Unnerving bedtime stories, subtle, proficient, hair-raising and done to a turn

Roald Dahl is one of the few writers I know whose work can accurately be described as addictive

[A Christmas Carol is] a story which, perhaps more than any other, sums up the spirit of the British Christmas

Charles Dickens' Christmas stories showed his readers all the magical trappings of the season

A slight sense of withholding gives Munro's prose its gracefulness, and allows intimacy without danger. After many years, many collections and many wonderful stories, readers may feel they know everything about Alice Munro, especially as so many of her characters lead lives similar to her own. In fact, we know very little about her. This is one of the reasons readers become dizzy with love for Munro. This other reason is that she is so damn good

Alice Munro is one of our greatest living writers, and this new collection of stories…is essential reading for anyone who cares about literature, storytelling and language, or who savours the deep enjoyment of a writer at the height of her powers…These stories remind us of the world Munro was born into…And they remind us, therefore, how lucky we are to have Munro herself and her subtle, intelligent and true work

Told with magnificent understatement

Deceptively artless...Munro has no need for tricks; there is nothing strange. Just everyday life, in all its plain, abundant richness and sorrow

Alice Munro…can create a whole world in a short story – these stories are only 20 or 30 pages long, but they live in the mind like novels… These are stories about the stories we tell ourselves, and they are first rate

A quiet revelation... Dear Life is full of remarkable moments in ordinary lives and is imbued with an aching sadness

In this superb collection of short stories, the acclaimed Canadian writer shows repeatedly how apparently ordinary lives can be infused with dramatic intensity

A collection of truly beautiful short stories, perfectly crafted in a way that leaves no wanting feeling… Profound, poignant and undeniably powerful, this truly is the short story at its finest

A writer who has refined her remarkable talents over a long lifetime, a writer whose mastery of the craft has reached a level that her nickname, "Canada's Chekhov" feels emptied of all hyperbole… Beautifully written and ambitious in terms of form

[Munro] can create a whole world in a short story... These are stories about the stories we tell ourselves, and they are first rate

[Munro] really is the short story writer to beat... Munro has always been fascinated by those moments that tilt our world on its axis, as though the world really does turn on a kiss, but her brilliance lies in the psychological way that she convinces us of that fact

In crystalline prose, she illuminates her characters' hopes and longings

[Munro] has been compared to Chekhov and I'm only being slightly tongue in cheek when I say that the honour is entirely his. Dear Life is comprised of 13 rich and startling stories, a must read

I haven’t even finished all of Dear Life, but Alice Munro’s stories have lived with me for such a long time and with such quiet passion that I’m barely capable of explaining why

[Munro’s] talent is formidable but she has never been self-seeking: her short stories have a subtle, covert brilliance

These stories won’t give you easy moral comfort, but will stretch you. They’re moral in that they name things as they are

Dear Life is a dazzling portrait of ordinary existence which illustrates how seemingly insignificant meetings and moments can have a monumental impact