The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Alice Munro (1931 - )

Munro is a Canadian author, primarily (exclusively, as far as I'm concerned) of short stories. She won the Nobel Prize in 2013.

- Dance of the Happy Shades: And Other Stories (1968)
- Lives of Girls and Women (1971)
- Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You: 13 Stories (1974)
- The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose (aka Who Do You Think You Are?, 1978)
- The Moons of Jupiter (1982)
- The Progress Of Love (1986)
- Friend of My Youth: Stories (1990)
- Open Secrets (1994)
- The Love of a Good Woman (1998)
- Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories (2001)
- Runaway (2004)
- The View from Castle Rock (2006)
- Too Much Happiness (2009)
- Dear Life: Stories (2012)

Uncollected
-"Axis"

Munro is possibly my favorite author. Her short stories have opened my eyes to so many things in the world around me that felt hidden. For years she was my choice for the Nobel Prize, along with William Trevor, though I never really believed she'd win. I nearly cried when I heard the news that she did win in 2013.

For the last several years, since we reviewed the stories in Dear Life, Munro's last (and apparently final) collection, Betsy Pelz and I have been going through her books chronologically, story by story. It's been excellent. I just finished off The Moons of Jupiter the other day and wanted to get a thread going here for her work. We're going to be starting The Progress of Love soon.

Every single week I look at what The New Yorker is publishing in hopes it's something new by Munro (they have the right of first refusal on her work), but it looks like this last time (unlike the two prior times) Munro meant it when she said she was retired. That one of her best stories, "Axis," has still not been in a collection, though, has me wondering just what is coming. If not a new collection, hopefully some volume that includes the story, though it seems the best place for that might have been the recent collection Family Furnishings, but that had no new stories.

Though several of my favorite stories are in collections I have yet to complete, here is how I rank them today:

1. Lives of Girls and Women
2. Dear Life
3. Dance of the Happy Shades
4. The Moons of Jupiter
5. Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You

6. The Beggar Maid

I've only read the Moons of Jupiter, a couple of years ago.

Must admit I was left wondering what all the fuss was about (I gave it 2 stars) - so looking forward to this thread to learn what I missed.

85 Alice Munro facts for Alice Munro's 85th Birthday July 10, 2016 at http://www.cbc.ca/books/2016/07/fasci...

The Beggar Maid was a long-overdue first experience of reading Munro for me, but it won't be the last, so thanks to Trevor I'll have a better idea which ones to tackle next. What I loved was the way she could find something universal and meaningful out of what could have been banal subject matter in lesser hands.

What is it about Canadian authors? In addition to Alice Munro, Mavis Gallant is a favorite of mine, and, quite differently, Margaret Atwood too.

They have a nice culture about the short story there (I think Munro and Gallant are a big reason for that). For one thing, Canada actually awards short story collections right alongside novels quite often in its major awards. We do that a bit in the U.S. The U.K., though, well, it's almost all novel there!

Dan wrote: "What is it about Canadian authors? In addition to Alice Munro, Mavis Gallant is a favorite of mine, and, quite differently, Margaret Atwood too."

Also Timothy Findley and Robertson Davies are worth a look. And a recent discovery for me in francophone Canadian lit is Anne Hébert, who writes beautifully.

@Hugh, my two cents, my favorite Munro has always been Open Secrets. I reread it a couple years ago, and it holds up, even in comparison with her other work.

Interesting thoughts on Alice Munro by Tessa Hadley: http://lithub.com/tessa-hadley-on-ali.... Article also includes a link to Munro reading "Differently" in 1990 at the 92nd Street Y (oh, to live in New York).

Nicole wrote: "Also Timothy Findley and Robertson Davies are worth a look."

Robertson Davies is one of my favorites!

There's also mordecai richler. I've only read his children's books though

Here I go reviving another old thread...I just read two very, very good books by Canadian writers, Not Wanted On The Voyage by Timothy Findley and Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels. I highly recommend both of these books.
Not Wanted on the Voyage was described as eco-feminist, I guess it was, but mostly it was a damn good story with characters I will remember forever.
Fugitive Pieces was heartbreaking, beautiful, poetic and rich.