Scan barcode
A review by chamomiledaydreams
Dear Life by Alice Munro
3.0
I checked out this collection from the library, because it was in the staff-picks section, and also because I recognized the author from course listings I never took in school. It took me a couple of stories to adjust to Munro's writing style, and I've gone from thinking it's strange that her short stories are more about general tone than specific plot, to thinking that it's impressive.
I've often been daunted away from writing short stories myself, because I imagine them like "Twilight Zone" episodes, where they need shocking plot twists and high concepts more than characters experiencing mundane events. But Alice Munro does a great job of establishing characters in a short amount of pages, and I admire how she paints a narrative through seemingly random anecdotes that come together to create a rich and detailed tapestry of a fictional life. Her protagonists all seem very different, as well, which shows skill in alternating between distinct character voices and not writing from the same, neutral perspective each time.
The title is also worth mentioning, because its meaning to me changed as I moved through the collection. At first, I wasn't sure whether to interpret "Dear Life" as the beginning of a letter or a general description (though I was leaning toward the latter, since I often get a specific line from "Frankenstein" stuck in my head: "Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it"). But the final story in this collection (which is called"Dear Life" and is probably the reason for the overall title) threw my reading of the title for a loop, since it turned out to be a pull-out quote from a line about running away and hiding "for dear life."
I'm still not quite sure what to make of this twist, but I enjoy how the titles in this collection ("Dear Life" especially but not exclusively) kept me on my toes and shifted in meaning as I progressed through each story. I would be interested in reading more Alice Munro in the future, but I probably won't check out another one of her books anytime soon, mostly because I prefer stories with less somber tones and clearer resolutions at the end.
I've often been daunted away from writing short stories myself, because I imagine them like "Twilight Zone" episodes, where they need shocking plot twists and high concepts more than characters experiencing mundane events. But Alice Munro does a great job of establishing characters in a short amount of pages, and I admire how she paints a narrative through seemingly random anecdotes that come together to create a rich and detailed tapestry of a fictional life. Her protagonists all seem very different, as well, which shows skill in alternating between distinct character voices and not writing from the same, neutral perspective each time.
The title is also worth mentioning, because its meaning to me changed as I moved through the collection. At first, I wasn't sure whether to interpret "Dear Life" as the beginning of a letter or a general description (though I was leaning toward the latter, since I often get a specific line from "Frankenstein" stuck in my head: "Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it"). But the final story in this collection (which is called"Dear Life" and is probably the reason for the overall title) threw my reading of the title for a loop, since it turned out to be a pull-out quote from a line about running away and hiding "for dear life."
I'm still not quite sure what to make of this twist, but I enjoy how the titles in this collection ("Dear Life" especially but not exclusively) kept me on my toes and shifted in meaning as I progressed through each story. I would be interested in reading more Alice Munro in the future, but I probably won't check out another one of her books anytime soon, mostly because I prefer stories with less somber tones and clearer resolutions at the end.