Real Life

by Sharon Butala

In 1985, Sharon Butala’s first collection of short stories, Queen of the Headaches , was nominated for a Governor General’s Award . Her second, Fever , won the 1992 Authors Award for Paperback Fiction and was nominated for a Commonwealth Award . The publication of Real Life , her newest collection, once again shows she is a master of the genre. Real Life contains ten perfectly formed stories, singular moments of emotional intensity about the inner lives we all share. In “Light,” a woman whose sister is dying an agonizing death from cancer finds a compelling attraction to the stories of Holocaust survivors.In “Real Life,” Raine, a middle-aged divorced woman, runs into her former husband―and the still-sharp pain of an affair that changed the course of their lives. “Keeping House” tells of a daughter’s impending divorce, forcing her mother to re-examine her own abusive first marriage. Each story presents the moments of “real life” that all of us experience, stripping away defenses to reveal truths of pain, joy, anger, fear, or hope.

Genres: Canada, Fiction, Short Stories

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2002

About the author

Sharon Butala (born Sharon Annette LeBlanc, August 24, 1940 in Nipawin, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian writer and novelist.

Her first book, Country of the Heart, was published in 1984 and won the Books in Canada First Novel Award.

As head of the Eastend Arts Council she spearheaded the creation of the Wallace Stegner House Residence for Artists in which Wallace Stegner's childhood home was turned into a retreat for writers and artists.[14]

She lived in Eastend until Peter's death in 2007. She now lives in Calgary, Alberta.

She was shortlisted for the Governor General's award twice, once for fiction for Queen of the Headaches, and once for nonfiction for The Perfection of the Morning.

The Fall 2012 issue of Prairie Fire, entitled The Visionary Art of Sharon Butala was dedicated to Butala and her work and influence.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Tammy Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the format this author used to tell this collection of stories. They captured women's lives and their struggles in such a poignant, direct and unsentimental way, completely engaging the reader to feel and experience the emotions of these strong, persevering women. I did not just red these stories, I lived them, and their hope and resilience felt like a gift, and inspiration. I loved this amazing collection from this articulate, superb Canadian author.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories was pretty amazing. Sharon Butala is from Saskatchewan, and I loved reading the details about Saskatoon and Saskatchewan events in this book. There were many depictions of strong, prairie women and the struggles that they dealt with, overcame and were forced to confront.

Butala is really talented when it comes to tackling dialogue and detail. There was one story about a rape that was extremely difficult for me to read.

My only regret is that I read this collection during a week when I was really tired and busy with work. I'm sure I missed some of the details as a result.

I also felt like there was a lot of the author in this book and that many of the stories were influenced or inspired by things that had happened to her or by real life stories that she'd heard.

[Readysetclick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally like short stories but this one didn't do too much for me. It had it's better stories but I felt like they needed a bit more.

[Sue Lipton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me a little of Alice Munro; maybe not as polished.