Open Secrets
by Alice Munro
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WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE® IN LITERATURE 2013In these eight tales, Munro evokes the devastating power of old love suddenly recollected. She tells of vanished schoolgirls and indentured frontier brides and an eccentric recluse who, in the course of one surpassingly odd dinner party, inadvertently lands herself a wealthy suitor from exotic Australia. And Munro shows us how one woman's romantic tale of capture and escape in the high Balkans may end up inspiring another woman who is fleeing a show more husband and lover in present-day Canada.
"Open Secrets is a book that dazzles with its faith in language and in life."--New York Times Book Review
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Open Secrets was my second Munro after [b:Runaway|24192|The Runaway Jury|John Grisham|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388444668s/24192.jpg|1022176], and she has once again lived up to high expectations. The stories are all tied (loosely or strongly) to the fictional town of Carstairs, Ontario, which gives them cohesion in time and space. And true to form for Munro, the stories themselves are almost compulsively easy to read. They flow so well and have so many tantalizing details that the reader is fully absorbed. Sometimes the endings can be ambiguous leaving room for wonder, as in the case of Carried Away, a story in which a young librarian’s correspondence with a soldier during WWII becomes an important event twice in her life (Did show more the second encounter with Mr. Agnew actually happen? As of now I’m thinking this was only in her mind, and in reality Mrs. Doud was yet again “carried away” by her fantasy of what could’ve been, but I could be wrong) . In that sense, these stories are layered with meaning and like all great literature are ripe for rereading.
The women of these stories shine like so many stars; some of my favorites from this collection: Dorrie the socially awkward rabbit trapper in A Real Life who gets a surprising suitor; Mrs. Monk, the stoic wife of a bootlegger in Spaceships have Landed who shows another woman an unexpected kindess; and the lovable “flapper at heart” Miss Christena Mullen from A Wilderness Station. It is she who recounts the story of being one of the first residents of Walley (Carstairs’ sister town on the lake) to own a “Stanley Steamer” automobile – those few that ran on steam from 1902 to 1924 prior to their obsolescence in lieu of the internal combustion engine. I will leave you with this indelible description from Miss Mullen, dressed in her hat and motoring-veil, of taking out grandmotherly Old Anna for a drive one day:
Another outstanding group of stories by Alice Munro, first published in 1994. I love her dearly – please seek her out if you haven’t already. Highly recommended! show less
The women of these stories shine like so many stars; some of my favorites from this collection: Dorrie the socially awkward rabbit trapper in A Real Life who gets a surprising suitor; Mrs. Monk, the stoic wife of a bootlegger in Spaceships have Landed who shows another woman an unexpected kindess; and the lovable “flapper at heart” Miss Christena Mullen from A Wilderness Station. It is she who recounts the story of being one of the first residents of Walley (Carstairs’ sister town on the lake) to own a “Stanley Steamer” automobile – those few that ran on steam from 1902 to 1924 prior to their obsolescence in lieu of the internal combustion engine. I will leave you with this indelible description from Miss Mullen, dressed in her hat and motoring-veil, of taking out grandmotherly Old Anna for a drive one day:
“Well, I loved taking jaunts in the Steamer. I had been driving since I was fifteen but this was the first car of my own and possibly the only Steam car in Huron County. Everybody would run to see it go by. It did not make a beastly loud coughing and clanking like other cars but rolled along silently more or less like a ship with high sails over the lake waters and it did not foul the air but left behind a plume of steam. Stanley Steamers were banned in Boston, because of the steam fogging the air. I always loved to tell people, I use to drive a car that was banned in Boston!”
Another outstanding group of stories by Alice Munro, first published in 1994. I love her dearly – please seek her out if you haven’t already. Highly recommended! show less
My first Munro. A good thing? A bad thing? I acquired her books before the Nobel Prize pronouncement, but only got around to reading them after. I'm the sort that often needs to be led by the nose like that.
I'm reiterating a common complaint when I say that reviewing short story collections is difficult, but still. I thought my luck with finding my way through O'Connor's [b:The Complete Stories|284996|The Complete Stories|Flannery O'Connor|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1311998165s/284996.jpg|886814] heralded a new found ability to transition between varying lengths, but whereas O'Connor drives you into a corner again and again until you either get out or go insane, Munro floats.
Or slides. I found myself looking thorough show more beginnings and middles and ends, trying to orient around what exactly I thought of each, wondering if my speed of reading had impacted my understanding more than I thought. But no, it's all there, especially here, in a story titled The Albanian Virgin:
I'm reiterating a common complaint when I say that reviewing short story collections is difficult, but still. I thought my luck with finding my way through O'Connor's [b:The Complete Stories|284996|The Complete Stories|Flannery O'Connor|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1311998165s/284996.jpg|886814] heralded a new found ability to transition between varying lengths, but whereas O'Connor drives you into a corner again and again until you either get out or go insane, Munro floats.
Or slides. I found myself looking thorough show more beginnings and middles and ends, trying to orient around what exactly I thought of each, wondering if my speed of reading had impacted my understanding more than I thought. But no, it's all there, especially here, in a story titled The Albanian Virgin:
We have been very happy.Most of the people in Munro's world don't know what they want. They'll write letters and marry others that they'll most certainly cheat on and live on in a summary after the facts of the matter are through. It's not so simple as all that, though, as here it is my "show, not tell" spiel come back to bite me as Munro leads me through each and every story without ever really giving up the ghost. Several oddities of event and character that both entertained and sent my thinking into a frenzy, a few literature references that I latched onto like a lighthouse, but otherwise I left off each ending with a "Well."
I have often felt completely alone.
There is always in this life something to discover.
The days and the years have gone by in some sort of blur.
On the whole, I am satisfied.
You could look up from your life of the moment and feel the world crackling beyond the walls.I'd say that they're peaceful, but they're not. I'd say that they're the small town honings as Munro is so often characterized by, but it's not, or at least is far more sedate and uncanny and lush. It's that crackle that I'm trying to find the words for, but have the feeling that it'll take me a few more collections to pin it down to the count. In the meantime, I'll leave behind the idea that the music of Ludovico Einaudi goes a fair way in evoking the same theme of emotion, and send you on your way.
Often these sentences seemed so satisfying to me, or so elusive and lovely, that I could not help abandoning all the surrounding words and giving myself up to a peculiar state.show less
I've been meaning to read Alice Munro for a while. karen put Canadian authors on my radar as a group with George Elliot Clarke, and brian's reviews of her books have been tantalizing. Then the gauntlet was thrown down by that sleazy architect-loving Blake. Well, not really, but I perceived a gauntlet. Architects suck!
With the first story, I'm hooked. Amazing. I'm not even done with it yet, the very first story, but...so good. A simple tale that touches down on a solitary librarian's life like a skipping stone, glimpses of her interactions, all shown and not told. But what I get out of it is this deeply loving embrace of the written word. In each episode of her life, there is something combed into it about words - epistles that form a show more bond, stolen library books, a typewriter salesman, a wealthy man who forsakes his living room for the library armchairs, and I'm sure there will be more as I read on. I love this. I wish I hadn't waited so long to read this author. show less
With the first story, I'm hooked. Amazing. I'm not even done with it yet, the very first story, but...so good. A simple tale that touches down on a solitary librarian's life like a skipping stone, glimpses of her interactions, all shown and not told. But what I get out of it is this deeply loving embrace of the written word. In each episode of her life, there is something combed into it about words - epistles that form a show more bond, stolen library books, a typewriter salesman, a wealthy man who forsakes his living room for the library armchairs, and I'm sure there will be more as I read on. I love this. I wish I hadn't waited so long to read this author. show less
Here are the things I love about these short stories. Munro’s scope: the stories can span extensive time periods; her juxtaposition of exotic locations with small-town Canada; her use of different forms, such as letters; and the variety of excellently defined characters.
The stories are usually set in small-town Ontario, with some of the some characters popping up in different stories, seen from skewed angles. The jigsaw is probably an overused metaphor, but I have to use it, because I love them. Her book is a jigsaw puzzle with a lake, reflecting back a dark forest and a multiplicity of houses, shops and figures. Her puzzle is missing some pieces, which allows my imagination to try and stamp in the misshapen bits of my own show more understanding.
These stories gave me the stomach pit feeling of anticipation and fear, that I associate with the break neck adventures of youth. Including characters both youthful and old gives me hope that I will continue to experience that feeling.
The language is just right. It doesn’t show off, but it’s so very very good. My favourite phrase was “secret capability” in Spaceships have landed, it was used to describe the abilities of a woman the main character believed to be small town prostitute. show less
The stories are usually set in small-town Ontario, with some of the some characters popping up in different stories, seen from skewed angles. The jigsaw is probably an overused metaphor, but I have to use it, because I love them. Her book is a jigsaw puzzle with a lake, reflecting back a dark forest and a multiplicity of houses, shops and figures. Her puzzle is missing some pieces, which allows my imagination to try and stamp in the misshapen bits of my own show more understanding.
These stories gave me the stomach pit feeling of anticipation and fear, that I associate with the break neck adventures of youth. Including characters both youthful and old gives me hope that I will continue to experience that feeling.
The language is just right. It doesn’t show off, but it’s so very very good. My favourite phrase was “secret capability” in Spaceships have landed, it was used to describe the abilities of a woman the main character believed to be small town prostitute. show less
Escribir relatos no es fácil. En pocas páginas han de caber el planteamiento, el nudo y el desenlace (aunque esta norma no se aplica necesariamente a según qué cuentos y qué escritores). El germen de una historia ha de estar presente. Ésto es algo, quizás al no ser escritor, que me resulta difícil de entender, el que tenga (el escritor) una idea que podría desarrollar y convertirla en novela, pero que al final decida cortar por lo sano y darle un fin en pocas páginas. Está claro que muchos cuentos son como pequeñas postales, perfectos en su longitud, y es mejor que se hayan quedado así; pero también es verdad que existen casos en los que un cuento podría haber dado para mucho más, o menos, que nunca se sabe. Y no es que show more esté minusvalorando el género del relato corto en favor de las tramas de larga distancia, únicamente es que me da pena que una gran historia y unos buenos personajes no sean más aprovechados.
Y es en este género tan complicado donde destaca con nombre propio la canadiense Alice Munro, adorada por la gran mayoría de sus compañeros escritores. Si bien es verdad que la mayoría de escritores de cuentos buscan un final potente, lo más importante en los relatos de Alice Munro es el desarrollo. Su capacidad para ir hilvanando la trama es sencillamente prodigiosa. No sabría explicarlo, pero en pocas páginas es capaz de meterte en una gran historia, con vida propia. Te está contando un hecho o presentándote a un personaje, para pasar a continuación a explicarte otro hecho relacionado con el hecho o el personaje anterior. O también hace un inciso para seguir parte de la historia de un personaje que ha influido o influirá posteriormente en la vida del personaje protagonista. Casi es como si se tratasen de cuentos corales, si ésto puede ser. Hay que leer a Alice Munro para entenderlo.
Los cuentos que se incluyen en 'Secretos a voces' son independientes, pero aun así hay nombres que se repiten, como el de Carstairs, Ontario, ciudad donde van a parar en un momento u otro algunos de los personajes, o los Doud, los potentados durante décadas en Carstairs. De esta manera, al final del libro da la impresión de que los relatos forman como un caleidoscopio.
Estos son los ocho cuentos contenidos en 'Secretos a voces', aunque las sinopsis no les hacen justicia:
- ENTUSIAMO (*****). La nueva bibliotecaria de Carstairs ha recibido una carta de un soldado que lucha en la gran guerra, vecino del pueblo, que quedó hechizado por ella, y a la que pedirá poder seguir manteniendo esta relación epistolar. Puede ser el mejor cuento que he leído en años, de verdad. Uno no puede sino quitarse el sombrero ante la inteligencia de Munro al plantear esta historia, que tras su lectura parece perseguirte durante días.
- UNA VIDA DE VERDAD (*****). "Apareció un hombre que se enamoró de Dorrie Beck. Al menos, quería casarse con ella. Era verdad." Historia contada con cierto sentido del humor, narrada por Millicent, vecina de Dorrie, aunque deja un cierto regusto amargo.
- LA VIRGEN ALBANESA (****). Por una parte tenemos a una turista que ha sido secuestrada en albania, donde tendrá que integrarse a la fuerza al pueblo campesino al que es llevada. Y por otra parte tenemos una librera que está escuchando una interesante historia ocurrida en Albania... Me gustó más esta parte.
- SECRETOS A VOCES (*****). En este caso también tenemos trama y subtrama. La subtrama trata sobre la reciente desaparición de una chica cuando iba con sus compañeras y la señorita Johnstone de excursión. La trama nos habla de Maureen, antigua alumna y que también recuerda a la Johnstone, y de su marido, gran abogado, que vive retirado a medias debido a una parálisis. Imprescindible.
- EL JACK RANDA HOTEL (*****). Gail está en un avión cuyo destino conoceremos más tarde. Will, su pareja, la ha dejado. Se trata de un gran relato donde prima la ambición de Gail por conseguir lo que desea, a toda costa.
- ESTACIÓN DEL VÍA CRUCIS (*****). En 1852, dos hermanos de Hurón del Norte piden, con la ayuda de la recomendación de un sacerdote, les envíen dos muchachas casaderas. De nuevo la maestría de Munro brilla en este cuento a la hora de ir monstrándonos los acontecimientos.
- HAN LLEGADO NAVES ESPACIALES (***). La historia cuenta cómo Rhea conoció a Eunie y se hieceron amigas. Ahora, con más edad, Rhea está con su novio Billy Doud y su amigo Wayne, novio de Lucille, en casa del contrabandista Monk, bebiendo y pasando el rato, justo la noche de la desaparición de Eunie.
- VÁNDALOS (****). Bea y Ladner, Liza y Warren, son personajes que ocultan más de lo que se pueda apreciar en un primer momento. Todo empezó cuando Bea le pidió un pequeño favor a Liza...
Este libro de Alice Munro me ha gustado mucho, y no cabe duda de que volveré a leer más cuentos suyos. show less
Y es en este género tan complicado donde destaca con nombre propio la canadiense Alice Munro, adorada por la gran mayoría de sus compañeros escritores. Si bien es verdad que la mayoría de escritores de cuentos buscan un final potente, lo más importante en los relatos de Alice Munro es el desarrollo. Su capacidad para ir hilvanando la trama es sencillamente prodigiosa. No sabría explicarlo, pero en pocas páginas es capaz de meterte en una gran historia, con vida propia. Te está contando un hecho o presentándote a un personaje, para pasar a continuación a explicarte otro hecho relacionado con el hecho o el personaje anterior. O también hace un inciso para seguir parte de la historia de un personaje que ha influido o influirá posteriormente en la vida del personaje protagonista. Casi es como si se tratasen de cuentos corales, si ésto puede ser. Hay que leer a Alice Munro para entenderlo.
Los cuentos que se incluyen en 'Secretos a voces' son independientes, pero aun así hay nombres que se repiten, como el de Carstairs, Ontario, ciudad donde van a parar en un momento u otro algunos de los personajes, o los Doud, los potentados durante décadas en Carstairs. De esta manera, al final del libro da la impresión de que los relatos forman como un caleidoscopio.
Estos son los ocho cuentos contenidos en 'Secretos a voces', aunque las sinopsis no les hacen justicia:
- ENTUSIAMO (*****). La nueva bibliotecaria de Carstairs ha recibido una carta de un soldado que lucha en la gran guerra, vecino del pueblo, que quedó hechizado por ella, y a la que pedirá poder seguir manteniendo esta relación epistolar. Puede ser el mejor cuento que he leído en años, de verdad. Uno no puede sino quitarse el sombrero ante la inteligencia de Munro al plantear esta historia, que tras su lectura parece perseguirte durante días.
- UNA VIDA DE VERDAD (*****). "Apareció un hombre que se enamoró de Dorrie Beck. Al menos, quería casarse con ella. Era verdad." Historia contada con cierto sentido del humor, narrada por Millicent, vecina de Dorrie, aunque deja un cierto regusto amargo.
- LA VIRGEN ALBANESA (****). Por una parte tenemos a una turista que ha sido secuestrada en albania, donde tendrá que integrarse a la fuerza al pueblo campesino al que es llevada. Y por otra parte tenemos una librera que está escuchando una interesante historia ocurrida en Albania... Me gustó más esta parte.
- SECRETOS A VOCES (*****). En este caso también tenemos trama y subtrama. La subtrama trata sobre la reciente desaparición de una chica cuando iba con sus compañeras y la señorita Johnstone de excursión. La trama nos habla de Maureen, antigua alumna y que también recuerda a la Johnstone, y de su marido, gran abogado, que vive retirado a medias debido a una parálisis. Imprescindible.
- EL JACK RANDA HOTEL (*****). Gail está en un avión cuyo destino conoceremos más tarde. Will, su pareja, la ha dejado. Se trata de un gran relato donde prima la ambición de Gail por conseguir lo que desea, a toda costa.
- ESTACIÓN DEL VÍA CRUCIS (*****). En 1852, dos hermanos de Hurón del Norte piden, con la ayuda de la recomendación de un sacerdote, les envíen dos muchachas casaderas. De nuevo la maestría de Munro brilla en este cuento a la hora de ir monstrándonos los acontecimientos.
- HAN LLEGADO NAVES ESPACIALES (***). La historia cuenta cómo Rhea conoció a Eunie y se hieceron amigas. Ahora, con más edad, Rhea está con su novio Billy Doud y su amigo Wayne, novio de Lucille, en casa del contrabandista Monk, bebiendo y pasando el rato, justo la noche de la desaparición de Eunie.
- VÁNDALOS (****). Bea y Ladner, Liza y Warren, son personajes que ocultan más de lo que se pueda apreciar en un primer momento. Todo empezó cuando Bea le pidió un pequeño favor a Liza...
Este libro de Alice Munro me ha gustado mucho, y no cabe duda de que volveré a leer más cuentos suyos. show less
Non è facile...
...parlare dei libri di Alice Munro. Sono racconti che hanno come protagoniste figure femminili, che più si va avanti, più si scopre che il filo conduttore è l'ambientazione sempre nella medesima cittadina canadese. Storie che affondano nel passato, nelle inquietudini, nei sogni, nella solitudine. A volte sorprende, con quella sua narrazione non lineare, evocativa, su più livelli, da quello inconscio a quello temporale, da quello reale che sfuma in fantasia e da una fantasia surreale che si fatica a creder vera. C'è sempre qualcosa che sfugge, un non-detto che lascia al lettore un margine personale di elaborazione. Può risultare un'atmosfera straniante, ma anche piena di fascino...
...parlare dei libri di Alice Munro. Sono racconti che hanno come protagoniste figure femminili, che più si va avanti, più si scopre che il filo conduttore è l'ambientazione sempre nella medesima cittadina canadese. Storie che affondano nel passato, nelle inquietudini, nei sogni, nella solitudine. A volte sorprende, con quella sua narrazione non lineare, evocativa, su più livelli, da quello inconscio a quello temporale, da quello reale che sfuma in fantasia e da una fantasia surreale che si fatica a creder vera. C'è sempre qualcosa che sfugge, un non-detto che lascia al lettore un margine personale di elaborazione. Può risultare un'atmosfera straniante, ma anche piena di fascino...
Eight excellent, dare-I-say understated, short stories about long-held secrets (of one kind or another). The stories, whether set on frontier or more contemporary, are about women, and many are loosely connected by place and family names (although I would not call these "linked" stories). Several of the stories still stick with me, including "A Wilderness Station," a tale of an indentured frontier bride, and, "Carried Away," a story that begins with a mysterious library patron writing letters to a young librarian—and it doesn't go where you expect it will... All of the stories are engrossing and it was the very best way to start 2012.
When you think that 3 prominent North American writers: Munro, Atwood and Oates, all come from that show more Southern Ontario/Northern NY (both sides of Lakes Ontario and Erie), one has to wonder what is in the water (or what was in the water)! All very different, but they each have made indelible marks upon the literary world. show less
When you think that 3 prominent North American writers: Munro, Atwood and Oates, all come from that show more Southern Ontario/Northern NY (both sides of Lakes Ontario and Erie), one has to wonder what is in the water (or what was in the water)! All very different, but they each have made indelible marks upon the literary world. show less
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Alice Munros Geschichten handeln von dieser Reflexion und Meditation, sowie von den Ereignissen des ganz normalen Lebens: von Liebe, Ehe, Einsamkeit, Vergebung, Unzufriedenheit, Scheidung, Betrug, Misstrauen, Glaube, Kindheit, Tod und sogar Mord. Unbestreitbar gehören ihre Erzählungen zu den besten der kanadischen Literatur.
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Alice Munro was born Alice Laidlaw in Wingham, Ontario on July 10, 1931. She published her first story, The Dimensions of a Shadow, while a student at the University of Western Ontario in 1950. She left the university in 1951 to get married and start a family. In 1972 she became Writer in Residence at the University of Western Ontario. Her first show more collection, Dance of the Happy Shades, was published in 1968 and won the Governor General's Award, Canada's highest literary prize. Her other works include Lives of Girls and Women, The View from Castle Rock, Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You, Too Much Happiness, and Dear Life. She has received several awards including the Governor General's Award for fiction for Who Do You Think You Are? and The Progress of Love, the Giller Prize for Runaway in 2004, the Man Booker International Prize in 2009 for her lifetime body of work, and the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature. Her stories have appeared in numerous publications including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The Atlantic Monthly. Also, in 2013, her title Dear Life: Stories made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Keltainen kirjasto (287)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Open Secrets
- Original title
- Open Secrets
- Original publication date
- 1994
- Important places
- Canada
- Dedication
- This book is for ever-faithful friends - - Daphne and Deirdre, Audrey, Sally, Julie, Mildred, Ann and Ginger and Mary
- First words
- In the dining room of the Commerical Hotel, Louisa opened the letter that arrived that day from overseas. (first line of first story)
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It wasn't much after three o'clock, but you could feel the darkness collecting, rising among the trees, like cold smoke coming off the snow. (Last line of last story)
- Blurbers
- Ozick, Cynthia
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