TSR Newsletter: A Busy Summer
A Special Offer, Alice Munro and Our Top Posts
August 1st will mark the four-month existence of TSR and what a busy month July has been, when typically it is a month of slowdowns for everyone, aside from those in the tourist and hospitality industries. Let’s look at a few high points from the month.
Discounted Subscription Plan
I have discounted new annual subscriptions by 20% until August 1, 2024. You can support us for only $40 Canadian for one year. Because our overhead is low here at Substack, I keep subscription prices low. Being a subscriber gives you access to all the archived posts and other benefits I haven’t yet instituted. Click the button to take advantage of this offer today!
Alice Munro Feedback
Recently, Micahel Greenstein wrote an essay review of Alice Munro’s The Moons of Jupiter in which he reflected on the recent announcement by her daughter of the sexual abuse she endured, of which Ms. Munro was well aware. It was a well-balanced article and if you haven’t read it, I encourage you to do so.
Alice Munro’s Lunar Eclipse
The scandal surrounding Alice Munro’s complicity in the sexual abuse of her youngest daughter hangs over her Nobel Prize for Literature and her death. Where once it was acceptable to measure the poetry in her prose and examine her surface details that accentuate visceral truths, now any reading of her short stories must take into account Freudian and fe…
Michael and I received several very supportive emails from our readers:
“You had to write this one, Michael, and I’m glad you did. Those of us who will not be throwing out our copies of Munro’s books will be reading them differently—if we’re reading them... A reader can still marvel at Munro’s brilliance for weaving a complex tale, though it’s now impossible to overlook the true life story.”
“This is wonderful. You strike just the right tone and light up the territory of that story for me in a new way. This gives me hope and makes me feel less alone with the job of reframing my ways of reading Munro.”
“…absolutely brilliant. Sadly, I do not think I will be able to read her work again. Her subject matter is too close to her own life or secrets and lies and self-deception and the abandonment of children. If she were a composer or a painter it would be far easier to distance to beautiful art from the monstrous life, but I won't be able to!”
What are your thoughts on the Alice Munro controversy? How do you feel about it? Let us know in the comment section below.
Top Posts
Not surprisingly, Michael’s Alice Munro post is one of our most popular, alongside Heather McBriarty’s review of Nora Gold’s flipbook and my review of Sunset Lake Resort (a good summer read, BTW).
Throwback Thursdays
A popular feature here at TSR is our “Throwback Thursday” posts in which we revisit a book review from the past. Click on the button below, or the Throwback Thursday tab in the header.
Finally…
We at TSR hope that you are enjoying your summer and are getting an opportunity to relax and read. What you are currently reading, or hope to read this summer?
Sail on!
James M. Fisher, Editor-in-Chief
Thank you for this substack, James. A fascinating cross-section of material. Keep up the good work!