Open Secrets
Alice Munro
I was somewhat disappointed by this collection of short stories, which I picked up after loving a story of Munro's I read in an anthology. There is undoubtably skill in these stories, and Munro proves that she can be incredibly effective with the English language when her stories connect to the reader. Unfortunately, many of the stories in this volume meander along without ever getting anywhere, filled with artistic movements that are more abstract and confusing than revealing or poignant. Munro does a few things very well, using a common setting and fully fleshing it out. With all of the stories finding a connection to (or setting in) a group of small Canadian towns, Munro effectively makes her characters and setting real. Names fade in and out throughout the collection, making it a history of the inhabitants and making the book a coherent series rather than a mish-mash.
Munro is also very good at getting to the heart of her characters, most of whom are women. The characters feel real and have realistic faults and shortcomings. It is in plot and language that the stories often become muddled and boring. There is nothing wrong with jumping between characters of importance or skipping around in the timeline, when these are done effectively. Munro's stories, however, jump around so that it is impossible to tell what is going on or who the main character is. I found this to be annoying at best and grating or insulting at worst. I wasn't intrigued by the jumps; rather, I quickly lost interest and failed to get connections.
Throughout this book, I asked myself, "Yes, but what's the point?" Munro is getting at deeper truths, but in a roundabout way that is far from enjoyable. A few of the stories were excellent- "A Wilderness Station" is the strongest in the collection and its epistolary form of gradual revelation does what other stories cannot in selective telling and shifting notions of truth. The majority of the collection, though a good case in character study, is a little too jittery and unnecessarily complicated to be thoroughly enjoyable. The promise of this good writer just doesn't stand up to inspection.
Grade: B
Alice Munro
I was somewhat disappointed by this collection of short stories, which I picked up after loving a story of Munro's I read in an anthology. There is undoubtably skill in these stories, and Munro proves that she can be incredibly effective with the English language when her stories connect to the reader. Unfortunately, many of the stories in this volume meander along without ever getting anywhere, filled with artistic movements that are more abstract and confusing than revealing or poignant. Munro does a few things very well, using a common setting and fully fleshing it out. With all of the stories finding a connection to (or setting in) a group of small Canadian towns, Munro effectively makes her characters and setting real. Names fade in and out throughout the collection, making it a history of the inhabitants and making the book a coherent series rather than a mish-mash.
Munro is also very good at getting to the heart of her characters, most of whom are women. The characters feel real and have realistic faults and shortcomings. It is in plot and language that the stories often become muddled and boring. There is nothing wrong with jumping between characters of importance or skipping around in the timeline, when these are done effectively. Munro's stories, however, jump around so that it is impossible to tell what is going on or who the main character is. I found this to be annoying at best and grating or insulting at worst. I wasn't intrigued by the jumps; rather, I quickly lost interest and failed to get connections.
Throughout this book, I asked myself, "Yes, but what's the point?" Munro is getting at deeper truths, but in a roundabout way that is far from enjoyable. A few of the stories were excellent- "A Wilderness Station" is the strongest in the collection and its epistolary form of gradual revelation does what other stories cannot in selective telling and shifting notions of truth. The majority of the collection, though a good case in character study, is a little too jittery and unnecessarily complicated to be thoroughly enjoyable. The promise of this good writer just doesn't stand up to inspection.
Grade: B
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