Nothing really happens. Here, the "main event is simply a view of the water". So Ruby's story should not be a page-turner. But, in fact, The Town that Drowned is a coming-of-age story with a curious momentum. No single element is responsible: character and voice, setting and structure, all work
One might say that Margot was playing Barbara's game of "Apples and Oranges", choosing between a nice house and a fresh start. 1990; Penguin, 1991 But if one said too much about Margot's choice, spoilers about "Wigtime" would wriggle into the discussion. Margot has made choices, indeed, but
Alice Munro is capable of spinning readers away from the salient detail of Austin's death in a story like "Pictures of the Ice". 1990; Penguin, 1991 Yet, she is equally capable of writing an opening which cannot be set aside and which demands rereading as the story unfolds,
Remember when "Gravel", in Dear Life, had readers considering the way that life can shift beneath one's feet, like an aggregation of water-worn stones readjusting? 1990; Penguin, 1991 This story has one considering the formation of frazil ice, the way that loose and randomly shaped ice-crystals can form
This title recalls Barbara's "Oranges and Apples" game, the idea of having to choose between two things. 1990; Penguin, 1991 It also echoes Anne having asked Matthew, en route to Green Gables: "Which would you rather be if you had the choice--divinely beautiful or dazzlingly clever or angelically
