Reviews

Liebes Leben by Alice Munro

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luci_ja's review against another edition

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3.0

Eerie but somehow dead. Or too much alive, who knows.

iresky's review against another edition

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5.0

Las historias de Alice Munro son auténticas piezas de orfebrería; auténticos mecanismos de joya muy elaborados que dan lugar a algo sencillo y perfecto. No es hasta acabar el relato que éste cobra sentido.

Siguiendo una cronología lineal es capaz de transformar el tiempo y convertir la vida en algo que, en orden lógico, gira y es necesariamente cíclico.

El tema de Alice son las relaciones humanas: tan brutas, tan imperfectas, tan inescrutables... Tan imposibles. Me ha impresionado su manera de contar lo atroz: sin prepararte para ello, simplemente ahí, en mitad de las cosas, como realmente lo atroz ocurre.

He disfrutado más que menos todos los relatos, destacando Grava, Dolly o Noche, entre otros.

Munro no narra, crea parábolas: algunas para recordarlas toda la vida, entenderlas en otros escenarios, con otros personajes, pero con las mismas conclusiones... Tan universales, tan intransferibles.

whatwasthatbookiread's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Short stories about (mostly) married women with normal unenviable pre-feminist lives in Canada, with a few childhood autobiography tales to finish. Interesting things happen in the stories, usually involving an unexpected disruption from apparently nowhere, which I enjoyed - I struggle with the kind of short story where nothing happens. Don’t be fooled by the title into thinking this is going to be heart warming, no one here is having a good time even when they are having a good time. But the concise, precise writing does bring the characters to life, though they behave in ways I don’t really relate to.

aameem's review against another edition

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3.0

It took me four months to finish this book. It has often been said that those who write clearly and simply are better than those who prefer to swathe their prose in ambiguity. Alice Munro definitely falls in the former category, although I have come to prefer the latter.

This book is proof that something can be created from nothing, that ordinary stories are just as capable of being magical as ones that appear to be extraordinary. Here is a form of magic I find hard to swallow, but I can still feel her power. And it makes me hope that, some day, I too will be able to prize the clarity of simplicity over the polish of eloquence.

Sadly, I still feel that a story isn’t as important as the way it is told. I need a whirlwind of revelations to sweep me way. The power of language has not been unleashed here. I need to be PERSUADED that there is beauty in life, not coldly informed.

empoleon's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

First of all, Munro is a great writer through and through. Her prose, the way she sets a scene, the way she creates realistic dialogue and interesting characters, is incredibly skilled. However, I felt as though Munro writes a certain female character that I found dislikable. A lot of the stories center around desperate and somewhat disloyal female characters. For example, In "To Reach Japan", Greta (married) lusts over some man she meets at a party. In Gravel (an overall great story), the mother cheats on/leaves her husband for some man and is doing god knows what with him when her child drowns. It's just a weird vibe that I think draws from Munro's real life male centered-ness. It made it hard to enjoy the book quite as much. Still, Gravel, Train, Voices, and Dear Life are standouts in this collection for me.