Wednesday, May 28, 2014

reading: Fragile Things & Too Much Happiness



currently reading: short fictions. by two excellent writers: Neil Gaiman and Alice Munro. sounds like counterparts, but actually some of the stories almost overlap in atmosphere and in the open and in the way they dare to look and delve deeper into those darker areas of the human mind. Happiness - it is a fragile thing, both in Munro's book, and in Gaiman's.

Here are the official book descriptions:

Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders
Marvelous creations and more — including a short story set in the world of The Matrix, and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction—can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his terrifyingly entertaining dark sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time. (Fragile Things at Goodreads)

Too much Happiness
A compelling, provocative—even daring—collection. Ten superb new stories by the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize (and winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature) . With clarity and ease, Alice Munro once again renders complex, difficult events and emotions into stories that shed light on the unpredictable ways in which men and women accommodate and often transcend what happens in their lives.

Short stories..
...didn't expect this at all, but one of Munro's story has a strong meta layer. Its title gives more than a hint: "Fiction". It's about life, the world, a writer, and .. short stories. This is glorious, especially in retrospect:
Joyce has never understood this business of lining up to get a glimpse of the author and then going away with a stranger’s name written in your book. She doesn't even know if she will read the book. She has a couple of good biographies on the go at the moment that she is sure are more to her taste than this will be. How Are We to Live is a collection of short stories, not a novel. This in itself is a disappointment. It seems to diminish the book’s authority, making the author seem like somebody who is just hanging on to the gates of Literature, rather than safely settled inside.
I blogged about Munro before, with more context and links, and with this lovely moment from the bookfair, at the day when the Nobel Prize for Literature for her was announced - and seeing her (short story!) books there, bodyguarded: Reading notes: Alice Munro 

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Currently Reading + More Reads:

For 2014, i didn't join a specific reading challenge, but i try to read books / authors from different countries and continents, and also follow the “readwomen2014” initiative. Here’s more about it: 2014 - year of reading women

For more reading notes in this blog, click here: life as a journey with booksand a reading list by regions is online at: World Reads by country

Other book blog and their current reads: It's Monday! What are you reading? (join by blogging and adding your link)

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