Reviews

The Moons of Jupiter by Alice Munro

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_dunno_'s review against another edition

3.0

Short story collections are the most difficult to rate. I liked some very much, some were meh. I definitely like Alice Munro a lot and will get back to her.

lisaeirene's review against another edition

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3.0

Read this for my book club. I'm not usually a fan of short stories because I don't feel like I get attached or invested with the characters or story enough to enjoy them. I liked this book and the author's writing style. I enjoyed most of the short stories.

odiseia's review against another edition

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3.0

Una colección de relatos, desde el punto de vista de una mujer y su entorno familiar (años arriba, años abajo). Algunos son entretenidos y otros me han dejado un poco fría, pero en general muy agradable de leer. De corte realista e intimista, es bonito y evocador

messyreading's review against another edition

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2.0

So... I didn't get it. Most of it. I got into most of those stories easily enough, but the mostly ended at seemingly random points. Two of them I actually liked (Accident and Mrs. Kidd and Mrs. Cross), the rest was just blah. I saw no progression in most stories, just scenes, and thats not what I want, even from a short story.

ellachase's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-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

3.5

bloomsbooks0's review against another edition

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5.0

This collection was very thought-provoking.

While short stories are generally not a format I enjoy reading, Alice Munro is a master of the short story. Not only was she able to pull me in with almost every story, but I was also often left thinking about philosophical life questions after I had finished one. Her metafictional prose turned ordinary lives into extraordinary stories.

My favorite stories were the opening and the closing: "Chaddeleys and Flemings" and "the Moons of Jupiter." They revolved around similar themes of family history and yet left me with different questions at the end. "Chaddeleys and Flemings" left me wondering about the human ability to construct narratives and stories, even for those we have never met. And "the Moons of Jupiter" left me with the existential question: "What are we doing here on earth?"

As I said, these stories were pretty thought-provoking. None the less, Munro's uncanny ability to construct these large themes in seemingly domestic, working-class stories is what makes her such an amazing author.

I look forward to reading more from her and decided to give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.