Alice Munro, uznávaná kanadská autorka, majstrovsky zachytáva zložitosť ľudských vzťahov prostredníctvom všedného života. Jej poviedky, v ktorých často skúma hĺbku každodenných zážitkov, jej vyslúžili prezývku "kanadská Čechovová". Munro sa vo svojej tvorbe sústreďuje na jemné nuansy medziľudských interakcií a odhaľuje ich univerzálnu rezonanciu. Jej literárny prínos spočíva v schopnosti premeniť zdanlivo obyčajné okamihy na hlboko pôsobivé príbehy, ktoré skúmajú ľudskú skúsenosť.
Ďalšie poviedky kanadskej laureátky Nobelovej ceny, v ktorých nazriete do kuchyne osudu. Tam, kde vznikajú životné príbehy z náhod, krutých žartov a láskavých podrazov. Onkologická pacientka pobozká tínedžera a vydoluje zo seba vôľu žiť. Stará dievka, ktorú už všetci odpísali, vycestuje za ctiteľom, ktorý o ňu vlastne nikdy neprejavil záujem, a vyhrá celoživotné šťastie. Dej plynie, postavy sa mu poddávajú, no potom sa vzbúria – zakaždým inak, ako by ste čakali.
Poviedky svetoznámej kanadskej autorky sú o ženách aj o mužoch, o láske aj nenávisti, ale predovšetkým o tesnom susedstve dobra so zlom. V titulnom príbehu Láska dobrej ženy objavia chlapci z malého mesta mŕtvolu muža a prežitá hrôza ich navždy poznačí. Ešte väčší šok však čaká na ženu, ktorá si uvedomí, kto nebohého zabil. Cíti povinnosť konať správne a plánuje, ako dostane vraha do rúk spravodlivosti. Ale keď uskutoční to, čo zamýšľa, bude sa ešte môcť nazývať dobrou?
Poviedky o láske a jej zradách a prekvapeniach. Ženy každého veku a v rôznych životných situáciách, ich priatelia, milenci, rodičia a deti... všetci ľudia, o ktorých Alice Munroová píše, v jej rukách ožívajú. Má vzácny dar – príbehy pôsobia tak skutočne a nezabudnuteľne, ako keby ste ich prežívali na vlastnej koži. Na motívy troch poviedok z tejto zbierky (Šanca, Už čoskoro a Mlčanie) nakrútil španielsky režisér Pedro Almodóvar film Julieta (2016).
Zmena v živote prichádza, keď ju človek najmenej čaká. To isté platí o príbehoch Alice Munroovej. Ľudia v nich žijú, akoby o tom ani nevedeli, a zrazu sa im stane niečo dramatické, bláznivé, tragické či smiešne. Rodiny sa spájajú a rozpadajú, láska vybuchuje ako sopka a presúva celé kontinenty alebo sa vášeň mení na pokojnú rezignáciu. Kanadská spisovateľka opisuje všetky tieto príbehy s rovnakým zaujatím, akoby sa aj v tom najnenápadnejšom osude ukrývalo tajomstvo vesmíru.
Georgia incontra Maya a una cena, sono entrambe «mogli» e si riappropriano del loro essere donne diventando migliori amiche. Fino a quando Georgia non conosce un uomo e Maya tradisce la sua fiducia, o forse la mette soltanto di fronte alla realtà. Non si parleranno più. Brenda invece ha un amante, Neil, lo incontra di nascosto in un bosco, dentro a un furgone e questo basta a entrambi, sembra perfetto. Poi qualcosa si incrina, lui non lo capisce ma Brenda sa che finiranno con l'odiarsi, e che quella loro passione è destinata a svanire. Anita e Margot invece si rivedono dopo anni, sono state inseparabili, il passato le ha divise ma in quello stesso passato forse ritroveranno il bisogno l'una dell'altra. In questa raccolta di racconti, la settima di Alice Munro, ci sono i paesaggi senza fine del Canada e le donne e gli uomini che in tutto quello spazio si avvicinano, si feriscono, si lasciano e poi continuano a vivere. E c'è la scrittura di un'autrice che raggiunge una consapevolezza e una maturità assolute, ed è in grado di definire con un dettaglio l'essenza di una vita.
Open Secrets, Alice Munro's eighth collection, features eight extraordinary stories, each as rich as a full novel, offering both compelling reading and rewarding re-reading. The collection opens with a mysterious 1917 letter to a librarian in Carstairs, Ontario, drawing readers into a realm of secrets and revelations where nothing is as it seems, including a courtship by letter that evolves into a solid marriage. The stories traverse Ontario's history, from "A Wilderness Station," recounting an 1852 tree-felling accident that highlights the pioneers' harsh lives, to contemporary settings filled with familiar family names amidst TV shows and snowmobiles. The narratives shift through time and geography, as seen in "The Albanian Virgin," where a Canadian tourist in the 1920s is captured by bandits, and her escape story comforts a bookseller seeking to leave her past behind. "The Jack Randa Hotel" follows a deserted wife pursuing her husband to Australia, leading to another captivating letter. Unexplainable events abound, such as a lawyer's wife experiencing a chilling insight into a missing teenager's fate and the haunting return of a long-dead visitor. Munro's mastery lies in her ability to unfold unexpected marriages, elopements, and sudden acts of vengeance with an effortless inevitability, a hallmark of her exceptional writing evident on every page.
Spanning almost thirty years and settings that range from big cities to small towns and farmsteads of rural Canada, this magnificent collection brings together twenty-eight stories by a writer of unparalleled wit, generosity, and emotional power. In her Selected Stories, Alice Munro makes lives that seem small unfold until they are revealed to be as spacious as prairies and locates the moments of love and betrayal, desire and forgiveness, that change those lives forever. To read these stories--about a traveling salesman and his children on an impromptu journey; an abandoned woman choosing between seduction and solitude--is to succumb to the spell of a writer who enchants her readers utterly even as she restores them to their truest selves.Walker brothers cowboy --Dance of the happy shades --Postcard --Images --Something I've been meaning to tell you --The Ottawa Valley --Material --Royal beatings --Wild swans --The beggar maid --Simon's luck --Chaddeleys and Flemings --Dulse --The turkey season --Labor Day dinner --The moons of Jupiter --The progress of love --Lichen --Miles City, Montana --White dump --Fits --Friend of my youth --Meneseteung --Differently --Carried away --The Albanian virgin --A wilderness station --Vandals.
** Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature ** 'Munro is still one of our most fearless explorers of the human being, as she descends, time and again, headlamp on full beam, pickaxe and butter-knife at the ready' The Times Spanning her last five collections and bringing together her finest work from the past fifteen years, this new selection of Alice Munro's stories infuses everyday lives with a wealth of nuance and insight. Beautifully observed and remarkably crafted, written with emotion and empathy, these stories are nothing short of perfection. A masterclass in the genre, from an author who deservedly lays claim to being one of the major fiction writers of our time.
"From the winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature ... a new selection of her ... short fiction, gathered from the collections of the last two decades, a companion volume to Selected stories (1968-1994)"-- Dust jacket flap.
