It was lovely to see you rowing! And your discussion of Alice Munro is so thoughtful. Thank you. On a flight down to North Carolina, our pilot told us he would tell us the weather in Celsius, since saying it in Fahrenheit would be too demoralizing. It was 40 degrees C. Yikes.
@@HannahsBooks Hello Hannah, thanks for your comments. 40 C! Yikes is right, that is hot. Our forecast in Victoria is very pleasant for the coming week: highs of 21 C every day.
@@shawnbreathesbooks Yesterday, I read Brandon Taylor’s thoughts on the Alice Munro’s family secrets and he talked about Dederer’s work in relation to our reactions as well.
A very thought provoking video. I hadn't heard about the Munro scandal. I know human emotions are complicated, but to be complicit in the sexual assault of your child, to my mind , is unforgivable. How can one still claim to love someone who would take advantage of a child?! Honestly, I'll never be able to find integrity in any of her stories, or trust in the honesty of her message again. What a sad story no matter which way you look at it. As much as I value art, I don't think I'm being overly sensitive to say I value people's love and compassion for each other more.💕
@@barbaraboethling596 I feel like I set myself up for betrayal by setting Munro on a pedestal. She was human like the rest of us. And her decision to stick with her pedophile husband, rather than support her daughter, shows a major weakness of character.
I too have spent much of the week thinking about Andrea Skinner and the multiple ways her parents failed her. Many of the public reactions I've encountered so far have centred Munro and the reader's loss of a literary love object (not sure that's the right phrase) rather than centering Andrea and her losses as you have. Culturally we still have a very hard time accepting that not all mothers are good mothers.
@@recentlyseenreading Not all mothers are good mothers: true. We are all of us human and we all have flaws. But for all of the adults around Andrea Skinner to have failed her, that is heartbreaking. I find it particularly sad that her suffering was ignored for so long. It sounds like she is now on a healing path.
@@lindysmagpiereads Yes heartbreaking. It's hard to be the injured and scapegoated child. Her siblings seem to be invested in repairing what was broken. The habit of silence when families and communities encounter these kinds of parental failures is disappointing but so very common.
I really liked Airplane Mode and all the ideas it gave me to think about. I convinced my in person book club to discuss it this fall. The Current discussion of Alice Munro said that this gives insight into her stories, which I thought was interesting. And they managed to say that without excusing Munro of her behaviour in any way. So interesting what you read about what makes a woman “monster.”
@@katiesikkes1527 I found Airplane Mode gave me a lot to think about too. I hope your book club has a lively discussion. One of Munro’s stories (I think it’s in Lives of Girls and Women) is from the viewpoint of a teenage girl who is in a vehicle with a man who exposes himself. Now that I know about the former friends who cut off ties after Munro’s husband did that in the presence of their 14-year-old daughter, the realization hit me: the characters and situations in Munro’s stories seem so real because they ARE drawn from real life.
Hi Lindy! I've been so distressed this week about the Alice Munro revelations. My heart hurts for Andrea living with that all these years. Her family failed her completely. I have Fire Exit on my book cart; I loved Talty's previous book. That parade looked fun!
@@readandre-read Another shocking thing that I didn’t mention is that this information should have been picked up by news media in 2005 when Andrea successfully pressed charges against her stepfather and he was convicted of indecent assault. It was a conspiracy of secrecy. I’m so sad.
@@lindysmagpiereads Me too. It's just inexcusable on so many levels. Apparently her biographer heard about it too and chose not to include it. Everyone protected Alice and nobody protected Andrea.
Hi Lindy, “airplane mode” sounds up my street. I’ve always been interested in details like you described regarding travel. I’m sorry about Alice Munro, it does turn me also writer when I hear something monstrous about them. I love your snapshot videos of the parade and a few rowing and of course Joni with her new haircut. Aloha friend.
@@MarilynMayaMendoza thanks Maya. Habib, being brown and Muslim, has a particular viewpoint on travel that I value, and her writing style is engaging too.
I've had Monsters out from my library for a few months (continuously renewing it) but haven't got to it yet. I'm really hoping to get to it next month for Framed in September. And Blue Postcards of course.
Thank you for your thoughtful discussion about the Alice Munro / Andrea Skinner horror. I've been wondering how Canadians feel about this, how important Alice Munro as an Internationally recognized master of her craft was / is to the Canadian identity. Andrea must be an amazingly strong and courageous woman to stand up to her Mother and cut off contact after she had her own children. I also listening to the CBC radio broadcast you mentioned (it's on RU-vid) it was very good. It would probably be useful to read 'Monsters', but I probably will not. In the past after read biographies or articles about the bad behavior of artists and authors, I cannot help but feel very differently about their work. Knowing how awfully Munro treated her own daughter leaves such a bad taste, I cannot at this point imagine myself reading her again. Also, so unbelievably selfish... how different would Munro's career and legacy be if this had been known 2 decades ago? Of course, this was what it was all about for Munro. I love your embroidery of a dandelion - so sweet.
@@melaniereed3494 Melanie, thanks for your comments. Like you, I am very much affected by the biography of an artist. I don’t know how people can continue to praise and enjoy the work of Woody Allen, to give just one example. I agree with you that Andrea Skinner is courageous to come forward with her story, and I sincerely hope that she will feel better now that the secrecy is finished.
Good morning, Lindy. I've been reading everything I can this week about Alice Munro's daughter, Andrea, and trying to pinpoint how I feel. An essay by the novelist Brandon Taylor distilled some thoughts I had about the nature of the characters in Munro's stories, as well as his own thoughts as a victim of abuse and parental disregard. I put a link on my community page because youtube doesn't like links in comments, if you're interested. As mad/sad I am at what Alice Munro didn't do, Andrea's father also didn't do anything (or enough) and that's just as wrong, in my view. I am anxious to get to the Morgan Talty because I loved his short story collection (would you consider it a novel in stories?)
@@anenthusiasticreader I agree that Jim Munro failed to support his daughter. All of the adults around Andrea failed in protecting her. I know that similar abuse and secrecy is rampant in our culture and that knowledge makes me heartsick. When you asked if I consider Talty’s book a novel in stories, did you mean his first collection or this new one? It’s been a year since I read Night of the Living Rez and I remember connections between the stories but not if it felt like a novel.
@@lindysmagpiereads Hi. I meant Talty's first book. I know it was short stories, but they were all about the same character at various stages of his life, so I kind of viewed it as a novel in stories. Anyway, I thought it was so good. Have a great weekend, Lindy.
I can't help but think of the cultural forces that influenced/forced Alice Munro to support her husband rather than her daughter. terrible situation no matter how you slice it. I've been intrigued by Leckie for awhile. Is this a good place to start or do you suggest I jump into Ancillary Justice?
@@sarah-roadworthy You could start with either Ancillary Justice or Translation State, but you would get even more layers from Translation State if you read the trilogy first.
