Who does Rose think she is? Either the question has been asked of her, or she has asked it of herself, throughout her life. It's fitting that the final story give voice to that. It's also fitting that the reader feels the question has been half-answered in the final paragraph
Readers of Who Do You Think You Are? first met Rose's step-mother in "Royal Beating". In that first story, Flo was an agent of power (although at least part of her power is wielded through her husband), a force to be reckoned with for young Rose. In "Spelling", Rose has
Audrey Thomas has been nominated twice for the Governor General's Award (for Intertidal Life and Coming Down from Wa, in 1984 and 1995). She has won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize in three years, including for The Wild Blue Yonder in 1990. She has published ten novels, seven collections of stories,
It's no coincidence that a story titled for 'luck' follows one titled for 'providence' in this collection of stories by Alice Munro. Indeed, folks in Hanratty could well have a saying, that one man's luck is another man's providence. Or vice versa. And Rose is never far from Hanratty, from
In "Providence", Rose and her husband separate, and at first -- with her new job and apartment and her casual lover -- Rose is all about the possibilities and promise. (Note: There are events in this story which reveal the outcomes of earlier stories; if you plan to discover the
