Reviews

Dance of the Happy Shades by Alice Munro

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parkerks1's review

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5.0

I JUST LOVE ALICE MUNRO, OKAY. I want to gobble up everything she's ever written.

sebastianhafner's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

hmahood's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

Some of the stories were stronger than others. The Walker Brothers Cowboy, Boys and Girls, The Peace of Utrecht and titular Dance of the Happy Shades were favourites.

sophronisba's review

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

This is Munro's first story collection, and the real masterpieces are yet to come -- but there are stories here that any writer would be proud to call their own. Particular standouts for me were "Walker Brothers Cowboy," "A Trip to the Coast" (which feels like a companion piece to Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"), and "The Peace of Utrecht."

blairmahoney's review

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5.0

I was trying to decide if I should teach this to my Year 12 Literature students next year and this, her first, was one of her collections that I hadn't read before. The answer is yes. She had such an incredible eye right from the beginning.