Continuing "Family Furnishings"

Yay! I finally had time to read a story in Alice Munro's collection! Today I read the short story Family Furnishings, the same title she used to name the collection of stories. This is 6th story of the collection, and it is shorter than the first 5, which was a nice change.

So I'm going to sum up this story a little bit for you. This story is about a girls aunt, Alfrida, which I thought was an interesting name. Alfrida is kind of one of those aunts who just doesn't care what others think of her, she will do what she likes, while still being polite and friendly. But she had a traumatic childhood when her mother died form a horrible accident. So Alfrida ended up living with this girls grandmother. And we don't learn this girls name until late in the story, her name is Tennessee Williams, again, and interesting name. But this story mainly is about the affect Alfrida has on Tennessee and what kind of woman she becomes herself, even when she starts to see Alfrida less often. And when Tennessee is in her second year of college she finally goes to have lunch at Alfrida's house and learns more about her mother's death. Tennessee then decides that she wants to use some of that in a story that she eventually writes years later. And at the end of this story we learn more about Alfrida than expected, but I won't spoil it for you :)

I did enjoy this story, but it wasn't as great as the a few of the earlier stories. At least for me. I think I wanted a little more influence of Alfrida on Tennessee's life, but then again, we all have that aunt who we love greatly and has a unique personality compared to the rest of the family, but only visits occasionally, no matter how close they live. But like I said, it wasn't as great as a few of the other stories to far. But I think Alfrida was the most unique character yet and the more lively and detailed in her characteristics while being told from an outsiders perspective. I really like how Munro can write so differently with POV and characters and their mannerisms. It's amazing. I can see why she won the nobel prize in literature. She has an amazing talent and I can't wait to continue this collection. Happy reading everyone :)