Famous Canadian Authors

Dance of the Happy Shades

by Alice Munro

dance of happy shadesDance of the Happy Shades (1968) was Alice Munro's first collection of short stories. It brought her the 1968 Governor General's Award. At the time she was 37 years old. The stories are set in a deceptively calm Southern Ontario small town which proves to be as full of suffering and troubled emotions as any other place on earth. Munro had been practicing writing and honing her skills for years before this collection was published (it took her almost 20 years to write the 15 stories in the book) and upon publication, the book was very well received by critics all over the world. Like many other works by first time authors, many stories in Dance of the Happy Shades are highly autobiographical. The underlying theme of the collection is the adolescent discovery of love and fear.
The book includes the following 15 stories:
  • "Walker Brothers Cowboy"

  • "The Shining Houses"

  • "Images"

  • "Thanks for the Ride"

  • "The Office"
  • "An Ounce of Cure"
  • "The Time of Death"
  • "Day of the Butterfly"
  • "Boys and Girls"
  • "Postcard"
  • "Red Dress—1946"
  • "Sunday Afternoon"
  • "A Trip to the Coast"
  • "The Peace of Utrecht"
  • "Dance of the Happy Shades"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Criticism:

All the stories:

http://www.ucalgary.ca/lib-old/SpecColl/munrobioc.htm

"Walker Brothers Cowboy"

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6746/is_/ai_n28563890

Famous Canadian Authors