The Progress of Love (Vintage International)
Product ID: 31094800
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Eleven stunning stories that explore the most intimate and transforming moments of existence, from Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro, “one of the foremost practitioners of the short story” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times ). “Throughout this remarkable collection moments of insight flash from the pages like lightning, not necessarily providing answers—more like showing the way to new questions.”— The Philadelphia Inquirer A divorced woman returns to her childhood home where she confronts the memory of her parents’ confounding yet deep bond. The accidental near-drowning of a child exposes to the shaken mother the fragility between children and parents. A young man, remembering a terrifying childhood incident, wrestles with the responsibility he has always felt for his hapless younger brother. A man brings his lover on a visit to his ex-wife, only to feel unexpectedly closer to his estranged partner. In these and other stories, Alice Munro proves once again a sensitive and compassionate chronicler of our times. Drawing us into the most intimate corners of ordinary lives, she reveals much about ourselves, our choices, and our experiences of love. Review: great book - If you don't know Alice Munro, get this book, and read it. You will be happy that you lose yourself in her stories. Review: Four Stars - The short stories need to be savored individually to be appreciated.
| Best Sellers Rank | #309,280 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,320 in Literary Criticism & Theory #3,652 in Short Stories Anthologies #4,531 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 273 Reviews |
M**K
great book
If you don't know Alice Munro, get this book, and read it. You will be happy that you lose yourself in her stories.
A**U
Four Stars
The short stories need to be savored individually to be appreciated.
J**Y
White dump and fits were favorites!
Alice Munro has blown me out of the water once again. with her insights into the intricacies and delicious complications of family life and love.
O**L
Five Stars
All Alice Munro books are great and this is no exception
I**E
excellent stories!
Very enjoyable, excellent stories!
S**S
master of the genre
The stories in "Progress of Love" are quite long - about 30 pages each and demand time and attention by the reader. They often open in a tangential fashion and it is not until you are some way in the story you realize what or who the main subject is. The author is interested in relationships, especially couples and children and in a few sentences of observation or dialog conveys much meaning. Still these stories are not for everyone - there is a certain coldness about them, or maybe its the characters she portrays. You will have to read it yourself to judge. There is a longer review of this books and several others on my cultural blog which I invite you to visit and leave comments on - the link is in my profile.
M**C
Not swept away-
Highly lauded, however I don’t find Alice Munro’s writing as magnetic as many. Her stories are thoughtful and she chooses incidents that are often small but always meaningful. Despite this, her writing is long winded and digressive. I’m sorry, Alice- I’m not swept away.
M**E
Best writer alive!
Terrific book. As advertised!
R**G
Love this vintage paperback
Thanks for the fast shipping!!! Love this vintage paperback.
J**Y
Wonderful.novel.of girl's upbringing
Alice Monro died recently in her 90s. She was a wonderful Canadian short.story writer..This is her only novel My book club of 8 all enjoyed and admired it.
D**P
Alice Munro is the best short story writer in English!
A brilliant collection of stories.
S**A
Collection of niche novel and not mere stories
The beauty of Munro's writing lies in simplicity and character depth. How often does one feel that the characters are not just well developed but thoroughly developed in a short story? Importantly, the typical short stories cover aspects of a short span, and probably justified by the word 'short'. Whereas most others write stories that are short, Munro does it the other way. She shortens the stories, and that is the difference between Munro and others. I am not saying the cliche that she truly deserved the Nobel prize. This is beyond all of that. It is more like collection of novels and not *short* stories.
S**L
Four Stars
Lovely writing really interesting stories.
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