Alices Wonderland.docx

Alices Wonderland.docx

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AlicesWonderland

Alice'sWonderland

ByJonathanFranzen

Published:

November14,2004

RUNAWAY

ByAliceMunro.

AliceMunrohasastrongclaimtobeingthebestfictionwriternowworkinginNorthAmerica,butoutsideofCanada,whereherbooksareNo.1bestsellers,shehasneverhadalargereadership.Attheriskofsoundinglikeapleaderonbehalfofyetanotherunderappreciatedwriter--andmaybeyou'velearnedtorecognizeandevadethesepleas?

Thesamewayyou'velearnednottoopenbulkmailfromcertaincharities?

PleasegivegenerouslytoDawnPowell?

Yourcontributionofjust15minutesaweekcanhelpassureJosephRothofhisrightfulplaceinthemoderncanon?

--IwanttocirclearoundMunro'slatestmarvelofabook,''Runaway,''bytakingsomeguessesatwhyherexcellencesodismayinglyexceedsherfame.

1.Munro'sworkisallaboutstorytellingpleasure.Theproblemherebeingthatmanybuyersofseriousfictionseemratherardentlytopreferlyrical,tremblinglyearnest,faux-literarystuff.

2.Aslongasyou'rereadingMunro,you'refailingtomultitaskbyabsorbingcivicslessonsorhistoricaldata.Hersubjectispeople.Peoplepeoplepeople.IfyoureadfictionaboutsomeenrichingsubjectlikeRenaissanceartoranimportantchapterinournation'shistory,youcanbeassuredoffeelingproductive.Butifthestoryissetinthemodernworld,andifthecharacters'concernsarefamiliartoyou,andifyoubecomesoinvolvedwithabookthatyoucan'tputitdownatbedtime,thereexistsariskthatyou'remerelybeingentertained.

3.Shedoesn'tgiveherbooksgrandtitleslike''CanadianPastoral,''''CanadianPsycho,''''PurpleCanada,''''InCanada''or''ThePlotAgainstCanada.''Also,sherefusestorendervitaldramaticmomentsinconvenientdiscursivesummary.Also,herrhetoricalrestraintandherexcellentearfordialogueandheralmostpathologicalempathyforhercharactershavethecostlyeffectofobscuringherauthorialegoformanypagesatastretch.Also,herjacketphotosshowhersmilingpleasantly,asifthereaderwereafriend,ratherthanwearingthekindofwoefulscowlthatsignifiesreallyseriousliteraryintent.

4.TheSwedishRoyalAcademyistakingafirmstand.Evidently,thefeelinginStockholmisthattoomanyCanadiansandtoomanypureshort-storywritershavealreadybeengiventheNobel.Enoughisenough!

5.Munrowritesfiction,andfictionishardertoreviewthannonfiction.Here'sBillClinton,he'swrittenabookabouthimself,andhowinteresting.Howinteresting.Theauthorhimselfisinteresting--cantherebeabetterqualificationforwritingabookaboutBillClintonthanactuallybeingBillClinton?

--andthen,too,everybodyhasanopinionaboutBillClintonandwonderswhatBillClintonsaysanddoesn'tsayinhisnewbookabouthimself,andhowBillClintonspinsthisandrefutesthat,andbeforeyouknowitthereviewhaspracticallywrittenitself.

ButwhoisAliceMunro?

Sheistheremoteproviderofintenselypleasurableprivateexperiences.AndsinceI'mnotinterestedinreviewinghernewbook'smarketingcampaignorinbeingentertaininglysnarkyatherexpense,andsinceI'mreluctanttotalkabouttheconcretemeaningofhernewwork,becausethisisdifficulttodowithoutrevealingtoomuchplot,I'mprobablybetteroffjustservingupanicequoteforAlfredA.Knopftopull--''MunrohasastrongclaimtobeingthebestfictionwriternowworkinginNorthAmerica.'Runaway'isamarvel''--andsuggestingtotheBookReview'seditorsthattheyrunthebiggestpossiblephotographofMunrointhemostprominentofplaces,plusafewsmallerphotosofmildlyprurientinterest（herkitchen?

herchildren?

）andmaybeaquotefromoneofherrareinterviews--''Becausethereisthiskindofexhaustionandbewildermentwhenyoulookatyourwork....Allyoureallyhaveleftisthethingyou'reworkingonnow.Andsoyou'remuchmorethinlyclothed.You'relikesomebodyoutinalittleshirtorsomething,whichisjusttheworkyou'redoingnowandthestrangeidentificationwitheverythingyou'vedonebefore.AndthisprobablyiswhyIdon'ttakeanypublicroleasawriter.BecauseIcan'tseemyselfdoingthatexceptasagiganticfraud''--andjustleaveitatthat.

6.Because,worseyet,Munroisapureshort-storywriter.Andwithshortstoriesthechallengetoreviewersisevenmoreextreme.Isthereastoryinallofworldliteraturewhoseappealcansurvivethetypicalsynopsis?

（AchancemeetingonaboardwalkinYaltabringstogetheraboredhusbandandaladywithalittledog....Asmalltown'sannuallotteryisrevealedtoservearathersurprisingpurpose....Amiddle-agedDublinerleavesapartyandreflectsonlifeandlove....）OprahWinfreywillnottouchstorycollections.Discussingthemissochallenging,indeed,thatonecanalmostforgivethisBookReview'sformereditor,CharlesMcGrath,forhisrecentcomparisonofyoungshort-storywritersto''peoplewholearngolfbyneverventuringontoagolfcoursebutinsteadpracticingatadrivingrange.''Therealgamebeing,bythisanalogy,thenovel.

McGrath'sprejudiceissharedbynearlyallcommercialpublishers,forwhomastorycollectionis,mostfrequently,thedistastefulfront-endwrite-offinatwo-bookdealwhosebackendiscontractuallyforbiddentobeanotherstorycollection.Andyet,despitetheshortstory'sCinderellastatus,ormaybebecauseofit,ahighpercentageofthemostexcitingfictionwritteninthelast25years--thestuffIimmediatelymentionifsomebodyasksmewhat'sterrific--hasbeenshortfiction.There'stheGreatOneherself,naturally.There'salsoLydiaDavis,DavidMeans,GeorgeSaunders,LorrieMoore,AmyHempelandthelateRaymondCarver--allofthempureornearlypureshort-storywriters--andthenalargergroupofwriterswhohaveachievementsinmultiplegenres（JohnUpdike,JoyWilliams,DavidFosterWallace,JoyceCarolOates,DenisJohnson,AnnBeattie,WilliamT.Vollmann,TobiasWolff,AnnieProulx,MichaelChabon,TomDrury,thelateAndreDubus）butwhoseemtomemostathome,mostundilutedlythemselves,intheirshorterwork.Therearealso,tobesure,someveryfinepurenovelists.ButwhenIclosemyeyesandthinkaboutliteratureinrecentdecades,Iseeatwilightlandscapeinwhichmanyofthemostinvitinglights,thesitesthatbeckonmetoreturnforavisit,areshedbyparticularshortstoriesI'veread.

Ilikestoriesbecausetheyleavethewriternoplacetohide.There'snoyakkingyourwayoutoftrouble;I'mgoingtobereachingthelastpageinamatterofminutes,andifyou'vegotnothingtosayI'mgoingtoknowit.Ilikestoriesbecausethey'reusuallysetinthepresentorinlivingmemory;thegenreseemstoresistthehistoricalimpulsethatmakessomanycontemporarynovelsfeelfugitiveorcadaverous.Ilikestoriesbecauseittakesthebestkindoftalenttoinventfreshcharactersandsituationswhiletellingthesamestoryoverandover.Allfictionwriterssufferfromtheconditionofhavingnothingnewtosay,butstorywritersaretheonesmostabjectlypronetothiscondition.Thereis,again,nohiding.Thecraftiestolddogs,likeMunroandWilliamTrevor,don'teventry.

HERE'SthestorythatMunrokeepstelling:

Abright,sexuallyavidgirlgrowsupinruralOntariowithoutmuchmoney,hermotherissicklyordead,herfatherisaschoolteacherwhosesecondwifeisproblematic,andthegirl,assoonasshecan,escapesfromthehinterlandbywayofascholarshiporsomedecisiveself-interestedact.Shemarriesyoung,movestoBritishColumbia,raiseskids,andisfarfromblamelessinthebreakupofhermarriage.ShemayhavesuccessasanactressorawriteroraTVpersonality;shehasromanticadventures.When,inevitably,shereturnstoOntario,shefindsthelandscapeofheryouthunsettlinglyaltered.Althoughshewastheonewhoabandonedtheplace,it'sagreatblowtohernarcissismthatsheisn'twarmlywelcomedback--thattheworldofheryouth,withitsolder-fashionedmannersandmores,nowsitsinjudgmentonthemodernchoicesshehasmade.Simplybytryingtosurviveasawholeandindependentperson,shehasincurredpainfullossesanddislocations;shehascausedharm.

Andthat'sprettymuchit.That'sthelittlestreamthat'sbeenfeedingMunro'sworkforbetterthan50years.ThesameelementsrecurandrecurlikeClareQuilty.WhatmakesMunro'sgrowthasanartistsocrisplyandbreathtakinglyvisible--throughoutthe''SelectedStories''andevenmoresoinherthreelatestbooks--ispreciselythefamiliarityofhermaterials.Lookwhatshecandowithnothingbutherownsmallstory;themoreshereturnstoit,themoreshefinds.

Thisisnotagolferonapracticetee.Thisisagymnastinaplainblackleotard,aloneonabarefloor,outperformingallthenovelistswiththeirflashycostumesandwhipsandelephantsandtigers.

''Thecomplexityofthings--thethingswithinthings--justseemstobeendless,''Munrotoldherinterviewer.''Imeannothingiseasy,nothingissimple.''

SHEwasstatingthefundamentalaxiomofliterature,thecoreofitsappeal.And,forwhateverreason--thefragmentationofmyreadingtime,thedistractionsandatomizationsofcontemporarylifeor,perhaps,agenuinepaucityofcompellingnovels--IfindthatwhenI'minneedofahitofrealwriting,agoodstiffdrinkofparadoxandcomplexity,I'mlikeliesttoencounteritinshortfiction.Besides''Runaway,''themostcompellingcontemporaryfictionI'vereadinrecentmonthshasbeenWallace'sstoriesin''Oblivion''andastunnerofacollectionbytheBritishwriterHelenSimpson.Simpson'sbook,aseriesofcomicshrieksonthesubjectofmodernmotherhood,waspublishedoriginallyas