Collection of short stories is actually one of my favourite forms of fiction; primary because in one book you get to read about more than one set of characters. The real power of these stories depends on how much punch they pack in span of few pages. So, with some expectations I’ve picked these three short stories’ collections – out of them the first one is a newbie (in this form of storytelling at least), the second one is a real renowned master and third lies somewhere between- not a newcomer but unfortunately time was not on her side to establish her voice.
Alice Munro is a champion when it comes to short stories; the way she weaves characters and story lines is a skilful art in itself. Through her books, we get a glance of her beloved country.
These short stories are no different – set amidst the backdrop of Canadian landscapes ranging from rural farm houses to bustling metropolises. More often than not, the central character is a woman – a bit non-traditional, strong willed and quite independent.
We see here that people are transient, like to digress from their life; but not so successful in doing so. Physically they change names, places, relations and even themselves to an extent- if nothing else, then to shy away from much too familiarity of their lives somewhere else. But more often than not, the reality catches up or the Past comes chasing, knocking on Present. This struggle between fantasy based lives and their stark reality hits you like a snow storm; windy and brutal cold. And as in real life, these stories are also open ended; just common people pushing each day at a time. May be such commonality is what attracts me to her books again and again, something like reflection in pond – same yet starkly different.
Superlatively, highly recommended to all her fans.
That brings us to the writer for whom this form of story-telling is novelty. A novice writer but a seasoned story teller; when such a person comes out with his book, there are expectations of all kinds and most of them are on extreme sides.
Well at least in this case; there are good, there are okay and somewhere plain weird. This book is a mixed bag- there are few stories which feel like extension of one another since they tell the tale of a bunch of friends, then few stories are pretty awesome science fiction (yet to see the silver light!!) and others are banal, straightforward reflecting the real world.
The length of few of these stories and even the size of book felt tad-too-much for me. Yes, there were instances when I kept it down and then returned to it after few days nonetheless. Hmmm, the reason was not the charm or sway of the stories but because I simply adore the author.
On that note, I might pick his movie anytime over this arduous exercise of reading a book.
Now the last and the third book I read – advance warning, it’s in my mother tongue of Marathi. The language might not be familiar to so many readers or even the author to the millennial generation; yet, the stories and their surroundings are utterly familiar. This what we see it on TV soap operas nowadays – socialite women getting busy with token social service, career minded women balancing her familiar and familial life, women trying to forge a path in typically male dominated world such as politics, women struggling to get a hold on her life post divorce.
It’s clear that she was always a tad different from the women of those era; the soap operas she herself acted are proof of that. But reading these stories, make me wonder whether she was pragmatic with laser sharp observation power. The answer is a definite yes. At the time when these stories written, they might have portrayed an upper class woman’s world; but not so much now.
These stories, those women in them fit so much in today’s context. That’s why I have so much admiration for her writing that I will definitely recommend this book.
On the risk of sounding cliché; I would surely say that her passing has left a void in Marathi women writers’ club. We do require voice of such strong willed, liberal women to drive women perspective home.