The Laidlaws have left the Ettrick Valley in Scotland behind, that parish with "no advantages", but the family members also have left behind "long, outspoken, sometimes outrageous letters, and detailed recollections" which have inspired Alice Munro to narrate the experiences of her ancestors. McClelland & Stewart, 2006 But
The title story in this collection follows "No Advantages" closely. It presents Old James the father, Andrew, Walter, and their sister Mary, Andrew’s wife Agnes, and Agnes and Andrew’s son James,"under two years old", and recounts their experiences from "the harbor of Leith, on the 4th of June, 1818, [when] they set
McClelland & Stewart, 2006 The View from Castle Rock was not one of my favourite Alice Munro collections. Although I rushed to read it upon publication, I didn’t enjoy it as much as Runaway. On rereading, I planned a different approach. In the past, I read the collection
A good ways into the story, readers meet this proclamation: "You never quite knew how such things would turn out. You almost knew, but you could never be sure." It is perhaps as true about "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" as it is about Grant's predictions about his relationships
Unsurprisingly, a story named for a main character is going to be preoccupied with names and identity. It's also the first thing readers observe Queenie saying to Chrissy, when she arrives in Toronto and is met at Union Station. Her husband thinks it sounds like an animal's name, so Chrissy
