Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage

Nov 14, 2024 9:40 PM

Author:Alice Munro

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

In these stories lives come into focus through single events or sudden memories which bring the past bubbling to the surface. The past, as Alice Munro's characters discover, is made up not only of what is remembered, but also what isn't. The past is there, just out of the picture, but if memories haven't been savoured, recalled in the mind and boxed away, it's as if they have never been - until a moment when the pieces of the jigsaw re-form suddenly, sometimes pleasurably but more often painfully. Women look back at their young selves, at first marriages made when they were naive and trusting, at husbands and their difficult, demanding little ways.

There is in this new collection an underlying heartbreak, a sense of regret in her characters for what might have been, for a fork in the road not taken, a memory suppressed in an act of prudent emotional housekeeping. But at the same time there is hope, there are second chances - here are people who reinvent themselves, seize life by the throat, who have moved on and can dare to conjure up the hidden memories, daring to go beyond what is remembered.

Reviews

An acute and poetic observer of the eternal, universal, rum relationships between men and women

—— The Times

The mind revealed in this collection of short stories is acutely perceptive, in love with language and capable of seeing significant connections between apparently disparate circumstances

—— Sheila MacLeod , Evening Standard

If anyone has better insight into women and their central problem - men - than Margaret Atwood, and can voice them with as much wit, impact and grace, then they haven't started writing yet

—— Daily Mail

Margaret Atwood's stories are fierce parables about the horror of city life and the power politics of relationships. The fierceness filters insidiously through the leisurely realism of her domestic interiors, clothes, meals, weather... A remarkable collection

—— Victoria Glendinning , Sunday Times

Alice Munro commands enormous respect and almost uncritical adoration from her readers

—— Elaine Showalter , Literary Review

Too Much Happiness is her 11th collection, and as brilliant and surprising as any ... who could be better?

—— Claire Harman , Evening Standard

She has the lightest of touches, with every word seeming entirely necessary, but nothing set in stone....remarkable collection

—— Lorna Bradbury , Daily Telegraph

Munro is famously hard to write about, in part because she's the opposite of the Borges character who joked about belonging not to art but to the history of art. Far from hanging on to the gates of literature, her stories create a powerful illusion of bringing their readers up against unmediated life; and life isn't penetrable by the normal procedures of book reviewing. Is Too Much Happiness as substantial a collection as Runaway (2004) or Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage (2001)? The only sensible answer is to recommend buying all three

—— Christopher Tayler , The Guardian

As strong and vivid as ever... a gift for the humane observation and the specific, plausible detail

—— Philip Hensher , Spectator

Assured collection from the short-story queen

—— Sunday Times

A fine collection by a true craftsman, thematically rich and deeply humane.

—— Kirkus Review

Can we just accept that Bernard MacLaverty is one of the greats now? In this, his latest collection of short stories, the Glasgow-based Northern Irish writer reminds us of his range and power.

—— Susan Swarbrick and Teddy Jamieson , Herald, *Christmas Gift Guide 2021*

Inventive, dazzling, devastating and laugh out loud funny, the stories in Shine/Variance are all this and more. It's exhilarating to read such remarkable writing. An astonishingly good debut from a writer who clearly finds joy in language

—— Danielle McLaughlin, author of The Art of Falling

This collection depicts with caustic wit and insight the undersides of Irish domesticity: the quiet angers and atrophying dissatisfactions. Flaunting an enviable dexterity in both voice and style, Shine/Variance is an addictive collection, rich in moments that linger in your consciousness

—— Susannah Dickey, author of Tennis Lessons

Stephen Walsh's stories are often playful, sometimes twisted, in form and tone, but the dexterity on display allows for deep, subtle and profoundly moving explorations of modern life

—— Tim Finch, author of Peace Talks

A striking new talent in Irish literature. These stories vibrate with wry humour while always packing a serious emotional punch. Slyly revealing how we communicate today; how the language of modern technology, travel, lifestyle and ambition have infiltrated our deepest thoughts, Walsh illustrates that, in fact, little has changed in the human heart since James Joyce published Dubliners, which this collection brings to mind. Hugely entertaining, gripping and moving, Shine/Variance announces the arrival of a wonderful new voice for our times

—— Conor McPherson

[K-Ming Chang] is back with her signature precise and enthralling prose in this short-story collection.

—— Shondaland

K-Ming Chang's inspired mix of magic and realism returns in full fabulist force. . . . The stories are eclectic . . . and united by Chang's fascination with the queer and quotidian in her characters' worlds. . . . Piercing.

—— Esquire

Her new short-story collection Gods of Want both widens and calcifies the expansiveness of her range. . . . Chang is singular amongst us all. . . . New work from Chang is a cause for celebration-a holiday in its own right-and it's also a reminder of the infinite possibilities on the page. . . . Nothing short of marvelous.

—— Bryan Washington , Electric Literature

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