Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, MarriageHateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
Score Modern
What it's about
Nine stories by Alice Munro, set mostly in small-town Ontario: a plain housekeeper who sets off across the country because of a teenage prank; a woman visiting her dying former lover; a college student and a dying friend's widower; and a husband who must put his wife, who has dementia, into a care home, where she seems to forget him and fall for another man.
Why it's worth reading
The New York Times and the Guardian both named it one of the best books of the 21st century, and Munro won the Nobel Prize. Her stories hold whole lives in a few pages.
You'll love it if you liked
A Manual for Cleaning Women
Cathedral
Interpreter of MaladiesGood to know
The last story, The Bear Came Over the Mountain, became the film Away from Her. Munro's daughter later revealed abuse by Munro's husband that Munro knew of, which has changed how some readers see her.
By the numbers
- Readers46 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics80 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller18 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #449 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #867 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Alice Munro
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Quick answers
Is Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage worth reading?
Yes. The New York Times and the Guardian both named it one of the best books of the 21st century, and Munro won the Nobel Prize. It ranks #867 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 74.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage about?
Nine stories by Alice Munro, set mostly in small-town Ontario: a plain housekeeper who sets off across the country because of a teenage prank; a woman visiting her dying former lover; a college student and a dying friend's widower; and a husband who must put his wife, who has dementia, into a care home, where she seems to forget him and fall for another man.
How long does it take to read Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage?
About 7 hours (284 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage?
If you liked it, try A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin, Cathedral by Raymond Carver or Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.