With her collections like Dance of the Happy Shades (1968), Lives of Girls and Women (1971), Friends of My Youth (1990), Open Secrets (1994), Too Much Happiness (2009) and Dear Life (2012), Munro has been hailed as one of the world's greatest short-story writers.
Throughout her lifetime, Munro has been recognised with countless awards including the Governor General's Award (x3), Giller Prize (x2), Man Booker International Prize (2009) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (2009).
Munro had an incredible ability to weave a meticulously crafted tale from the seemingly ordinary aspects of daily existence. It is such a skill to create a full, vibrant tale in 20-30 pages. As I wrote in my review of her last collection Dear Life, Munro takes characters at a moment in time, throws them together and sees what happens. She has a gift of knowing when to end a story, leaving the remainder of the tale to the reader's imagination.
Having grown up in Canada and resided overseas for my adult life, Munro's stories are a cure for any homesickness I might feel. I can grab one of her collections, dip in, grab a tale, and be transported back to a place of nostalgia and joy.
With her passing, Munro's last story has been told. But she leaves a lasting legacy through her work.
Farewell dear Alice. Thank you.
Update: July 2024
I have just learned of the shocking allegation that Munro knew her daughter was abused by Munro's husband and failed to act. From what I understand, Munro did not know about the abuse at the time but when she learned of it she stayed and protected him. By keeping the secret of what occurred, Munro preserved her legacy as a writer but betrayed her child. For the past few days I have been struggling to reconcile this with the author who so brilliantly crafted realistic stories about girls and women. Her legacy is now stained and her work tainted. While tempted to re-read Munro in a search for missing clues to her character, I am not sure that I can right now and do not know if I can seperate the woman from her work. See Guardian article for more information.