Blogging Anniversary - 10 years

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A while ago I checked when I did my first blog post, in order to celebrate with an anniversary post. Well, that day came and went without any reaction from me. Better late than never, so here a reminder of my very first blog post from 24 October 2012.  The book was New Finnish Grammar  by Diego Marani. Marani is an Italian novelist, translator and newspaper columnist. While working as a translator for the European Union he invented a language ‘Europanto’ which is a mixture of languages and based on the common practice of word-borrowing usage of many EU languages. It was a suitable book to start with, being a book about letters, languages and memories. With a beautiful prose, the novel went directly to my heart.  "One night at Trieste in September 1943 a seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay. The doctor, of a newly arrived German hospital ship, Pietri Friari gives the unconscious soldier medical assistance. His new patient has no documents or anything that can ide...
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Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro

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Finally, I got around to read something of Alice Munro. As a Nobel Literature Laureate she is easy accessible to everyone, which, I find, is not always the case with the Laureates. Alice Munro writes short stories, which is not really my cup of tea, although I read them from time to time. This is a time when it was really worth it.

From the back of the cover the Observer notes: "Read not more than one of her stories a day, and allow them to work their spell: they are made to last". I can agree to that, although I read half the book before I left for my holiday and half of it when I came back. Her stories are about life, often included middle aged or older aged people, and they all tell something about life. Our inner thoughts, how the world change around us, or something that happened in their youth and which has affected their whole life.

The stories are engaging, real and the characters she creates on only a few pages are incredible. You are right into them from the first line of each story. The stories makes you think about life, what it is and how we live it. Worth reading and reflecting. These stories are some of her earlier one and was published in 1974 for the first time. I am sure this is not the last time that I read Alice Munro, and I would be curious to read some of her later stories.

Have you read anything by her? What do you think?

Comments

  1. Brona14 August 2017 at 12:26

    I'm a huge fan of Alice Munro's short stories, but it;s been a while since I read any. I love short stories, but I go through phases with my desire to read them :-)

    When you're in the zone again, you should try the Irish short story writer, William Trevor. He is magnificent!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jeanie14 August 2017 at 19:31

    She is my partner Rick's favorite author. He would love to meet her someday. I haven't read her for a long while but what I have, I've enjoyed.

    Thanks so much for stopping by Marmelade Gypsy and your birthday greetings! Delighted!

    ReplyDelete

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