Deborah Heller

DAUGHTERS and MOTHERS in Alice Munro's Later Stories Deborah Heller

Toronto literary scholar Deborah Heller describes Munro's treatment of mother-daughter relationships in four more recent stories, "My Mother's Dream," "Family Furnishings," "Soon," and "Silence," showing how these later works transform the earlier autobiographical material in surprising ways. "A fascinating exploration of the uneven terrain of mother-daughter relationships . . . This raw territory, including the mutual hatreds and resentments that Munro portrays so painfully, is perhaps best dealt with in fiction. The emotional landscape is mapped carefully in Deborah Heller's thoughtful and provocative essay. Her subject is intense, and intriguing, and has made me want to go back and read Munro again." -Pamela Hook, Los Gatos, CA "Reading Deborah Heller's essay, one comes upon entirely new layers of meaning in Munro's stories-insights which illuminate the troubled relationships being described. Lovers of Alice Munro, mothers, daughters, feminists, and anyone interested in the mother-daughter connection-this is a "must read"! -Susan Sherrell, Oakland, CA "Ouch! . . . really touches a nerve!" -Beverly Marcus, Seattle, WA "A gratifying analysis of complex daughter-mother relationships . . ." -Claudia Singer, Malden, MA