Alice Munro, at the age of two or three, in her home town of
Wingham, Ontario.
My sixth encounter with Munro in the BASS. Below are links
to my entries on her earlier stories in the anthology.
I had a little trouble with this story ( As I always seem to
have with Munro). Perhaps because I’m still a little rusty. Initially I felt a
connection to the story and it stirred feelings about our recent move across
town and the frequent visits we make to our old neighborhood and the feelings
that surface during these visits.
Midway through though I felt the story shift a bit and I felt
a bit like I was reading Updike.
From the Contributor’s Notes section:
“Differently” is an
attempt to deal with a place and time in the lives of thirtyish people.
Victoria. The period 1968-1974 (?). A peculiar hecticness, destructiveness,
happiness, wildness, open play-acting about those years, intensity of
friendships and love affairs. Almost a late outbreak of adolescence. Not
necessarily to be regretted or deplored or hankered after, just described.
I had a great comment from “Anonymous” after struggling through another Munro
story “Circle of Prayer” –
Maybe you just don't fully appreciate Alice
Munro's writings---their beauty, grace, and subtlety. The strength of her
stories lies in their quiet messages and nuanced meanings. She rarely makes her
stories conspicuously understood on initial reading, and sometimes a second and
much careful reading is necessary to get down to what she intends primarily to
convey in the scenes and situations she writes about.
I love this comment. I agree that at times I do have difficulty seeing the “quiet messages and nuanced meanings” – I do need to look deeper – and I appreciate a reader out there defending Munro and helping me figure this whole thing out.
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