I'm listening to the PBS interviews and coverage of Alice Munro's writing and it's fascinating. I've not read any of her stories but I added them to my want list. Here's a transcript with a quote highlighted that I was particularly enamored with:
For anyone interested, you can read some of her short stories for free online: http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2012/08/27/120827fi_fiction_munro http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2011/06/27/110627fi_fiction_munro?currentPage=all Personally, I've read a few of her ss's, studied them even, but they just leave me cold. I guess even when the craft is of a very high standard some subjectivity still comes into play...
Thanks for the links, I'll check them out after work. One of the things re the award was that she's written her whole life. The Wiki entry notes that the subject matter of her stories changes over time, and it also sounds like there is a heavy female focus in the stories from young girls to older women as Munro got older.Was it the subject matter or the style you didn't like?
A little bit of both. I find her style a little too slow - I like faster-paced fiction (eg George Saunders, Chuck Palahniuk). And rather than saying that I don't like the subject matter, I'd say that perhaps I don't really connect with her characters (in the stories I've read); it's not a female thing - Lorrie Moore is one of my favourite authors, and her protagonists are invariably women. Having said all that, when I do read Munro's stories, I do get the feeling of a very good writer at work. Just maybe not one with whom I have much in common.
Munro is on my list. I like short stories, and I've heard good things about her. Right now I'm going through the complete works of William Trevor, which are quite good.
Thanks, @DanM. I appreciate the info. I like Palahniuk's longer works, but haven't read any of his short stories. I'll have to check those out as well.
He's the second-best short story writer alive. And I agree that if you like Trevor, you'll probably like Munro as well.
I like that bit a lot. Good lesson there. You can't assume something isn't needed in a story, just because it's not immediately obvious why it's there. You really need to finish reading the whole piece before passing judgement. This goes for editing, writing AND reading.
@Steerpike this is C.P's most famous short story - be warned, people have been known to faint during public readings (which is perhaps a bit much, but it is one of the only stories I've had to take a break from ) http://chuckpalahniuk.net/features/shorts/guts
