricatures, the stories are the kind of thing you'd give to a high school student to enjoy and tease out some superficial moral. But maybe I'm just in withdrawal and I'm craving something written by the master of the form.
August 17, 2017
The quiet desperation of a separated middle-aged woman tending to her father at the hospital before a life-threatening operation is subtly disguised as she ruminates about her own relationship with her two daughters.
The micro cosmos of everyday life with all its trifling happenings is put in contrast with the immensity of outer space when she attends a show at the planetarium waiting for the results of her father's pre-surgery tests, but weirdly enough, it's the far away planets that bring father and daughter together in what might be their last conversation. There is no neat closure, but a gaping void that sucks all feeling; only the silence remains, full of possibility, but maybe more realistically, full of dread.
Munro's short stories (this one is almost minimalistic) cut like a sharp knife without drawing blood, but they hurt where you least expect them to.
The micro cosmos of everyday life with all its trifling happenings is put in contrast with the immensity of outer space when she attends a show at the planetarium waiting for the results of her father's pre-surgery tests, but weirdly enough, it's the far away planets that bring father and daughter together in what might be their last conversation. There is no neat closure, but a gaping void that sucks all feeling; only the silence remains, full of possibility, but maybe more realistically, full of dread.
Munro's short stories (this one is almost minimalistic) cut like a sharp knife without drawing blood, but they hurt where you least expect them to.
March 31, 2019
Estoy contento de mi estreno con los cuentos de Alice Munro. La gran mayoria me han parecido magníficos. No son cuentos que destaquen por su argumento, no hay grandes sorpresas, no tienen un final claro. Suelen tratar de cosas muy cotidianas, como por ejemplo, la visita de unos parientes, ir a cenar a casa de unos amigos, los problemas de salud del padre... cosas normales y corrientes de la vida cotidiana. Por lo que destacan los cuentos es por su facultad para hacer aflorar las emociones (que también son cotidianas); la culpabilidad por sentir vergüenza de un familiar querido, la añoranza por un amante perdido, la humillación por una palabra cruel del hombre, descubrir de repente que la pareja con la que estás no es como pensabas. También son destacables las mujeres protagonistas, por esos destellos de lucidez que tienen, que son como rayos de sol que se abren paso en ese eterno día nublado que es la vida.
Los cuentos que mas me han gustado son Los Chaddeley y los Fleming, Accidente, El autobús de Bardon y Cena del día del trabajo
Los cuentos que mas me han gustado son Los Chaddeley y los Fleming, Accidente, El autobús de Bardon y Cena del día del trabajo
February 11, 2018
Rivisitare il passato
Nei racconti di Alice Munro io entro mentre leggo i primi righi. Non ho quasi bisogno di guardarmi intorno, conosco gli ambienti semplici, spesso rurali, nei quali vivono le sue donne, le case di legno della provincia canadese, l’attitudine a fare il più col meno, la mentalità protestante e presbiteriana. Mi piace la semplicità con la quale i suoi personaggi si raccontano, racconti che sono più riflessione su fatti già avvenuti che narrazione in tempo reale. Gli argomenti sono quelli della vita di tutti: storie d’amore, storie finite, tentativi di ricominciare, timore di essere troppo vecchie per suscitare ancora interesse, sollievo nel realizzare che non è così, eventi di gioventù che non si erano capiti fino in fondo. Un tema che ricorre spesso è quello della ricerca delle origini, il sasso nel podere sotto il quale era sepolto il corteggiatore di una zia, la ricerca della cascina entro la quale si è nati, ed entrambi non si troveranno più, la pietra spostata per non intralciare le macchine agricole, la cascina distrutta dalle intemperie. L’altra ricerca delle origini è quella di ripercorrere il passato recente di famiglia, facendosi raccontare dal vecchio padre come fu che scappò di casa da ragazzino, stanco di essere vessato dal padre, cercare nei volti delle zie anziane le ragazze che erano state tanto tempo prima e trovare alla fine i propri stessi lineamenti. La conclusione di queste rivisitazioni del passato è sempre stupore per il coraggio degli antenati che avevano attraversato l’Atlantico per migliorare la loro condizione, la forza di cui avevano dato prova nella lotta per la sopravvivenza in un paese selvaggio, la gratitudine di essere nati nel ventesimo secolo, nel quale le donne non sono più tiranneggiate dagli uomini di famiglia: almeno non in Canada.
Nei racconti di Alice Munro io entro mentre leggo i primi righi. Non ho quasi bisogno di guardarmi intorno, conosco gli ambienti semplici, spesso rurali, nei quali vivono le sue donne, le case di legno della provincia canadese, l’attitudine a fare il più col meno, la mentalità protestante e presbiteriana. Mi piace la semplicità con la quale i suoi personaggi si raccontano, racconti che sono più riflessione su fatti già avvenuti che narrazione in tempo reale. Gli argomenti sono quelli della vita di tutti: storie d’amore, storie finite, tentativi di ricominciare, timore di essere troppo vecchie per suscitare ancora interesse, sollievo nel realizzare che non è così, eventi di gioventù che non si erano capiti fino in fondo. Un tema che ricorre spesso è quello della ricerca delle origini, il sasso nel podere sotto il quale era sepolto il corteggiatore di una zia, la ricerca della cascina entro la quale si è nati, ed entrambi non si troveranno più, la pietra spostata per non intralciare le macchine agricole, la cascina distrutta dalle intemperie. L’altra ricerca delle origini è quella di ripercorrere il passato recente di famiglia, facendosi raccontare dal vecchio padre come fu che scappò di casa da ragazzino, stanco di essere vessato dal padre, cercare nei volti delle zie anziane le ragazze che erano state tanto tempo prima e trovare alla fine i propri stessi lineamenti. La conclusione di queste rivisitazioni del passato è sempre stupore per il coraggio degli antenati che avevano attraversato l’Atlantico per migliorare la loro condizione, la forza di cui avevano dato prova nella lotta per la sopravvivenza in un paese selvaggio, la gratitudine di essere nati nel ventesimo secolo, nel quale le donne non sono più tiranneggiate dagli uomini di famiglia: almeno non in Canada.
August 31, 2009
Munro's stories are a delight to read, and this collection is no exception. For me, she is one of the hardest writers to read as a writer. I mean, her technique is so seamless that it can be very hard to pick it apart to learn from. For example, when she shifts in "Chaddeleys and Flemmings"between the narrator's perspective as a child and the narrator's perspective as an adult it is almost unnoticeable. The shift is there, and for good reason, but Munro's technique sits in the background working its magic. Also, her stories just seem so jam packed with detail, until you look and realize how much came across without actually being written down. There is so much to learn from these stories, but the technique is so good you really have to work to find where it is hidden.
May 29, 2013
Alice Munro is such an artist.
I simply loved Too Much Happiness and definitely wanted to read more of her work. This is one of her earlier collections published in 1982 and though I didn’t find it as good, there are still plenty of little jewels I thoroughly enjoyed.
What Munro does so well is everyday interactions, these beautiful everyday moments we tend to ignore because we think they have no meaning, but they say so much about who we are.
There are also more defining moments in this collection, but she gives them the same weight as the everyday things. Which i like, because in reality we typically only find out that something was defining when we have the power of hindsight knowledge.
My favourites:
1. Chaddeleys and Flemings; part 1: Connection
This story is particularly beautiful about family, and being perhaps slightly ashamed of some connections you have which you never chose. But too many prejudices and you fail to notice their true worth.
2. Chaddeleys and Flemings; part 2: The Stone in the Field
5. Accident
Another really good one. I love the stories with a more tragic, dramatic tone of voice that show simple lives in all its glory.
Frances, music teacher in a small town has been waiting for the moment that her life ould start.
Behind the spoiler tag my ongoing notes about the stories (not really spoilery, they’re not part of the review but I didn’t want to lose them either)
I simply loved Too Much Happiness and definitely wanted to read more of her work. This is one of her earlier collections published in 1982 and though I didn’t find it as good, there are still plenty of little jewels I thoroughly enjoyed.
What Munro does so well is everyday interactions, these beautiful everyday moments we tend to ignore because we think they have no meaning, but they say so much about who we are.
There are also more defining moments in this collection, but she gives them the same weight as the everyday things. Which i like, because in reality we typically only find out that something was defining when we have the power of hindsight knowledge.
My favourites:
1. Chaddeleys and Flemings; part 1: Connection
This story is particularly beautiful about family, and being perhaps slightly ashamed of some connections you have which you never chose. But too many prejudices and you fail to notice their true worth.
"My father would never have admitted there were inferior people, or superior people either. He was scrupulously egalitarian, making it a point not to 'snivel', as he said, to anybody. (...)
There were times, later, when I wondered if my father and I didn't harbor, in our hearts, intact and unassailable notions of superiority, which my mother and her cousins with their innocent snobbishness could never match."
2. Chaddeleys and Flemings; part 2: The Stone in the Field
"Now i no longer believe that people's secrets are defined and communicable, or their feelings full-blown and easy to recognize."Family can be weird. Aunts for example: you know them and yet you don't. You know them only as they are now, not like they were young. Nor do you know their stories, or what made them who they are. You take guesses, but you'll likely be very wrong. I loved this simple story.
5. Accident
Another really good one. I love the stories with a more tragic, dramatic tone of voice that show simple lives in all its glory.
Frances, music teacher in a small town has been waiting for the moment that her life ould start.
"They were all in their early thirties. An age at which it is sometimes hard to admit that what you are living is your life."The story unfolds itself slowly but surely.
It was Frances, who had always believed something was going to happen to her, some clearly dividing moment would come, and she would be presented with her future"And i imagine a waiter, who passes by with a new round of lives, waiting to see which one she'll pick.
Behind the spoiler tag my ongoing notes about the stories (not really spoilery, they’re not part of the review but I didn’t want to lose them either)
December 21, 2020
Slices of reality, understated and banal - yet compelling.
I need to read more Munro, an author I discovered only recently. She delivers up ordinary people in ordinary situations, but does it in a way that is engrossing. Not sure how.
I need to read more Munro, an author I discovered only recently. She delivers up ordinary people in ordinary situations, but does it in a way that is engrossing. Not sure how.
April 28, 2019
«… l’amore non sia né buono né onesto e come non contribuisca alla felicità della gente in maniera affidabile.»
La quarta di copertina recita "Storie di donne alle prese con una relazione sentimentale ‘difettosa’.".
«La domanda è questa: dovrebbe anche Julie provare a starsene da sola? Secondo lei, suo marito Leslie è un uomo freddo, ostinato, superficiale, avaro d’affetto, onesto, sincero, nobile d’animo e vulnerabile. Dice che non lo desidera mai veramente. dice che potrebbe mancarle più del sopportabile o che forse è la semplice idea di restare sola a non sembrarle sopportabile. Dice che non si fa nessuna illusione riguardo all’ipotesi di conquistare un altro. Però qualche volta ha la sensazione che la sua vita, i suoi sentimenti, qualcosa di lei insomma, stia andando completamente sprecato.».
Il racconto non è il genere che prediligo, ma l’asciuttezza della narrazione, la capacità di coinvolgere raccontando fatti e situazioni all’apparenza di sciatta o banale quotidianità, i tanti personaggi ‘reali’, mi hanno regalato un estremo piacere nella lettura di … questa sporca dozzina.
Ora – parafrasando il sommo Poeta Brunello Robertetti – diche una … eresia. Trovo ci siano notevoli assonanze tra la scrittura della scrittrice canadese e quella di Andre Dubus.
Lo so, lo so, a me m’ha rovinato il Piano Marshall …
La quarta di copertina recita "Storie di donne alle prese con una relazione sentimentale ‘difettosa’.".
«La domanda è questa: dovrebbe anche Julie provare a starsene da sola? Secondo lei, suo marito Leslie è un uomo freddo, ostinato, superficiale, avaro d’affetto, onesto, sincero, nobile d’animo e vulnerabile. Dice che non lo desidera mai veramente. dice che potrebbe mancarle più del sopportabile o che forse è la semplice idea di restare sola a non sembrarle sopportabile. Dice che non si fa nessuna illusione riguardo all’ipotesi di conquistare un altro. Però qualche volta ha la sensazione che la sua vita, i suoi sentimenti, qualcosa di lei insomma, stia andando completamente sprecato.».
Il racconto non è il genere che prediligo, ma l’asciuttezza della narrazione, la capacità di coinvolgere raccontando fatti e situazioni all’apparenza di sciatta o banale quotidianità, i tanti personaggi ‘reali’, mi hanno regalato un estremo piacere nella lettura di … questa sporca dozzina.
Ora – parafrasando il sommo Poeta Brunello Robertetti – diche una … eresia. Trovo ci siano notevoli assonanze tra la scrittura della scrittrice canadese e quella di Andre Dubus.
Lo so, lo so, a me m’ha rovinato il Piano Marshall …
April 27, 2024
Alice Munro es una fiel representante de lo que se podría llamar la “tradición chejoviana” del cuento, es decir, aquella que retrata a hombres y mujeres de a pie en situaciones cotidianas; cuentos sin muchos sobresaltos, en los que el mundo interno de los personajes es más importante que los grandes giros en la trama o los finales contundentes. En los cuentos de Munro puede parecer que no suceden grandes cosas, pero si se afina un poco la vista nos daremos cuenta que, en realidad, está pasando todo.
Algo que admiro de Munro es su capacidad para crear personajes redondos, incluso aquellos que tienen un papel secundario en las historias. Hay una mirada sagaz en su forma de ver las cosas, de entender las relaciones humanas; una mirada que, sospecho, sólo se obtiene con la madurez que da el paso de los años.
Tal vez me esté quedando corto al calificarlo con cuatro estrellas porque hay un puñado de cuentos que son realmente brillantes, y otros que, si bien no están a la altura de aquellos, no dejan de ser muy buenos.
Cuentos favoritos : “Los Chaddeley y los Fleming”, “Alga marina roja”, “Accidente”, “La señora Cross y la señora Kidd” y “Las lunas de Júpiter”. 4.5 ★
Algo que admiro de Munro es su capacidad para crear personajes redondos, incluso aquellos que tienen un papel secundario en las historias. Hay una mirada sagaz en su forma de ver las cosas, de entender las relaciones humanas; una mirada que, sospecho, sólo se obtiene con la madurez que da el paso de los años.
Tal vez me esté quedando corto al calificarlo con cuatro estrellas porque hay un puñado de cuentos que son realmente brillantes, y otros que, si bien no están a la altura de aquellos, no dejan de ser muy buenos.
Cuentos favoritos : “Los Chaddeley y los Fleming”, “Alga marina roja”, “Accidente”, “La señora Cross y la señora Kidd” y “Las lunas de Júpiter”. 4.5 ★
December 19, 2019
Such perfect stories. I envy her talent for writing a short story. An amazing book. I hope to arrange my shelf with this book alongside The Rings of Saturn, The Transit of Venus, Red Mars, Triton (a moon of Neptune), Dispatches from Pluto, Captain Underpants (you can guess why), a biography of Freddie Mercury, and The Good Earth.
August 26, 2015
Publicado en http://lecturaylocura.com/las-lunas-d...
Una de las pocas cosas con la que estoy de acuerdo con el polémico Franzen es que recomienda leer a Munro; por una vez y sin que sirva de precedente.
Ya hablé bastante de “La vida de las mujeres” y desvelaba algunos de los secretos que utiliza con frecuencia; bueno, en realidad, lo decía ella misma en el increíble epílogo a ese ciclo de relatos cortos estructurado como novela.
En esta ocasión tenemos ya el típico libro de relatos ambientados en el sur de Canadá y es una buena forma de comprobar el hilo conductor de la trama; sigue utilizando lo cotidiano, naturalmente utiliza mujeres como narradoras en primera persona; aquí, además, reflexiona sobre el pasado pero, afortunadamente, va mucho más allá de la simple nostalgia. Lo que vive en ese pasado le puede causar nostalgia pero la mayoría de las veces genera ira, indignación, impotencia; la experiencia, pues se convierte en generador del carácter, pero precisamente porque lo ha pasado mal, no hay lugar para los recuerdos en forma de placebo, lo pasado no se emborrona con el tamiz que siempre confunde.
En “Alga Marina Roja” podemos ver parte de este hilo conductor; y lo referencia claramente al amor y a la posible felicidad de la mujer:
“Como muchas mujeres de su generación, tiene una idea del amor que es destructiva, pero que de algún modo no es seria, no es respetuosa. Es codiciosa. Habla de forma inteligente e irónica, y de este modo encubre sus insostenibles expectativas. Los sacrificios que ella hizo con Duncan –arreglos en la forma de vivir, en cuanto a amigos, así como también en la periodicidad del sexo y en el tono de las conversaciones- eran violaciones, no cometidas en serio, pero sí descaradamente.”
“¿Cuándo es usted feliz?
Cuando está contento conmigo. Cuando hace broma y se divierte. No. No. No soy feliz nunca. Lo que siento es alivio, como si hubiese vencido un reto, es más triunfante que feliz. Pero él siempre puede dejarme tirada en la cuneta.”
Con Munro no hay medias tintas, describe la realidad de tal manera que sabes que es posible que ocurra; y esa crudeza al expresarlo te causa un desasosiego permanente.
En “El autobús de Bardon” vuelve sobre el tema del amor, pero con la perspectiva de otra mujer anclada en una sociedad patriarcal, de ahí que defina el amor de la peor manera posible, por su antónimo: el egoísmo.
“Cuando el amor es nuevo y crece en ella se vuelve mística, vacilante; cuando el amor está en declive y ha pasado lo peor, es enérgica y jovial, directa, analítica.
-No es más que el deseo de verte reflejada –dice-. El amor siempre se vuelve egoísmo. La idiotez. No los quieres a ellos, quieres lo que puedes obtener de ellos. Obsesión y engaño de uno mismo.”
Sin embargo lo más doloroso de ese cuento es el momento en que decide poner unas palabras en la boca de un hombre como contraposición a lo que le sucede a la protagonista:
“-He visto tantas partes del mundo, tantas cosas extrañas y tanto sufrimiento. Mi conclusión ahora es que no se consigue felicidad alguna engañando a la vida. Es solo por medio de la renuncia natural y de la aceptación de la pérdida como nos preparamos para la muerte y como por tanto conseguimos algo de felicidad.”
Es sintomático que sea el hombre el que quiera mantener su posición en la sociedad relegando a la mujer a un papel de renuncia y aceptación de la realidad que está viviendo; es la manera más cruel de reflejar el papel de la mujer en el pasado, sumisa, esclava ante el dominio del hombre. Munro no ignora el detalle, de ahí que utilice a un hombre para decirlo.
Afortunadamente, la forma en que caracteriza a las mujeres está muy lejos de ser autocomplaciente; habla de mujeres fuertes, que se sobreponen, que quieren demostrar su papel en una sociedad que intenta denigrarlas; no les gusta sufrir porque sí:
“Hay un límite para la cantidad de sufrimiento y desorden que uno puede soportar por amor, del mismo modo que hay un límite para la cantidad de desorden que se puede esperar de una casa. No se puede conocer el límite con antelación, pero sabes cuando has llegado a él. Yo lo creo.
Cuando empiezas realmente a liberarte, así es como es. Un pequeño dolor, furtivo, que te punza cuando no te lo esperas. Luego una levedad. La levedad es algo en lo que penar. No es solo un alivio. Hay una extraña clase de placer en ella, no un placer autohiriente ni malicioso, nada personal en absoluto.”
Lo mejor de esta increíble escritora es conocerla por ti mismo, sin más, comprobar como cada palabra, cada momento, tiene su función específica, está todo tan milimétricamente concebido que abruma tanta perfección, os dejo ya de hablar de este gran libro, otro más de la señora, con la encantadora forma que tiene de describir a un personaje en un relato corto, una pequeña obra maestra: “Prue”:
“En aquella época tenía muchos amigos en Toronto, la mayoría de ellos amigos de Gordon y de su mujer. Les gustaba Prue y estaban dispuestos a sentirlo por ella, pero ella se burlaba hasta que desistían. Es muy agradable. Tiene los que los canadienses del este llaman un acento inglés, aunque nació en Canadá, en Duncan, en la isla de Vancouver. Su acento le sirve para decir las cosas más cínicas de forma simpática y despreocupada. Ella presenta su vida en anécdotas y, aunque el sentido de la mayoría de sus anécdotas es que las esperanzas se han desvanecido, que los sueños son ridículos, que las cosas nunca resultan ser como se esperaba, que todo se altera de un modo grotesco y nunca hay una explicación, las personas siempre se sienten animadas después de escucharla; dicen de ella que es un alivio encontrarse con alguien que no se tome a sí misma demasiado en serio, que sea tan poco vehemente, tan civilizada, y que nunca formule ninguna petición ni queja auténticas.”
¿Hay mejor forma de describir la fortaleza de una mujer? Me costaría encontrarla.
Los textos provienen de la traducción del inglés de Esperanza Pérez Moreno para esta edición de “Las lunas de Júpiter” de Alice Munro.
Una de las pocas cosas con la que estoy de acuerdo con el polémico Franzen es que recomienda leer a Munro; por una vez y sin que sirva de precedente.
Ya hablé bastante de “La vida de las mujeres” y desvelaba algunos de los secretos que utiliza con frecuencia; bueno, en realidad, lo decía ella misma en el increíble epílogo a ese ciclo de relatos cortos estructurado como novela.
En esta ocasión tenemos ya el típico libro de relatos ambientados en el sur de Canadá y es una buena forma de comprobar el hilo conductor de la trama; sigue utilizando lo cotidiano, naturalmente utiliza mujeres como narradoras en primera persona; aquí, además, reflexiona sobre el pasado pero, afortunadamente, va mucho más allá de la simple nostalgia. Lo que vive en ese pasado le puede causar nostalgia pero la mayoría de las veces genera ira, indignación, impotencia; la experiencia, pues se convierte en generador del carácter, pero precisamente porque lo ha pasado mal, no hay lugar para los recuerdos en forma de placebo, lo pasado no se emborrona con el tamiz que siempre confunde.
En “Alga Marina Roja” podemos ver parte de este hilo conductor; y lo referencia claramente al amor y a la posible felicidad de la mujer:
“Como muchas mujeres de su generación, tiene una idea del amor que es destructiva, pero que de algún modo no es seria, no es respetuosa. Es codiciosa. Habla de forma inteligente e irónica, y de este modo encubre sus insostenibles expectativas. Los sacrificios que ella hizo con Duncan –arreglos en la forma de vivir, en cuanto a amigos, así como también en la periodicidad del sexo y en el tono de las conversaciones- eran violaciones, no cometidas en serio, pero sí descaradamente.”
“¿Cuándo es usted feliz?
Cuando está contento conmigo. Cuando hace broma y se divierte. No. No. No soy feliz nunca. Lo que siento es alivio, como si hubiese vencido un reto, es más triunfante que feliz. Pero él siempre puede dejarme tirada en la cuneta.”
Con Munro no hay medias tintas, describe la realidad de tal manera que sabes que es posible que ocurra; y esa crudeza al expresarlo te causa un desasosiego permanente.
En “El autobús de Bardon” vuelve sobre el tema del amor, pero con la perspectiva de otra mujer anclada en una sociedad patriarcal, de ahí que defina el amor de la peor manera posible, por su antónimo: el egoísmo.
“Cuando el amor es nuevo y crece en ella se vuelve mística, vacilante; cuando el amor está en declive y ha pasado lo peor, es enérgica y jovial, directa, analítica.
-No es más que el deseo de verte reflejada –dice-. El amor siempre se vuelve egoísmo. La idiotez. No los quieres a ellos, quieres lo que puedes obtener de ellos. Obsesión y engaño de uno mismo.”
Sin embargo lo más doloroso de ese cuento es el momento en que decide poner unas palabras en la boca de un hombre como contraposición a lo que le sucede a la protagonista:
“-He visto tantas partes del mundo, tantas cosas extrañas y tanto sufrimiento. Mi conclusión ahora es que no se consigue felicidad alguna engañando a la vida. Es solo por medio de la renuncia natural y de la aceptación de la pérdida como nos preparamos para la muerte y como por tanto conseguimos algo de felicidad.”
Es sintomático que sea el hombre el que quiera mantener su posición en la sociedad relegando a la mujer a un papel de renuncia y aceptación de la realidad que está viviendo; es la manera más cruel de reflejar el papel de la mujer en el pasado, sumisa, esclava ante el dominio del hombre. Munro no ignora el detalle, de ahí que utilice a un hombre para decirlo.
Afortunadamente, la forma en que caracteriza a las mujeres está muy lejos de ser autocomplaciente; habla de mujeres fuertes, que se sobreponen, que quieren demostrar su papel en una sociedad que intenta denigrarlas; no les gusta sufrir porque sí:
“Hay un límite para la cantidad de sufrimiento y desorden que uno puede soportar por amor, del mismo modo que hay un límite para la cantidad de desorden que se puede esperar de una casa. No se puede conocer el límite con antelación, pero sabes cuando has llegado a él. Yo lo creo.
Cuando empiezas realmente a liberarte, así es como es. Un pequeño dolor, furtivo, que te punza cuando no te lo esperas. Luego una levedad. La levedad es algo en lo que penar. No es solo un alivio. Hay una extraña clase de placer en ella, no un placer autohiriente ni malicioso, nada personal en absoluto.”
Lo mejor de esta increíble escritora es conocerla por ti mismo, sin más, comprobar como cada palabra, cada momento, tiene su función específica, está todo tan milimétricamente concebido que abruma tanta perfección, os dejo ya de hablar de este gran libro, otro más de la señora, con la encantadora forma que tiene de describir a un personaje en un relato corto, una pequeña obra maestra: “Prue”:
“En aquella época tenía muchos amigos en Toronto, la mayoría de ellos amigos de Gordon y de su mujer. Les gustaba Prue y estaban dispuestos a sentirlo por ella, pero ella se burlaba hasta que desistían. Es muy agradable. Tiene los que los canadienses del este llaman un acento inglés, aunque nació en Canadá, en Duncan, en la isla de Vancouver. Su acento le sirve para decir las cosas más cínicas de forma simpática y despreocupada. Ella presenta su vida en anécdotas y, aunque el sentido de la mayoría de sus anécdotas es que las esperanzas se han desvanecido, que los sueños son ridículos, que las cosas nunca resultan ser como se esperaba, que todo se altera de un modo grotesco y nunca hay una explicación, las personas siempre se sienten animadas después de escucharla; dicen de ella que es un alivio encontrarse con alguien que no se tome a sí misma demasiado en serio, que sea tan poco vehemente, tan civilizada, y que nunca formule ninguna petición ni queja auténticas.”
¿Hay mejor forma de describir la fortaleza de una mujer? Me costaría encontrarla.
Los textos provienen de la traducción del inglés de Esperanza Pérez Moreno para esta edición de “Las lunas de Júpiter” de Alice Munro.
July 5, 2019
Ihanaa, tuttua ja turvallista Munroa. Tämä kokoelma ei ollut ehkä paras, minkä häneltä olen lukenut, mutta nautin silti jokaisesta hetkestä. Lempikirjailijan pariin palaaminen tuntuu parhaillaan kotiinpaluulta, ja sellainen fiilis näistäkin novelleista jäi. Etenkin kun viimeisenä ollut niminovelli Jupiterin kuut oli yksi kauneimpia lukemiani tarinoita.
March 15, 2020
Che cosa si fa dopo che il proprio mondo è cambiato? Quando i figli vanno via di casa, quando una relazione si sbriciola, quando si invecchia ? Come si ricostruisce, una vita che non sia solo una semplice facciata?
Alice Munro scrive dell'amore per come le donne lo sentono, un amore a cui aspirare per essere felici ma che in alcuni casi ha un carattere marcatamente distruttivo, perché le donne, come suggerisce il titolo, diventano spesso dei satelliti che, come le lune che orbitano attorno a Giove, creano attrazioni e repulsioni sogni e frustrazioni, desideri repressi , passioni senza speranza.
Nonostante ciò, le donne nelle storie della Munro non sono affatto deboli ma solo donne in difficoltà, che si sforzano di sfuggire alla sofferenza, che cercano di rimettere insieme le loro vite o, almeno, cercano di superare una realtà che le travolge in maniera schiacciante.
Scrivere della normalità quasi noiosa della vita, è il lato prezioso della Munro, le cui storie sono popolate da persone comuni, principalmente donne, le cui esistenze non sono nulla di straordinario o trascendentale.
E quel filo conduttore tra le storie che compongono il libro, è questo: la routine che sfila attraverso le narrazioni come se si stesse camminando in punta di piedi tra personaggi di cui poco conosciamo ma che ci permette di di osservarle distrattamente, come fossimo dietro una finestra socchiusa, in cui spesso succede di vederci riflessi.
E invece no. La Munro con i dettagli e le sfumature gioca e crea i pezzi del grande puzzle delle vite che racconta e man mano, leggendo, se ne mettono insieme le tessere con pazienza e calma, la stessa calma che l’autrice usa nel suo stile descrittivo e dettagliato, fatto di sottili pennellate.
Cinque stelle perché amo questi mondi statici, piccoli, chiusi, impregnati di solitudine, errori e di paura di non esistere.
Alice Munro scrive dell'amore per come le donne lo sentono, un amore a cui aspirare per essere felici ma che in alcuni casi ha un carattere marcatamente distruttivo, perché le donne, come suggerisce il titolo, diventano spesso dei satelliti che, come le lune che orbitano attorno a Giove, creano attrazioni e repulsioni sogni e frustrazioni, desideri repressi , passioni senza speranza.
Nonostante ciò, le donne nelle storie della Munro non sono affatto deboli ma solo donne in difficoltà, che si sforzano di sfuggire alla sofferenza, che cercano di rimettere insieme le loro vite o, almeno, cercano di superare una realtà che le travolge in maniera schiacciante.
Scrivere della normalità quasi noiosa della vita, è il lato prezioso della Munro, le cui storie sono popolate da persone comuni, principalmente donne, le cui esistenze non sono nulla di straordinario o trascendentale.
E quel filo conduttore tra le storie che compongono il libro, è questo: la routine che sfila attraverso le narrazioni come se si stesse camminando in punta di piedi tra personaggi di cui poco conosciamo ma che ci permette di di osservarle distrattamente, come fossimo dietro una finestra socchiusa, in cui spesso succede di vederci riflessi.
E invece no. La Munro con i dettagli e le sfumature gioca e crea i pezzi del grande puzzle delle vite che racconta e man mano, leggendo, se ne mettono insieme le tessere con pazienza e calma, la stessa calma che l’autrice usa nel suo stile descrittivo e dettagliato, fatto di sottili pennellate.
Cinque stelle perché amo questi mondi statici, piccoli, chiusi, impregnati di solitudine, errori e di paura di non esistere.
December 28, 2012
When I constrain myself to sit and describe a collection of stories from Alice Munro I find myself unusually timid; they have the abundance and detail of longer fiction, so every book is like a family of novels or a garden of ornamented individuals. Their roots may have a reach that is tenuous or significant, they may be fragile seedlings or hardy adults or have died in the winter; regardless, they all have in common the parent soil. If the ground has been previously trodden then Munro is the first to plant there; if the soil has been turned, then down she will bend to the earth and wrap in it the seeds of a foreign fair. If I previously compared her to a sculptor or a keeper of animals, it is the best I can do to envision her acting in a kind of perpetual refinement of her writing craft. I can do no better than to describe her just so.
December 14, 2017
Aunque Las lunas de Júpiter no es el libro más reciente de Munro y refleja, según parece, una etapa de su obra que la autora canadiense ya superó, muestra un talento y una atención al detalle enormes. Todos los personajes de los cuentos están perfectamente bien construidos y resultan interesantes incluso en las narraciones más flojas. La construcción de sus cuentos parece calculada y bien trabajada. Excelente autora, bien merecedora a mi parecer de los galardones que se le han otorgado. Mis cuentos favoritos del volumen fueron: "Prue", "Accidente", "La señora Cross y la Señora Kidd" y "Las lunas de Júpiter".
October 14, 2010
Quite possibly the most boring and pointless book ever.
February 20, 2014
أليس مونرو الحائزة على نوبل في الآداب لعام 2013.
لتحميل هذا الكتاب مجاناً
http://www.hindawi.org/kalimat/49303746/
لتحميل هذا الكتاب مجاناً
http://www.hindawi.org/kalimat/49303746/
February 12, 2017
Terminado, ¡Por fin! Tres años me ha costado leerlo, precisamente porque no me estaba gustando, claro.
Si no me equivoco, de las doce historias sólo me han "gustado" 3, y esas tres, sin entusiasmo, vamos, un simple "no está mal".
Todas las historias tienen en común tener como protagonistas a mujeres que se encuentran "al borde del abismo" pero que conservan un rayito de esperanza. Pero la verdad, a mí me han dejado fría.
Posiblemente algún día le daré otra oportunidad a esta escritora ganadora del Nobel, pero no creo que sea pronto.
Si no me equivoco, de las doce historias sólo me han "gustado" 3, y esas tres, sin entusiasmo, vamos, un simple "no está mal".
Todas las historias tienen en común tener como protagonistas a mujeres que se encuentran "al borde del abismo" pero que conservan un rayito de esperanza. Pero la verdad, a mí me han dejado fría.
Posiblemente algún día le daré otra oportunidad a esta escritora ganadora del Nobel, pero no creo que sea pronto.
May 31, 2025
After reading the early stories of Wilderness Station, which are mostly set in Munro‘s early childhood of Depression-era rural Canada, the stories in this 1982 collection are contemporary. And they are fabulous, each one of them. What a talent!
June 15, 2012
Okay well, the fact is I have read everything by Alice Munro, some more than once, and I love most of it. But this book is one of my favorites for some reason... It feels like a transitional book among her stories - stories of the woman leaving her family, the lone-ness of striking out on her own, portraits of relationships in those key decisive moments of continuing but knowing the ending is near. I love the two-part story that opens this book "Chaddeleys and Flemings" and how she disparately connects a childhood observation of visiting aunts from both sides of her parents' families. "Dulse" is an understated favorite of mine of Munro stories - a woman on a trip alone to an island, encountering strangers, and how Munro takes the small interactions & portraits of these peripheral characters and deftly uses them to convey so much of what is happening psychologically for this woman at this point in her life. Same goes for other moments in this book like the very short "Prue" and the oblique "Labor Day Dinner".... Don't know quite how she does it, but it's done so well...
May 25, 2020
Như những mặt trăng của sao Mộc, những nhân vật trong cuốn sách của Alice Munro xoay quanh một quỹ đạo riêng, cứ ngỡ như không liên quan đến nhau nhưng hóa ra bị chi phối bởi cũng một lực hút.
Những người phụ nữ trong tập truyện đều đang ở độ tuổi 40, hôn nhân tan vỡ, tình yêu không thành, nỗi cô đơn dai dẳng... họ luôn muốn tìm lại hạnh phúc bằng cách nắm bắt những khoảnh khắc nhưng không thể.
Khó có ai tinh tế như cái các Alice Munro gói gọn mọi điều mình muốn nói trong vài chục trang sách, với sự quan sát khéo léo và cẩn trọng, từng cái chạm tay hay đưa mắt nhìn nhau của các nhân vật dường như đề không thể lọt khỏi mắt của bà. Và những truyện ngắn của bà là thứ mà ta có thể đọc đi đọc lại mãi để khám phá thêm những điều mới mẻ, trong những câu chuyện và cả trong cái cách ta quan sát thế giới của mình.
Những người phụ nữ trong tập truyện đều đang ở độ tuổi 40, hôn nhân tan vỡ, tình yêu không thành, nỗi cô đơn dai dẳng... họ luôn muốn tìm lại hạnh phúc bằng cách nắm bắt những khoảnh khắc nhưng không thể.
Khó có ai tinh tế như cái các Alice Munro gói gọn mọi điều mình muốn nói trong vài chục trang sách, với sự quan sát khéo léo và cẩn trọng, từng cái chạm tay hay đưa mắt nhìn nhau của các nhân vật dường như đề không thể lọt khỏi mắt của bà. Và những truyện ngắn của bà là thứ mà ta có thể đọc đi đọc lại mãi để khám phá thêm những điều mới mẻ, trong những câu chuyện và cả trong cái cách ta quan sát thế giới của mình.
July 5, 2020
Welcome to Fictionland, a world containing many worlds. At this point, being my favourite attraction and twelfth go in Munro’s Hall of Interiors, there’s not much to say that I haven’t already about being inside this confronting, unsettling, dizzying, exhilarating, breathtaking, humbling place that’s more sharply illuminating than any other place I can go. I always feel after reading Munro that I just got that little bit closer to realizing the ideal attitude to the essential mystery of our lives. My favourite read, or attraction, of the year.
December 30, 2019
Huomaan pitäväni Alice Munron novelleista yhä vaan vähemmän. Munron novellit limittyvät hänen omaa elämäänsä, varattomaan lapsuuteen Kanadan maaseudulla Huronissa Ontariossa, Laidlawien siirtolaissukuun, luokkanousuun ja -häpeään, rohkaistumiseen kokeilla mahdollisuuksia kirjailijana, pettymykseen ja pyristelyyn avioliitossa, naisten valintoihin ja haaveisiin ja näistä aiheista innoituksensa saaviin tarinoihin.
Olen kirjoittanut Munrosta, että hänen lukemisensa tuntuu kuin olisi iltapäiväkahvilla isoäidin seurassa. Näin siksi, että tarinoissa on vahva muistelemisen tunto.
Jupiterin kuiden isoäiti oli jo kertonut mehukkaimmat tarinansa. Jäljelle olivat jääneet ne pienet muistot. Pienetkin aiheet voivat olla herkullisia, mutta Jupiterin kuissa huh - ne jäivät kovin mitättömiksi.
Munro on Jupiterin kuiden novelleissa liian tuttu itsensä. Olen lukenut häntä niin paljon, ettei tuttu enää riitä.
Tästä novellikokoelmasta jäi mieleeni lähinnä yksi kohtaus, jossa ärsytetty vaimo heittää nokkavaa miestään kakkulautasella. Koska tunnen Munroni tiesin jo, että se enteili ensimmäisen avioliiton alamäkeä.
Valitan: Vain kaksi tähteä siksi, etteivät nämä novellit jättäneet juuri mitään muisteltavaa. Liian arkista, liian pikkuruista, liikaa päiväkahvijutustelun oloista.
Olen kirjoittanut Munrosta, että hänen lukemisensa tuntuu kuin olisi iltapäiväkahvilla isoäidin seurassa. Näin siksi, että tarinoissa on vahva muistelemisen tunto.
Jupiterin kuiden isoäiti oli jo kertonut mehukkaimmat tarinansa. Jäljelle olivat jääneet ne pienet muistot. Pienetkin aiheet voivat olla herkullisia, mutta Jupiterin kuissa huh - ne jäivät kovin mitättömiksi.
Munro on Jupiterin kuiden novelleissa liian tuttu itsensä. Olen lukenut häntä niin paljon, ettei tuttu enää riitä.
Tästä novellikokoelmasta jäi mieleeni lähinnä yksi kohtaus, jossa ärsytetty vaimo heittää nokkavaa miestään kakkulautasella. Koska tunnen Munroni tiesin jo, että se enteili ensimmäisen avioliiton alamäkeä.
Valitan: Vain kaksi tähteä siksi, etteivät nämä novellit jättäneet juuri mitään muisteltavaa. Liian arkista, liian pikkuruista, liikaa päiväkahvijutustelun oloista.
December 26, 2020
„Die Jupitermonde" Von Alice Munro sind alte Erzählungen, neu übersetzt und wie schon „Liebes Leben“ konnte mich Alice Munro wieder gänzlich abholen. Ihre Geschichten sind wie ich finde einfach und doch taucht man tief ein. Man begegnet alltäglichen Dingen, Drama, Schmerz, Hoffnung, Liebe und einfach vielen Facetten des Lebens. Für mich fühlt es sich beim lesen immer wieder so an, als würde ich ganz lebendig in den kurzen Erzählungen stecken, wie kleine Kurzfilme, die mich packen und mir auf wenigen Seiten einfach ein Gefühl von abtauchen können vermitteln. Jedem, der gerne auch mal kürzere Erzählungen liest und das Seichte zu schätzen weiß, dem kann ich sehr empfehlen sich die Werke von Alice Munro mal genauer anzusehen.
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