''Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage'' is a critically acclaimed collection of
short stories
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 ...
by Canadian author
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 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 ...
in
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
.
The collection features eight intricate stories exploring themes of love, marriage, aging, and human relationships, including the titular story about an unlikely romance sparked by a teenage prank and "The Bear Came Over the Mountain", a poignant examination of love and memory in the face of illness.
The book received widespread acclaim, was a finalist for the
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
Johanna, a plain and practical housekeeper, is tricked by two teenage girls into believing she has a romantic admirer through forged love letters. Taking the letters seriously, she moves to marry Ken Boudreau, the supposed author, and unexpectedly builds a new life with him despite the prank's cruel origins.
Floating Bridge
Jinny, a woman battling cancer, experiences a profound moment of connection and renewal when she shares an intimate encounter with a stranger on a floating bridge. This fleeting moment contrasts with her strained marriage and offers her a sense of vitality amidst her illness.
Family Furnishings
A young woman reflects on her relationship with her vibrant and unconventional aunt, Alfrida. Over time, the narrator uncovers family secrets that reshape her understanding of Alfrida and the sacrifices she made.
Comfort
Nina deals with the emotional aftermath of her husband Lewis's assisted suicide due to his debilitating illness. The story explores love, autonomy, and grief as Nina reflects on their shared life and his decision to end it on his terms.
Nettles
A chance encounter between childhood friends, Kevin and the narrator, rekindles memories of their shared past. Their meeting stirs unresolved feelings and highlights the impact of time on relationships and personal growth.
Post and Beam
Lorna struggles with dissatisfaction in her seemingly perfect life as she navigates her marriage to Brendan and her friendship with Polly. A visit from Polly brings tensions to the surface, forcing Lorna to confront her inner turmoil.
What Is Remembered
Meriel recalls a brief but passionate affair with a doctor early in her marriage. This memory becomes a defining moment for her as she reflects on its significance compared to the rest of her life.
Queenie
Chrissy recounts the story of her older sister, Queenie, who marries an older man and becomes estranged from their family. Through Chrissy's perspective, we see Queenie struggle with isolation and regret in her new life.
The Bear Came Over the Mountain
Fiona enters a care facility due to Alzheimer's disease, where she forms an attachment to another resident, Aubrey. Her husband, Grant, grapples with guilt over his past infidelities while navigating his love for Fiona and his attempts to honor her happiness in this new chapter.
Prior publications
"The Bear Came Over the Mountain" was originally published on its own 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 ...
'' on 27 December 1999, where it was republished on 21 October 2013. "Queenie" was originally published on its own in ''
London Review of Books
The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews.
History
The ''London Review of Book ...
'' on 30 July 1998.
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 ...
, primarily from U.S. publications, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on nine critics: seven "rave" and two "positive". ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' reported on reviews from several publications with a rating scale for the novel out of "Love It", "Pretty Good", "Ok", and "Rubbish": ''
Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
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 ...
New Statesman
''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'', '' Spectator'', and '' Literary Review'' reviews under "Love It" and '' TLS'' review under "Pretty Good".
In his review for the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', William H. Pritchard drew connections between Munro's work in this collection to fellow North American authors
Eudora Welty
Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 – July 23, 2001) was an American short-story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel '' The Optimist's Daughter'' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerou ...
and Flannery O' Connor, while maintaining his praise of her way of making "certain fictional places—and a fictional voice—unmistakably and distinctively her own." In pointing to O'Connor's influence on the titular story, "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage", he wrote "if the story were by Flannery O'Connor ... it would have ended in a comedy of the grotesque, with the deluded spinster brought face-to-face with her folly", while "Munro resists the doctrinaire satirist's temptation to humiliate and deprive her seemingly hapless protagonist: Johanna's story is other than the story of pride brought low."
The collection was a
National Book Critics Circle
The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American nonprofit organization (501(c) organization, 501(c)(3)) with more than 700 members. It is the professional association of American book review editors and critics, known primarily for the N ...
Award for Fiction Finalist, listed in the ''New York Times'' and ''Time'' magazine Best Fiction Books, and received the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' Book Prize for Fiction. It is listed #23 on ''The New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list.
"The Bear Came Over the Mountain" is the closing piece in the 2008 short-story collection ''My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories, from Chekhov to Munro'', edited by novelist Jeffrey Eugenides.
Adaptations
Two of the stories were adapted into films.
Based on "The Bear Came Over the Mountain", the 2006 film '' Away From Her'' was the feature-length directorial debut of
Sarah Polley
Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, political activist and actress.Howell, Peter (September 24, 199"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft s ...
, who also wrote the screenplay.
The 2014 film '' Hateship, Loveship'' is based on the titular story. Moving the setting from 1950s rural Ontario to present-day Iowa, the story was adapted by Mark Poirier, directed by Liza Johnson, and marked the feature-length dramatic debut of popular comedic actress Kristen Wiig.