Friend of My Youth: Stories

By Alice Munro

Book Overview

A "wickedly funny" (Newsweek) collection of ten short stories from Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro, "one of the most eloquent and gifted writers of contemporary fiction" (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times).

"Each of her collections demonstrates such linguistic skill, delicacy of vision, and . . . moral strength and clarity."--Chicago Tribune

A woman haunted by dreams of her dead mother. An adulterous couple stepping over the line where the initial excitement ends and the pain begins. A widow visiting a Scottish village in search of her husband's past--and instead discovering unsetting truths about a total stranger.

The miraculously accomplished stories in this collection not only astonish and delight, but also convey the unspoken mysteries at the heart of all human experience. The mastery--the almost numinous ability to say the unsayable--makes Friend of My Youth a genuine literary event.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679729577
• ISBN13: 9780679729570
• Release Date: May 1991
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Powerful, understated characters leave one thinking

Reading stories such as "Differently," about a woman's reminiscences and regret about the people of her past made me reflect that life turns out differently than our original aspirations. It isn't always regret, but it is rarely indifferent. As soon as I finished a story, I immediately wanted to reread it, and understand the character better. These are beautiful, gentle stories about lives that sometimes meander, sometimes change abruptly, but that are always determined by the choices and accidents of living. Munro's love, sometimes curiosity, for her characters is a privilege to experience.

An absolute must read for the X generation

I loved this book so much I decided to write my Master's Thesis in Literature on it; we've all got parents, friends, or someone we know that turn up in every one of these stories. Munro's insights into how humans deal with relationships, death, and collective community social consciousness are continually profound and eye-opening. Pay special attention to things "Gothic" in this collection as in Open Secrets: repressed sexuality, pleasurable dread, anxiety, remorse, unnatural silences....the list goes on and on. No-one better captures the paradox of connected everyday surfaces and hidden, underground nightmares than Munro.

Impressive collection by equally impressive author.

With this collection of stories, Munro secured her place as one of the best short fiction writers of our time. These are thick, meaty pieces, inhabited by characters as real as any that walk on land, as multifaceted and confused as you or I. Munro's shocking control of the English language and profound understanding of human nature make these ten stories among the most important of the twentieth century.

Impressive collection by equally impressive author.

With this collection of stories, Munro secured her place as one of the best short fiction writers of our time. These are thick, meaty pieces, inhabited by characters as real as any that walk on land, as multifaceted and confused as you or I. Munro's shocking control of the English language and profound understanding of human nature make these ten stories among the most important of the twentieth century