Reviews

The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro

ric_'s review

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

abbeyhar103's review

3.0

I didn't find the stories in this as compelling or as complete as some of the others I've read by her, but I still found myself swept up in many, and her ability to reveal character traits and plot points slowly as a story progresses. Favorites were The Children Stay, My Mother's Dream and the title story.

space_cat's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

katisha93's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

thepamz's review

2.0

Me costó mucho trabajo terminar este libro. Si, Alice Munro escribe muy bonito, con muy buenas descripciones tanto de lugares como de sentimientos, pero al menos yo no entendí el punto de la mayoría de las historias (y a veces tenían personajes muy descritos a detalle a pesar de que eran irrelevantes para la trama principal...)

No es mi estilo de lectura.

emblepemble's review

slow-paced

3.5

tonyv379's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

tani's review

3.0

I liked these well enough to say that objectively, this is a very good collection. Even though neither literary fiction nor short stories are usually my thing, these stories were often successful at drawing me in. Even when I started a story with about zero interest, by the end I found that I was intrigued and wondering what would happen to the characters. Characters, by the way, are definitely a strong point for Alice Munro. She does a wonderful job of creating them and then making them sympathetic. I also liked her focus on issues that are often central to a woman's life, like marriage, relationships, and babies.

Subjectively, I just didn't care enough. I enjoyed the stories while I was reading them, but I could put the book down for months at a time and not feel the slightest inclination to pick it back up again. There's just something about literary fiction that I find innately unappealing, almost depressing, and this was no exception. I somehow failed to connect with most of the characters in this book, even when I was interested in their story, and for me, that's really crucial to my enjoyment.

littletaiko's review

2.0

Ever since she won the Nobel Prize last year, I have wanted to read one of her books, sadly this collection reminded me why I'm usually not a short story fan. Rather vague characters doing annoying, disturbing, or sad things - in general making a mess of their lives. However with the short story format you don't get much information regarding how their lives ended up the way that they did. The last story "My Mother's Dream" is the only one that worked for me.

nawij's review

slow-paced

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

3.0