Alice Munro and the Nobel
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Alice MunroAS October peeps in, we eagerly wait, every year, for the much coveted announcement of the name of the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. To us, the Nobel Prize in literature, for obvious reasons, takes the top rank with regard to interest and appeal.
The Nobel Prize for Literature this year has gone to Alice Munro. She was sleeping the moment it was announced. Her daughter conveyed the news to her first. The Academy tried to reach her; as a final point, it sent her a message on her twitter account. Calling her mother from sleep, her daughter cried out loud, "Mother, you've won." The first reaction that Alice Munro came up with must surprise all: "Is it possible?" The committee said that Alice Munro was a "master of the contemporary short story." The Academy has duly appreciated the power of Munro's storytelling. Her stories have depth and "psychological realism", as many critics consider. She presents the incidents that happen around her and portrays the characters who contend with various challenges and complicacies in life. Women characters are more life-like in her stories. It is to the credit of the author who observes her neighbours undergoing the same challenges and sufferings in life.
Alice Munro had been on the list of nominees for quite a while. One of the possible reasons was that Herta Mueller from Germany was awarded the prize only in 2009. Alice Munro is only the 13th woman to have been awarded the prize since its inception in 1901. The Nobel in literature usually goes to novelists, poets and to dramatists.
Alice Munro, like many famous writers of the world, chooses to remain isolated and she prefers solitude; she does not like to come out among crowds much. Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), the master of all storytellers in the world, with whom Munro's name is associated for a similar or nearly similar style and technique of storytelling, shook the world with his keen insight in storytelling. Munro, like Chekhov, can weave her stories so intricately that readers as well as critics easily tend to find an analogy between them. Both of them have a magical power of storytelling that induces readers to remain awe-struck for long. Munro, The New York Times writes, "revolutionized the architecture of short stories." Her life is replete with varieties; she has gone through different kinds of experience in life.
Michiko Kakutani comments on Munro's stories in The New York Times: "Set largely in small-town and rural Canada and often focused on the lives of girls and women, her tales have the swoop and density of big, intimate novels, mapping the crevices of characters' hearts with clear-eyed Chekhovian empathy and wisdom." She has been writing since her teens. During her time as a student at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, Munro continued writing and she published her first collection of short stories, Dance of the Happy Shades, in 1968. Before this, she had opened a bookstore after her name, 'Munro's Books', in 1963 that is still there.
The first book brought Munro the 'Governor General Award', the most prestigious literary prize in Canada. The award inspired her so much that since then she has not had to look back; she carried on writing more stories. In one of her interviews, Munro says that she has incorporated her own experiences in her stories. The stories of her own life are the stories that she wrote. The complexity of life, struggle for survival, intricate problems of living in a small town, struggle of women, complications in relationships, conflict, dilemma and so many small details of life form the subject matter of her stories. Loneliness, isolation, and other real life truths have appeared in her work too. Kakutani points out that "Munro has given us prismatic portraits of ordinary people that reveal their intelligence, toughness and capacity to dream". Munro, like many other writers, tries to discover truth, the truth that is simple and comprehensible to all. Professor Joe Andrew of Keele University points out in the introduction of the book, Selected Stories: Anton Chekhov, that Chekhov "throughout his life saw the true artist as a highly skilled craftsman who spoke the truth as clearly as possible. Simplicity and realism, truth and sincerity – these are the desiderata for an artist." Chekhov truly chartered all these streams in his stories, so is true about Munro.
It is, therefore, justifiable to put side by side the names of Anton Chekhov and Alice Munro since the latter as a skilled craftswoman tries to speak the truth clearly in her stories. She also rears a belief in simplicity and realism, truth and sincerity. Munro's second collection of short stories, Lives of Girls and Women, appeared in 1971. It is very interesting to note that Alice Munro published most of her books at an interval of every three years, the mark that ascertains the seriousness of the author. She has published 14 books, of which six have brought her different awards, 'Governor General Award' being one of them. She was also awarded the Man Booker International Prize, a literary recognition second only to the Nobel, in 2009. Alice Munro's other books include Something I Have Been Meaning to You (1974), Who Do You Think You Are? (1978), The Moons of Jupiter (1982), The Progress of Love (1986), Friend of My Youth (1990), Open Secrets (1994), The Love of a Woman (1998), Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage (2001), Runaway (2004), Too Much Happiness (2009) and Dear Life (2012).
Munro's stories must captivate readers, in the view of this writer, to the point of emotional attachment. Boys and Girls is one such a story in which the speaker tells her tale, one that reminds an individual of his or her own childhood and teen years. It seems that the speaker is none but the author Alice Munro, who shares her own experiences of domestic life. The story features a girl in the Canadian countryside, growing up with a forced awareness of being a girl. Train also moves with its usual flow in the direction of emotion and "the progress of love". A sense of loss, loss of a glorious past and love permeate Passion, the story that takes a reader far through the translucent window of language. Her stories attach the readers to a layer of the mundane incidents of human life. Though most of her stories are set in Canada's countryside, readers in every nook and corner of the world may discover their own smiles and tears. Alice Munro's stories are well crafted and she is aptly acclaimed for her finely tuned storytelling.
Learning that she had been awarded the Nobel Prize, Alice Munro felt "terribly surprised" and she became overwhelmed with joy. One cannot but share her joy, for literature is a delight that touches all and everyone.
Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, currently doing PhD at Assam University India, teaches English at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet.
Alice MunroAS October peeps in, we eagerly wait, every year, for the much coveted announcement of the name of the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. To us, the Nobel Prize in literature, for obvious reasons, takes the top rank with regard to interest and appeal.
The Nobel Prize for Literature this year has gone to Alice Munro. She was sleeping the moment it was announced. Her daughter conveyed the news to her first. The Academy tried to reach her; as a final point, it sent her a message on her twitter account. Calling her mother from sleep, her daughter cried out loud, "Mother, you've won." The first reaction that Alice Munro came up with must surprise all: "Is it possible?" The committee said that Alice Munro was a "master of the contemporary short story." The Academy has duly appreciated the power of Munro's storytelling. Her stories have depth and "psychological realism", as many critics consider. She presents the incidents that happen around her and portrays the characters who contend with various challenges and complicacies in life. Women characters are more life-like in her stories. It is to the credit of the author who observes her neighbours undergoing the same challenges and sufferings in life.
Alice Munro had been on the list of nominees for quite a while. One of the possible reasons was that Herta Mueller from Germany was awarded the prize only in 2009. Alice Munro is only the 13th woman to have been awarded the prize since its inception in 1901. The Nobel in literature usually goes to novelists, poets and to dramatists.
Alice Munro, like many famous writers of the world, chooses to remain isolated and she prefers solitude; she does not like to come out among crowds much. Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), the master of all storytellers in the world, with whom Munro's name is associated for a similar or nearly similar style and technique of storytelling, shook the world with his keen insight in storytelling. Munro, like Chekhov, can weave her stories so intricately that readers as well as critics easily tend to find an analogy between them. Both of them have a magical power of storytelling that induces readers to remain awe-struck for long. Munro, The New York Times writes, "revolutionized the architecture of short stories." Her life is replete with varieties; she has gone through different kinds of experience in life.
Michiko Kakutani comments on Munro's stories in The New York Times: "Set largely in small-town and rural Canada and often focused on the lives of girls and women, her tales have the swoop and density of big, intimate novels, mapping the crevices of characters' hearts with clear-eyed Chekhovian empathy and wisdom." She has been writing since her teens. During her time as a student at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, Munro continued writing and she published her first collection of short stories, Dance of the Happy Shades, in 1968. Before this, she had opened a bookstore after her name, 'Munro's Books', in 1963 that is still there.
The first book brought Munro the 'Governor General Award', the most prestigious literary prize in Canada. The award inspired her so much that since then she has not had to look back; she carried on writing more stories. In one of her interviews, Munro says that she has incorporated her own experiences in her stories. The stories of her own life are the stories that she wrote. The complexity of life, struggle for survival, intricate problems of living in a small town, struggle of women, complications in relationships, conflict, dilemma and so many small details of life form the subject matter of her stories. Loneliness, isolation, and other real life truths have appeared in her work too. Kakutani points out that "Munro has given us prismatic portraits of ordinary people that reveal their intelligence, toughness and capacity to dream". Munro, like many other writers, tries to discover truth, the truth that is simple and comprehensible to all. Professor Joe Andrew of Keele University points out in the introduction of the book, Selected Stories: Anton Chekhov, that Chekhov "throughout his life saw the true artist as a highly skilled craftsman who spoke the truth as clearly as possible. Simplicity and realism, truth and sincerity – these are the desiderata for an artist." Chekhov truly chartered all these streams in his stories, so is true about Munro.
It is, therefore, justifiable to put side by side the names of Anton Chekhov and Alice Munro since the latter as a skilled craftswoman tries to speak the truth clearly in her stories. She also rears a belief in simplicity and realism, truth and sincerity. Munro's second collection of short stories, Lives of Girls and Women, appeared in 1971. It is very interesting to note that Alice Munro published most of her books at an interval of every three years, the mark that ascertains the seriousness of the author. She has published 14 books, of which six have brought her different awards, 'Governor General Award' being one of them. She was also awarded the Man Booker International Prize, a literary recognition second only to the Nobel, in 2009. Alice Munro's other books include Something I Have Been Meaning to You (1974), Who Do You Think You Are? (1978), The Moons of Jupiter (1982), The Progress of Love (1986), Friend of My Youth (1990), Open Secrets (1994), The Love of a Woman (1998), Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage (2001), Runaway (2004), Too Much Happiness (2009) and Dear Life (2012).
Munro's stories must captivate readers, in the view of this writer, to the point of emotional attachment. Boys and Girls is one such a story in which the speaker tells her tale, one that reminds an individual of his or her own childhood and teen years. It seems that the speaker is none but the author Alice Munro, who shares her own experiences of domestic life. The story features a girl in the Canadian countryside, growing up with a forced awareness of being a girl. Train also moves with its usual flow in the direction of emotion and "the progress of love". A sense of loss, loss of a glorious past and love permeate Passion, the story that takes a reader far through the translucent window of language. Her stories attach the readers to a layer of the mundane incidents of human life. Though most of her stories are set in Canada's countryside, readers in every nook and corner of the world may discover their own smiles and tears. Alice Munro's stories are well crafted and she is aptly acclaimed for her finely tuned storytelling.
Learning that she had been awarded the Nobel Prize, Alice Munro felt "terribly surprised" and she became overwhelmed with joy. One cannot but share her joy, for literature is a delight that touches all and everyone.
Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, currently doing PhD at Assam University India, teaches English at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet.
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