''Dear Life'' is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

collection by Canadian writer

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

, published in 2012 by

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

. The book was to have been promoted in part by a reading at

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

International Festival of Authors The Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA), previously known as the International Festival of Authors (IFOA), is an annual festival presented in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Since 1974, the mission of TIFA programming has be ...

, although the appearance was cancelled due to health concerns.

Publication history

Most of the stories collected in ''Dear Life'' had previously been published elsewhere. "Amundsen", "Corrie", "Dear Life", "Gravel", "Haven" and "Leaving Maverley" were all originally published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. "Dolly" was first published in '' Tin House''.

Critical reception

According to

Book Marks ''Literary Hub'' or ''LitHub'' is a daily literary website that was launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and '' Electric Literatur ...

, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on eighteen critics: eighteen "rave". On ''The Omnivore'', an aggregator of British press, the book received an "omniscore" of 3.5 out of 5. ''

The Bookseller ''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddes ...

'' compiled reviews from multiple publications using a rating scale: "Top form", "Flawed but worth a read", and "Disappointing": ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', and ''

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

'' reviews under "Top form". In the January/February 2013 issue of ''

Bookmarks A bookmark is used to keep one's place in a printed work. It can also refer to: * Bookmark (digital), a pointer in a web browser and other software * ''Bookmarks'' (album), 2013 album by Five for Fighting * ''Bookmarks'' (magazine), an American ...

'', the book received four out of five stars. The magazine's critical summary reads: "Critics compare Alice Munro favorably to Tom Wolfe, William Trevor, and Anton Chekhov--but also agree that she stands in a class of her own". Kate Kellaway in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' describes these stories as "concise, subtle and masterly" noting that they have a "subtle, unshowy, covert brilliance". Ruth Scurr, writing in ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'', points to the autobiographical aspect of the collection and declares the collection to be "a subversive challenge to the idea of autobiography: a purposeful melding of fact fiction and feeling". The reviewer goes on to suggest the collection might be Munro's last, but if so would be a "spectacular" finale. Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature in October 2013 for the body of work over her lifetime.

References

2012 short story collections Short story collections by Alice Munro McClelland & Stewart books {{2010s-story-collection-stub