After the first fairly gripping story, the fiction quickly falls into some Alice Mundane prose and it seems like it's going to be that way for the long haul. The author seems to have forgotten the necessity of plot in several stories, and the reader is left dragging along to the end only because of confidence in an otherwise accomplished writer. "Cortes Island" has some worthwhile character development, but "Jakarta" and "Save the Reaper" feel like directionless wandering, as if Munro is playing the grandson's alien chase game with her story development: see a possibility, grab onto it there for a while and see where it goes and then grab onto another. While this technique can certainly be successful and give the image of "living" or "evolution" fiction, it doesn't always work, and these three stories prove it.

Furthermore, the "shocking" action of her characters is not believable enough because, despite all the drawn-out development, the reader still can't see the justification in the character's minds. Sure, everyone does the unexpected sometimes, but if all Munro's characters do that, we lose the idea of the story. Pauline, for example, in "The Children Stay," seems to feel too much devotion and affection for her children to be able to just forget them completely for a wild night of sex that leaves her sore, even though they interrupt her life. Most women find that children interfere with the professional, artistic, social (etc) lives they had before becoming mothers, so what sets Pauline apart to actually be able to leave the girls forever for a romance that turns out to be a fling anyway? Munro didn't prepare us enough for her decision, and the story is weakened.

The real genius of her work starts to emerge again, though, with "Rich as Stink." A mature little girl and her childish mother create an interesting role reversal which must meet its limits finally in a powerful way, when nature takes charge. This story feels glued together with real intrigue, although the purpose and development of the minor characters could have been improved.

"Before the Change" is reminiscent of Munro's previous work, with a letter-writing young woman revealing her story to her (ex) lover. Here we see Munro's capability with powerful character development and loose links which neatly connect in the end.

Certainly the finest story in the collection is the last-- "My Mother's Dream" was so intricately handled it is worth an award by itself. Munro provides, finally, a more appropriate number of characters for a short story and is able to present and enrich them throughout the work effectively. She brings us into the world of the family here, pulling us in with suspense and connection, making us truly care about the people and hope for them and with them and get completely involved. Finally, as is true of the entire collection as well, Munro does not disappoint us in the end.

Just when you were about to say, "She's losing her knack for the great short story form," she whacks you with three whoppers and whispers, "My dear, I am never too old to tell a great tale."

I have a hard time reading short stories sometimes, but these were excellent. The first one, which titles the book, is almost a novella, very well crafted. With a murder at the center of the story, you read about how this death has affected different characters, and their take on it. My second favorite story is My Mother's Dream, a very vivid account of family dynamics at a time of loss and happiness.

Each one of these stories left me satisfied, with a sense of completion, and that is something i often miss when reading short stories. I highly recommend this excellent work by Alice Munro.

We all know that there are quite a lot of people who believe that Alice Munro is one of the greatest short story writers alive, and I could not agree with them more. But let me say what I particularly like about Alice Munro, what distinguishes her from other great writers.

First of all, there is a unique impression of authenticity. There are certain conventions in fiction about what is regarded as important or interesting; Alice Munro ignores them. She knows that tiny incidents can be the defining ones. She knows that spending a weekend with one's own daughter can be an unbearable challange which almost drives you mad. These stories do not gloss over the mundane aspects of life we have to struggle with most.

Second, Alice Munro's stories believe in human dignity and choice. Hers is a moral universe. It's not just the title story which shows us a person making a choice. We tend to just let things happen to us and pretend we cannot do anything about them; these stories show that sometimes we can (but they do not deny that very often we cannot). There is also a great story, "Jakarta", which implies that such choices are not valid forever; it's not enough to decide against betraying your husband today. The decision may feel momentous, but if you decide otherwise tomorrow it doesn't matter all that much. The problem is, however, and the story shows that too, that when you take those decisions you are very often incapable of feeling their impact.

Read these stories! This is a book for grown-ups. It will help you understand the world.