Lorrie Moore's introduction of Alice Munro situates her along side Flannery O'Connor and Margaret Atwood. Our editor relates the regular comparison of her master of short fiction to Chekov. Pretty good company, huh?
Munro's stories, and here we've got a fantastic sampling of three to discuss, are captivating and full of wonder and curiosity. In no small part, this power is drawn out of Munro's narrators who are - and this is pretty cool - captivated and full of wonder and curiosity about the events of the story! Let's take "Friend of My Youth" as an example of this movement. Our main narrative regards two women, Ellie and Flora. We're mostly concerned with what happens to them. Now, those two women have a friend, and that friend has a daughter, and that's our narrator. Shouldn't we be scratching our heads at this? Wondering just what the hell is going on and what's with all this narrative distance and conceptualization of Ellie and Flora when Munro could just give them to us?
Well, here's part of Munro's magic. Her narrators are writers. Maybe we don't see them with a book and a cup of coffee and ink-stained jeans and a string of hapless romances. But they do the work of writers; they engage in theory of mind, projecting thought and rationale onto others, they search for cause and attempt explanation, they ask themselves questions and constantly speculate. Munro's curiosity permeates her pages, giving depth to her characters and bringing them to life so that we as readers do not say, "Hey, this story seems to be from a peculiar perspective." Instead we say, "Hey! That's a good question. I was just going to ask that."
I have to say that I was definitely left wondering what was happening and who our narrators were. As I sat reading “Friend of My Youth”, I didn’t even realize who our narrator even was until half-way through the story. I had to go back and reread sections because I had gotten lost in the madness of Alice Munro. I got lost in the world of poor Flora, who couldn’t seem to catch a damn break, and I felt so sad for her. At the same time, she accepted the way everyone treated her. Her fiancé gets her sister pregnant, and she dresses them both for their quick wedding? I would feel the urge to kick the crap out of the guy, but that’s just me talking.
ReplyDeleteI felt distanced enough in that story, as well as all the other ones already, even without the strange and somewhat random narrator (such as the daughter of a friend from Flora’s youth). I felt that this story was the only one that didn’t leave me completely confused and curious about other things that were happening. For example, “Save the Reaper” had moments where I sat here trying to figure out what was going on between Eve and Sophie (who I originally thought were sisters, just kidding, they’re mother and daughter), and Phillip and Daisy. The fact that all of the pregnancies are occurring with random men and everyone is okay with that is kind of off-putting which keeps me further away from the characters. Especially because suddenly and towards the end… there’s a possibility that Eve is bi-sexual, WHAT?!
All in all, I enjoyed Alice Munro and the entire jumble that is her stories. I say this because, in these stories there are threads of more stories intertwined with other stories, which is dizzying (in a good way). Even though I could have completely misunderstood, I’m looking forward to the Alice Munro discussion in class.
As I read these stories, I found myself becoming more and more invested in Munro’s writing. In a word, it is wonderful. I especially appreciate her ability to make a singular moment quite important within the narrative of a story. For instance, in Walker Brothers Cowboy, we realize this is going to be a piece about the narratives father. While this may not be all that unique, Munro’s anecdotal style is nonetheless refreshing. In all three of these stories she uses specific character anecdotes as a means of framing the story. Walker Brothers Cowboy begins with the scene on the Lake. It is a fascinating story, because the father in the story seems so conflicted. He certainly has a past with Nora, but it doesn’t seem like anything is about to happen between them. But, in the end we’re not entirely sure. He is a good father, but he is not necessarily a perfect person. In terms of an instance framing the story, Friend of My Youth begins with a short scene in which our narrator relates a dream she used to have about her mother. In a way, this sets up the story, though I was surprised by how much it was about the mother’s experience with this Cameronian family. It’s impressive how Munro manages to tell this story from the perspective of someone who never actually met the characters in the piece (with the exception of her mother) without feeling too distant. I felt like I was involved directly in the action. That being said, I do think this story was the weakest of the three stories. It was still an enjoyable read, though it left me wanting just a little bit more. It almost felt unfinished in a way. Save the Reaper is slightly different form Walker Brothers Cowboy and Friend of My Youth, because it uses its opening scene throughout the piece. It is less anecdotal than action based. However, it does frame the story in its own way. In this particular piece, Munro uses Eve’s drive with her grandchildren as a means to explore her relationship with her daughter, Sophie. In terms of Eve’s relationship with Sophie, I was surprised to learn that they are a mother and a daughter. For some reason, I was picturing two sisters. However, this wasn’t necessarily a weakness; I actually thought this was skillfully done on Munro’s part. Certainly, there were clues to their relationship, but it wasn’t explicitly stated until Munro mentioned Sophie’s father and how she ended up getting conceived. I thought this was very smartly done. Furthermore, I enjoyed how this story slowly escalated throughout to a point of danger. As soon as Eve couldn’t turn around her car, I knew she was in for trouble. Even when the girl hopped in the car, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of fear. In some stories like this, I would be cheering for even more danger, but I don’t think that’s necessary here. This piece is not about the danger; it is about the relationships. Of course, we do still end on a somewhat sinister note. Eve is going to be alone in this house soon. While I don’t think anything is going to happen, I can’t help but feel rather uneasy about this whole situation. Why the hell did she tell the girl where she’s staying? I don’t know, but I love it.
ReplyDeleteI think I have to agree with Sidney about the somewhat confusing nature of these stories. “Walker Brothers Cowboy” was probably the least confusing in my mind, because the narrator wasn’t so far removed from the main characters. Still, because the narrator doesn’t have all of the information, we also don’t get all of the information and are left wondering just what kind of past the father and Nora have with each other. It doesn’t seem like an affair or anything like that, but something’s going on that I can’t quite put my finger on.
ReplyDeleteIn “Friend of My Youth”, the narrator is even more distanced from the main characters. The story is about Flora and Ellie but is being told by Flora’s friend’s daughter. This way, we can only understand Flora through the mother’s words and then later we see how the daughter views Flora based on her mother’s words. While her mother put Flora on a pedestal almost, the daughter thinks Flora is evil for the exact same reasons her mother admires her. At the end of this story, you’re left wondering just what happened to cause Flora to leave her home, as well as some other smaller questions.
“Save the Reaper” was especially confusing for me because, if I hadn’t read the introduction, it would have taken me much longer to realize Eve was the grandmother than it actually did. There are hints in the very first sentences I realize now as I look at it again, but I missed those on the first read-through. Still, the story goes from present to past and back to present, giving us background on Eve and Sophie and Sophie’s children. The confusing part comes in when they reach the house and take in the girl hitchhiking. What exactly was going on there? I’m not sure, but maybe some of you have ideas.
I didn’t dislike the stories because I had these questions. They were still enjoyable reads, but I think I would have liked to have those questions answered, even just a little bit. While there was something almost sinister in both “Friend of My Youth” and “Save the Reaper” (certainly in “Save the Reaper), “Walker Brothers Cowboy” was fairly benign without the dangerous undertones of the other two stories.
I love when the narrator of a story is a child, because it makes me think about how little Karen would have reacted if I rode in my dad’s car to the house of a strange dancing lady, or if I walked into a room with a naked man sitting at the end of the table. Something tells me I would’ve walked up to that person and said something stupid. But as Bobby says, Alice Munro gives us a deeper perspective of characters or situations within characters. In “Walker Brothers Cowboy,” we know the words left unsaid between the father and daughter. We understand the unspoken agreement that the visit to Nora is not something to elaborate on in front of the narrator’s mother: “My father does not say anything to me about not mentioning things at home, but I know, just from the thoughtfulness, the pause when he passes the licorice, that there are things not to be mentioned” (748).
ReplyDeleteLikewise, in “Friend of my Youth,” we have the daughter-as-narrator setup again, but this time the daughter is looking back at days gone by. She explains the relationship that her mother had with Flora and Ellie, but then Munro takes this a step farther, giving Flora’s character a double identity. For her mother, Flora is to be admired, but to the narrator, her story of Flora is filled with destruction. The daughter attributes this difference in perspective to the separate generations, but then we as readers get included in the extra dimension: “It’s as if tendencies that seem most deeply rooted in our minds… have come in as spores on the prevailing wind, looking for any likely place to land, any welcome” (760). We know, that the daughter knows, that sometimes our minds have a mind of their own.
Finally, I love how Munro can show us the distance between characters without directly saying it. Eve and Sophie are mother and daughter, but Eve can’t seem to find the words to ask her daughter what is going on with Ian. Eve thinks, “Maybe they had a tiff… This whole visit might have been tactical… And the burning question was, Who did the phoning?” (770). In this passage, we realize what the characters won’t say, and we ask ourselves what the characters can’t seem to ask out loud to each other. Alice Munro makes her stories “her own” by talking to her readers through her characters.
While I really enjoyed reading Alice Monroe, I was also a bit confused while I was reading and had to go back a few times and reread the stories. Not all of her narrators are that well connected to the main plot of the story, and sometimes did not know all the details about what was going on. As a result, it was sometimes difficult to figure out what those specific details were.
ReplyDeleteI was most confused by the storyline of “Save the Reaper.” The story goes from present to past and back to present, giving us background on the children of Eve and Sophie, as well as themselves. Like Sydney, I also did not realize that Eve was the grandmother at first, though when I figured that out and went back to reread the story, certain parts of the story began to make more sense. They way that all these pregnancies happen with random men, and the sudden revelation about Eve's possible bisexuality definitely made this an strange yet interesting read.
It took me a while to figure out who the narrator was in “Friend of my Youth,” and then my ultra feminist started kicking in and getting really mad for everyone treating poor Flora like crap, particularly her fiance. “Walker's Brothers Cowboy” was the easiest for me to understand because the narrator was actually close to the other people in the story, but I had a hard time figuring out what details we were missing in the story. I feel like there is a lot more in the past between Nora and the father, but I simply could not figure it out.
Anyway, maybe when I'm not sleep deprived more logical conclusions will come to me, so I definitely look forward to the presentation tomorrow!
“Walker Brothers Cowboy” was not a new story for me, so it was interesting to delve further into the writings of Alice Munro. I loved how the focus of the story was never what I expected from the first page. At times, it did get confusing (in “Friend of My Youth” especially, I would constantly forget who the narrator was) but it was an interesting take on the first person, and third person narratives. The stories were hardly ever about the narrator. Sometimes the narrator wasn’t even the main character. And, we got the same view of the situation as the narrator did, having as many questions about weird occurrences as the narrators did.
ReplyDelete“Friend of My Youth” would have to be my favorite story. It was interesting how the narrator was the daughter of the friend of Flora. In a way, we got a completely unbiased narrative of what happened to Flora, but at the same time it was very biased, probably skewed by what the mother had told the daughter. In the end, I was left thinking what parts of the story could have been glorified or made up simply because of the way the narrator came to learn of the story. It was also interesting to see the daughter’s own take on Flora’s story, how she would write it differently than her mother even though she never knew the woman personally.
“Save the Reaper” was complicated. Thankfully I realized that Eve was the grandmother early on, maybe only because I read the introduction. However, like I said before, I was surprised to see that the story switched gears from Eve and the children to Eve and Sophie. At first I found it somewhat unnecessary, but then accepted that the background information was necessary for this story to properly unfold.
I liked how “Walker Brothers Cowboy” was narrated by someone that I believed to be in between the world of childish naivety and the world of the adult. The daughter notices many things that I as a child might not have taken note of. However, it is made clear that she notices, though perhaps doesn’t completely understand, more than her younger brother. The brother is completely ignorant of his father and Nora’s relationship, while the daughter is left questioning how strange it is. Munro really weaves together some interesting tales and leaves out enough detail to make us want more.
WOW okay so I really enjoyed reading all three of these stories. My first reaction to Munro's narrations and change of perspective was utter confusion. I realized I was going to have to slow down and really pay attention to the voice and description of each narration. I think all three of these stories are driven by the narrations rather than the plot. I couldn't help but compare "Walker's Brothers Cowboy", to Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury, mainly because of they way Munro plays with the past, present and future, as well as shifting the narration to give each character a chance to show the reader their perspective and voice. That being said it was sometimes hard to follow where we were in the plot, yet I knew every little detail was put there for a reason. In "save the Reaper" Munro shows us Eve's past, and moves us through the present while she finds herself in the house with her grandchildren. To me this story was chilling, foggy and unclear. I found that I wasn't completely sure what had happened in the house, nor do I think that Eve really knew. I think the title really gives to the story, and the fact that Eve woke up having this nightmare that the woman was going to come back to get her really stuck in my head, as if the character of Eve was going to be haunted by her mistakes or actions from her past forever. In "Friend of my Youth", I really liked the way Munro set up the narration, having it be the daughter of Flora's friend, I felt like the distance of her narration let the readers see this relationship through fresh eyes. I also really enjoyed the drama of this story and the web of lies and surprise that Munro leads us to through the narration. I really enjoyed reading all three of these stories, though i do agree they were not the easiest to read at first once I got into them the drama and surprise they brought with them really held my attention.
ReplyDeleteAlice Munro does an excellent job writing in the perspectives of those who are just as curious and distant from the action of the story as we are, placing us in varying degrees of closeness to piecing together what’s going on. This concept of the distant narrator appears at its clearest in “Friend of My Youth,” which also doubles this phenomenon. The narrator is not only far from the focus of the action in Flora’s tale of saintly responses to betrayal, but she is being told this story second-hand from her mother, who was also little more than a witness to the events that unfolded. The narrator questions her mother’s view of Flora, wondering like the reader might if the virtuous picture her mother paints really tells the whole story, or if Flora is in some way just as wicked as her sister and the nurse, as well as what further role the downplayed and objectified Robert played in these events. Even if we were to take the mother’s version of the story at face value, she cannot comprehend the feelings of her focal character, as Flora did not believe, or at least claimed not to believe, that the anger leveled against those who wronged her was warranted, leaving us wondering without the full story what emotions Flora experienced through these events.
ReplyDeleteThis exercise is played with to a lesser, but still present, degree in the other two pieces. In “Walker Brothers Cowboy,” the narrator has a stronger presence, and is actually in the scenes of the story being told on the surface, but like us, she can only ponder and guess at the story of her father and Nora. The full extent of their relationship is not explicitly stated, so like the narrator, we only have our intuition to guide our suspicions. Finally, “Save the Reaper” holds a lot of focus on our point-of-view character, Eve, and the story of her family and the relationships within. However, she is only given a glance of a place she once knew, but has become unrecognizable (she even doubts that this is the same place), and is filled with strangers whose personalities and motivations seem suspect, at best, yet neither the reader nor Eve ever figures out what happened to the place, or the girl who was desperate to escape, or the full extent of what goes on in that house. It is easy in these scenarios for our minds to fill in the blanks in whatever horrible ways we deem necessary, but how do those compare to the questions racing through the minds of the characters who were there?
Alice Munro doesn’t just create stories with a moment of time, she seems to create the lives of her characters. Each main character travels in time to visit past memories that pertain to the current circumstances. In that way, we get to know and understand her characters more. They have depth, they have a life before and after the short story ends. The reader is helped along in these stories through the massive paragraphs of description Alice Munro truly shows the reader where they are and what they are looking at.
ReplyDeleteThe first story “Walker Brothers Cowboy,” takes the reader on a ride with the daughter in the story. The story focuses on a car ride between the daughter, father, and brother. The reader however gets insight into the mother even though she isn’t in the story very much. On page 741 we see the description of the mother’s activities with her daughter, “With me her creation, wretched curls and flaunting hair bow, scrubbed knees and white socks-all I do not want to be.” The daughter shows through this passage, how she enjoys being out with her father better. Through this passage, Munro simultaneously gives depth to the narrator, the father, and the just barely there mother, who becomes her own character and not just to show that the daughter has a mother and father.
“Friend of My Youth” has the same kind of “daughter talking about mother’s past” narrative. Instead of focusing on the mother, the daughter begins a fascination with the mother’s friend Flora, Flora’s sister Ellie, and later with Nurse Atkinson and Robert. The narrator attempts to shine light on all theses characters to show the connection between people and their past. How people get the way they are. The daughter seems to have a real fascination with Robert who is described throughout the story as “He never has a word to say…He listens or does not listen while Flora reads…the one who started everything, in secret” (759). He becomes the most mysterious based on how the mother told the story to the daughter. The daughter heightens this tension with Robert throughout the final pages as the daughter attempts to team up with the reader to find meaning in it all.
“Save the Reaper” has another female narrator, but she is much older. Eve, still shows her own mother daughter relationships with her own mother and daughter, Sophie. Eve’s narrative seemed to travel around the most in time with the narration going to different points in Eve’s life as she has her daughter and family live with her for the summer. Her story made the least sense to me. I couldn’t quite understand what was going on in the story. I did however enjoy the way Munro was able to make the narrator skip effortlessly through time.
I would be surprised if anyone said that something other than the narration was the most distinct part of the stories. That was the first thing I noticed in all of these stories. It was a bit confusing at first, I admit, especially in “Friend of my Youth” where I was constantly surprised whenever an “I” came into the picture, having grown so used to the third person, but all the stories ended up having me scratch my head in some way. Once I got past the head scratching, I realized how interesting these stories are.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the narration in “Walker Brothers Cowboy” reminds me of a journal entry, the events recounting rather oddly. In the first paragraph, the action seems to pass by extremely quickly. The father asked his daughter to go out to see the Lake with him and they walk on by the neighbors, three different, but short, dialogues taking place in that paragraph. It left me extremely confused, but it showed how little attention this scene deserved, other scenes expanded fully. The scene at the end with Nora gained a lot of the narrator’s attention and mine as well. It was an odd event for the narrator, one that deserved more focus for her to figure out.
“Friend of my Youth” was a bit more confusing. It’s a daughter telling the story of her mother, but I forgot that there was someone actually telling the story half of the time. I kept thinking it was in third person and then BAM there’s an “I” right there. And then I forgot again only to get surprised again. Despite this, I found the story extremely interesting and the perspective made the story intriguing. We are reading this story through two different fogged glasses. The mother told the story to the daughter, adding her bias, and for all we know the daughter could be adding her own bias, perhaps leaving some other parts of the story out. It adds a curiosity to the story.
“Save the Reaper” was curious. The perspective and the focus on the past made me question the events of the future. This was the story with the most questions in general, ones that I’m not sure I could trust Eve to answer.
Alice Munro, has a very distinct voice. She seems to make all of her characters, take a journey into the past. I found that her style was interesting enough that i was engaged throughout especially in "Walker Brother Cowboy's," I think I just liked that it was an interesting perspective from the daughters perspective.
ReplyDeleteI found that the way that the stories had huge paragraphs really made it hard some times to get at the inner meaning, if there was one, but I enjoyed trying to find that out about each story.
"Walker Brother Cowboy's," was my favorite story in this collection, of Munro's stories. The story starts out in a car ride with the daughter as the narrator, who was a interesting narrator at that, we as readers find out a lot about the family dynamic and even the mother when she never appears into the story. This story had many great scenes and had great huge paragraphs with description, but there where parts were I felt that were missing something, if that be more description or just more ineptness. I enjoyed that this story took on a different approach to experimental almost fiction.
"Friend of my Youth," just like the last story this story was about a daughter telling the story of a mother. Which I also liked it was at least interesting, although I know a few people probably found it repetitive.The characters in this story were the narrator, Flora, Flora’s sister Ellie, Nurse Atkinson and Robert. I personally found this story much more confusing the tension between the narrator and Robert was hard for me to follow.
"Save the Reaper," had the most interesting title I've seen in a while which was awesome. It also started off with a female narrator although this one was older. Eve the main character seemed to be the one that traveled along the time stream the most.
Well I have to say that this story I couldn't follow as well as the others it was almost impossible for me. Although man did I try to stay engaged with this story.