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A review by cathiedalziel
Dear Life by Alice Munro
4.0
[bc:Dear Life: Stories|13530981|Dear Life Stories|Alice Munro|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1333579320s/13530981.jpg|19092649]
A wonderful collection of short stories. Poignant tales of love, loss, change. The stories are unsettling, messy, like life. The characters are not perfect but very human in all their flaws, their dreams, their realities.
It was not an easy read. The stories themselves are well written but the characters are complex and messy and left me many times searching for answers that simply are not there. It is like life.
The piece de resistance is the last section of this book called "FINALE". Munro's introduction to this section:
"The final four works in this book are not quite stories. They form a separate unit, one that is autobiographical in feeling, though not, sometimes, entirely so in fact. I believe they are the first and last - and the closest - things I have to say about my own life."
It is in this section you get a glimpse into Munro's upbringing, the roots of her personality. The very last piece of work entitled "Dear Life" brings together the whole book nicely and reveals the true underlying theme - forgiveness - of one's deeds, one's life, one's memories.
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway contest. I was elated when I was notified that I had won but even more satisfied now that I have finished reading this gem.
I can't help but wonder, if because of Munro's age, she has penned this work with the idea that it may be her last; it is definitely her most revealing.
A wonderful collection of short stories. Poignant tales of love, loss, change. The stories are unsettling, messy, like life. The characters are not perfect but very human in all their flaws, their dreams, their realities.
It was not an easy read. The stories themselves are well written but the characters are complex and messy and left me many times searching for answers that simply are not there. It is like life.
The piece de resistance is the last section of this book called "FINALE". Munro's introduction to this section:
Spoiler
"The final four works in this book are not quite stories. They form a separate unit, one that is autobiographical in feeling, though not, sometimes, entirely so in fact. I believe they are the first and last - and the closest - things I have to say about my own life."
It is in this section you get a glimpse into Munro's upbringing, the roots of her personality. The very last piece of work entitled "Dear Life" brings together the whole book nicely and reveals the true underlying theme - forgiveness - of one's deeds, one's life, one's memories.
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway contest. I was elated when I was notified that I had won but even more satisfied now that I have finished reading this gem.
I can't help but wonder, if because of Munro's age, she has penned this work with the idea that it may be her last; it is definitely her most revealing.