One might say that Margot was playing Barbara's game of "Apples and Oranges", choosing between a nice house and a fresh start. 1990; Penguin, 1991 But if one said too much about Margot's choice, spoilers about "Wigtime" would wriggle into the discussion. Margot has made choices, indeed, but
Alice Munro is capable of spinning readers away from the salient detail of Austin's death in a story like "Pictures of the Ice". 1990; Penguin, 1991 Yet, she is equally capable of writing an opening which cannot be set aside and which demands rereading as the story unfolds,
Remember when "Gravel", in Dear Life, had readers considering the way that life can shift beneath one's feet, like an aggregation of water-worn stones readjusting? 1990; Penguin, 1991 This story has one considering the formation of frazil ice, the way that loose and randomly shaped ice-crystals can form
At one time, Zeigler's Department Store had a grocery department and a hardware department, but no longer. 1990; Penguin, 1991 The store assortment has changed. The role of the department store has changed. Downtown Walley has changed. And, perhaps most significantly, Murray has changed. When the story opens, Murray's
As with "Friend of My Youth", the bulk of "Five Points" concerns a story told by one of the characters, Neil, who is speaking of events from his past, when he was a boy in British Columbia. 1990; Penguin, 1991 In both stories, the story rooted in Neil's
