As is often the case with Alice Munro's story stories, details that a reader might overlook in everyday life take on a new significance. Take, for instance, gravel. Small chips of stone, one thinks. And, yet, gravel is actually "a loose aggregation of small water-worn or pounded stones". Although the pit
Paradoxically, Morgan Holly, owner of the Capital movie theatre in Maverley, who occupies the opening scene of this short story does not leave the town, but all of the other characters in this tale do leave Maverley. Random House, 2012 "And before long he found himself outside, pretending
Beginning with an arrival and ending with a departure, readers might think "Amundsen" a more conventionally told tale. Random House, 2012 (Thinking about the last story, "To Reach Japan", which began with a departure and ended with an arrival, I mean.) And, yet, both this arrival and departure
"To Reach Japan" begins with a departure and ends with an arrival. McClelland & Stewart - Random House, 2012 That is not commonly how it goes, but it's not unusual in the territory of Alice Munro's stories, which often begin in the present and work backwards to the
Dear Gabriel English, You don't know me, but I'm usually quite obsessive about reading things in the proper order, so I'm surprised that I read This All Happened a couple of years ago, having somehow missed the fact that you are also at the heart of this collection
