SOUNDTRACK:
[READ: December 3, 2022] “Bread of Lifers”
This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar. This is my fifth time reading the Calendar. I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable. Here’s what they say this year
Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 3. Robert McGill, author of A Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life, is just going to wait and see how long it takes you to notice.
It seems risky to write a story about one of Canada’s most treasured short story writers. But, as it turns out, this story, with a character who is rather sick of Alice Munro, is a tribute to Munro is more ways than one. I’m including some of McGill’s interview here:
RM: As someone who grew up just north of Huron County, Ontario, where Munro has spent most of her life, I long wanted to write a story about a young writer who meets her, but I never got around to it. Then, last year, I decided to try writing a story with an overarching constraint governing every sentence. Once I realized that I could write my Munro story that way, and once I realized that the constraint would send things in a comic direction, the story came pouring out over the course of one weekend in a way was unprecedented for me.
What kind of research went into this story?
RM: I confess: I wrote a master’s thesis on Alice Munro. And I once met her in Bayfield, Ontario.
It amuses me that he “confesses” this information.
There a two main characters in this story. A PhD candidate, Nessa, who is writing her thesis on Munro and a poet, Hadi, who is her best friend (occasionally with benefits).
Nessa talks about Alice Munro all the time (as one would if one was writing a thesis about her, but Hadi has had it. “always Alice Munro! How long will it be before a day goes by without you mentioning Alice Munro?”
Hadi’s father owns a pharmacy, but Hadi is somewhat estranged from him. We learn that Hadi’s father left his wife (Hadi’s mother) and Hadi some time ago and things have been tense between Hadi and his father ever since.
But they do still talk and he does still go to his father’s pharmacy.
While Hadi is in the pharmacy, Nessa is sure that Alice Munro is standing outside of it. She approaches the woman, but of course it is not her. The woman does know Hadi though, and they have a brief chat. When the woman leaves, Hadi informs Nessa that Alice Munro is a customer at his father’s pharmacy (she lives in the next town over but uses this pharmacy for privacy) and his father has invited Munro over for dinner. Nessa is going to meet her.
They arrive at Hadi’s father’s house. The second part of the story switches to the second person singular. With Hadi addressing his father. The story shifts gears and become incredibly personal, whereas the first section was more comical.
Hadi sees his father’s humanity (he has a wound from a recent surgery) and sees that his father is trying to hide things from Hadi as well.
The final section returns to the third person as the reality of the evening settles in on everyone–and both Nessa and Hadi have questions they need to ask themselves.
I really enjoyed this story, too.
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