That Just Happened!

Munro, Alice. Dance of the Happy Shades. Penguin Canada (2005). Originally published in 1968

In the stories that make up Dance of the Happy Shades, the deceptive calm of small-town life is brought memorably to the page, revealing the countryside of Southwestern Ontario to be home to as many small sufferings and unanticipated emotions as any place.  This is the book that earned Alice Munro a devoted readership and established her as one of Canada’s most beloved writers.

-  back cover

Well, I can honestly say this book did not bring any “small sufferings” to me.  They were, in fact, quite large.  It is not often that I find it almost impossible to finish a book, but this just about did it for me.  There was not one character I found relatable, not one story, not one theme.  I guess the theme in here was suffering quietly and small-town prejudices.  I don’t really know. 

How this novel is the one that gained Munro a “devoted readership” is beyond me, other than that she is Canadian, she won an award, and perhaps small-town residents found it more relatable than I did.  Her treatment of the characters is very flat and expected.  It seems as though she exploited every small-town stereotype in each of these stories, without a thought to making it different, or more true.  Each character seemed very one-dimensional to me.  Add this to the fact I find it difficult to read short stories, and I was counting and recounting the pages until the end after each story.

I cannot believe that out of all of the books submitted that year (I am sure there was more than this) Happy Shades was deemed the best. 

I have difficulty in finding any redeeming quality about it, but I did feel that the story “Red Dress–1946″ was a little sassy.  Almost a quaint little anecdote, but not so far as a joke.  It is for this reason and the fact that she is an award winner, I am giving it 1 “eh” instead of none.  Plus, I feel that after going through the trouble of writing a book, authors deserve at least some response, even if it is in the negative, and giving it no “ehs” seems like I didn’t even try.