My mother told me to pick the very best one ...
I am mercifully back, but not for too long - I have a paper on Keats that is calling my name.
This was assigned to me for my Short Story Workshop class; my second Munro book in a month. I'm glad I had Runaway as a sort of primer, although something about this book struck me as more melancholy about this collection.
The collection's title comes from the short story of the same name, where two young friends make up a game that will predict the kinds of relationships they will have with the boys of their neighborhood. Marriage is put into the forefront of nearly every story here, but it means something different to every character. For Johanna, it means escape from her life as a drab housekeeper; for Queenie, it's a flexible union that she may take or leave at her will; for Nina in Comfort, it bonds her with her forthright and decisive husband. For other characters, loveship is what they seek out, and their success seems to be porportionate to how little they expect it to come. It is in our nature to want that which is not meant for us, as Lorna learns in Post and Beam; at the same time, Jinny is able to receive comfort from an unlikely source that relieves her from her terminal illness in Floating Bridge. Hateshipe comes forth gradually in Family Furnishings when the narrator becomes disillusioned about her outspoken aunt. In The Bear Came Over the Mountain, Grant is distraught at the friendship that has sprung up between his wife and another man who both live in an assisted living facility.
What seems to be a concern with many of the characters is the uncertainty of the future, especially when contrasted with their own plans. Edith from Hateship wonders, "where, on the list of things she planned to achieve in life, was there any mention of her being responsible for [the unlikely outcome of her trick-playing on Johanna]?" No less than two characters from other stories are presented with the option to have an affair outside of their marriages; one wonders if she would've left her young husband had her affair lasted longer than one night. The more mature character Nina, by contrast, is able to put a stolen kiss during a Christmas party in perspective. The difference between the stories concerning older and younger marriages is striking, and rings true. Only the flighty Fiona from Mountain behaves in a manner much younger than her 60+ years. My favorites from this collection include Hateship, a multi-layered look at the desires of two very different female characters, and Furnishings, where the narrator writes a story that strikes a little too close to home for her aunt. I haven't yet mentioned Nettles, which was also very affecting and one of Munro's darker stories - about a woman trying to hook up with a childhood friend, despite the both of them being married. The ending has a twist that no one could see coming.
The prose is bold and lovely, creating lasting images of the pivotal points in these characters' lives. Though they are called short stories, the worlds they explore are quite spacious and well-grounded. The characters we read about are brought to life by Munro's careful and thoughtful characterization. Rating: 4.5 love letters out of 5.