Just started reading Alice? Monroe's short stories were many years ago. I remember it was in the year when she won the Nobel Prize. At that time, I read the book Escape. After reading it, I was deeply conquered by her storytelling language, methods and skills. Later, I learned that she was called the master of contemporary short stories, Chekhov of Canada.

This time I read another short story of hers, which I've always wanted to tell you. I read it twice. In order to find out if I understood, I took notes for the second time.

"Anyway, he is good at seducing women."

The first sentence at the beginning of this novel is very attractive.

The story tells that Noble, a middle-aged widow, returned to her hometown to work as a tour guide in sightseeing bus. Ente met him in the street and was invited to travel on his sightseeing bus. Therefore, Ente has the opportunity to observe how Noble, who has always been charming, seduces women.

When I was young, Ente's sister Shaershan had an affair with Noble. At that time, Noble chose to marry a woman in the troupe, which almost led her sister Shaershan to commit suicide by drinking medicine. Later, Shaershan came out of the scarred love, married Arthur, Ente's high school teacher, and lived a simple and peaceful life.

Ente has been single all his life, and has been doing the clothing business he is good at, and has made small achievements in the town. After Shaershan and Arthur got married, Ente often went to Sal's house to play rummy cards with Arthur and cook in their house. By chance, Ente noticed a bottle of poison on the cupboard in Shaer Mountain.

After Noble came back, he often visited the Shaershan couple. In fact, Noble and Shaershan have rekindled their old friendship. Ente even thought about telling Arthur about their affair, so that Arthur could be alert to the Shaer Mountain and Noble. But she made up a story, which led to a serious situation, or indirectly led to the death of her sister Shaershan. It's just that Arthur is completely ignorant all his life. Ente always wanted to tell Arthur the truth, but at the end of his life, she didn't tell him.

This novel shows Alice Munro's superb narrative skills. The story is simple, but the author's narrative and flashback are cleverly arranged. If you don't look carefully, it will really make people fall into the clouds. Although it is a short story, it has a novel-like structure and very story-telling content, so it makes people feel memorable after reading it.

The location of the novel is set in a small village around World War II. The four protagonists, from youth to old age, span almost a lifetime.

The author writes in the third person, but the perspective mainly focuses on the character Ente, which gives the story and the reader a wonderful sense of distance.

The incident mainly intercepted the important events of several key people. My brother drowned in the floodplain, and two sisters met Norbert by running in the floodplain. Later, Noble and Ente's sister Shaershan started a love affair. This relationship is obviously not optimistic. The amorous aristocrat married another woman, which also indicates the love tragedy of Shaershan.

First of all, the love between Shaershan and Noble is romantic, affectionate and destructive. But Noble is a Don Juan figure, handsome, affectionate and attractive to women. Love transcends secularism and ethics in his world. And Shaershan is just a simple girl who broke into Noble's love game.

Ente knows her sister's love best, and she looks at it as a bystander. However, love is blind and irrational. When Noble returned to his hometown, he was secretly with Shaer Mountain. Because Shaershan has a husband, they are like a pair of underground lovers. The article does not explain how and when they came together, or even just Ente's doubts. But from the novel, three people play cards under the light, and we know from Ente's feelings that "although they sit separately, the light comes from them." Lover. This word is not as gentle as people think. On the contrary, it is cruel and has a sense of tearing. "It seems that only Ente is aware of the danger of things and is uneasy about this immoral love. She even wants to create some troubles and difficulties between Noble and Shaershan before the rumors spread.

Ente finally led to the end of the story by mistake, which she didn't expect. She stopped talking many times, trying to help Arthur, who was kept in the dark, and save their marriage before Arthur and Shaershan came to an irreparable situation. In the end, because of her fabricated lies, her sister Shaershan took the medicine and left. This is a coincidence. In fact, Ente has a kind heart and the ability to see through things. For example, she didn't like the love between Noble and Shaershan from the beginning. But white lies eventually become a tool to kill people. We can't even judge whether Ente really did something wrong. Perhaps this is the best ending of the story, so in the end, instead of telling Arthur the truth, she chose to keep her mouth shut and let time pass.

This novel consists of eighteen parts. When I read it for the second time, I made some generalizations about the content of the article. The following are some notes or analysis of the story structure and content.

first part

Is it about ente accepting blackie? Noble invited him to travel with his tour bus to observe how Noble used his personal charm to seduce women.

The author carefully arranged sightseeing buses, sightseeing speeches and charming stories from Noble, as well as his "gentle expression and sincere smile" to the ladies. And other descriptions show the attractive side of Ente to Noble.

the second part

This is about Shaershan and Arthur planning to travel, but they had to cancel their plans because Arthur was suddenly ill. Later Noble came to visit them, and the three of them were playing a geography game harmoniously.

After Arthur's illness, Ente "always woke up in the middle of the night and was anxious". From this sentence, we know that Ente is more concerned about Arthur's health than his wife Shaershan, and compares him to the charming King Arthur.

the third part

About Ente and Shaershan talking about Noble in the street that she hadn't seen for many years, Ente told her that Noble had been married twice and both his wives had died. They don't even know where his hotel money went.

This shows that Noble, which was once in the limelight, has been down and out.

part four

It's about the nobles actually giving up hotel management for a long time. Ente met Norbert in the street, but Ente took the initiative to tell him about the marriage in Shaershan.

This motive implies that Ente doesn't want Noble to find Shaer Mountain again.

The fifth part

The first sentence at the beginning: "Many years ago, Ente remembered the scene when she suddenly realized how beautiful Mount Shaer was."

Ente recalled from a photo of their three brothers and sisters that when they were about fourteen years old, their younger brother Sandy slipped and drowned, and how his father carried Sandy's body on the beach. It depicts the beauty of Shaer Mountain and the personality characteristics of the two sisters.

For example, it focuses on the charm of Shaer Mountain:

"Her beauty is both sharp and elegant, which makes people unable to look straight and full of challenges."

"The haughty expression on her face is a strange harmony with herself, just like a photo."

Ente was obviously jealous of the beauty of Shaer Mountain. After the two sisters went running on the beach, the author wrote down Ente's feelings: "In any case, if beauty belongs to one of these women, it will make Ente feel more comfortable." Ente even thinks that Shaer Mountain is not suitable for this kind of beauty.

Part VI

It mainly tells the story of Noble and Shaershan meeting and getting to know each other in the park. Aristocratic family background and handsome appearance.

Part VII

The background of Merck Mountain, where the story takes place, is the heyday of villages and towns, the prosperity of aristocratic hotels, and even the air force training camp in World War II.

While running the family business, Noble always took time out to have a secret meeting with Shaershan. Also responsible for organizing hotel performances.

It mainly describes the love process between old Noble and Shaershan.

Part VIII

One morning and afternoon, when Ente went to collect clothes, he met Norbert and Shaershan sleeping naked under the eaves.

It can be seen as an upgrade of love in Shaershan.

Part 9

A 19-year-old aristocrat married a ventriloquist who was considered to be forty.

The heartbroken Shaershan committed suicide by taking poison. He happened to drink the wrong poison and blue medicine for washing clothes, which saved his life. But afterwards, I showed that I didn't care about this relationship.

Part 10

While cooking, Ente found a colorless and tasteless bottle of zinc phosphide poison in the cupboard of Shaershan. She doesn't understand why there is such a bottle of poison in Shaershan's home.

Part 1 1

It tells the story of Ente making eggnog for Arthur and reading for him. In the process, she kept thinking about the bottle of poison in the cupboard. She even suspected that Shaershan tried to put a bottle of poison there. Every time she went to Shaershan's house, she wanted to see if the bottle of poison had been used. She was afraid.

Part XII

Arthur, Noble and Shaershan play cards together in the light, while Ente compares them in the distance. Nashar Mountain and Noble are the same kind of people-"tall, light and ambitious, with a sense of danger and satisfaction. Although they sit separately, light radiates from both of them at the same time. Lover. "

Here, there is also a possibility that there is poison, that is, Noble and Shaershan became lovers, and the poison was put there by Shaershan to chronically poison Arthur. That's why Ente is always concerned about whether the bottle of poison has been reduced.

Part XIII

After Shaershan committed suicide for Noble, he became active, joined the Drama Association, and met Arthur, the teacher who directed the drama festival. Arthur is Ente's history teacher. Ente noticed Arthur in high school and studied history hard to get his praise. But after Arthur and Shaershan got married, they didn't love each other as Ente thought. Ente knew this, and wanted to tell Arthur about Shaershan's "suicide for the nobles" to make Arthur more alert to Shaershan and the nobles, but later he gave up.

Part XIV

It tells how Ente changed from a little girl who played cartwheels to a small-town tailor, and expelled the small-town tailor from the small-town clothing industry with exquisite craftsmanship.

Part 15

As a teacher's wife, Shaershan dresses elegantly, smokes and dances with other boys, which leads to Arthur losing the opportunity to be a principal.

How does Shaershan pay a lot to keep fit?

Part 16

Norbert went to Toronto for a day or two, but in front of Arthur and Shaershan, Ente made up the story that Norbert left here after hooking up with a rich woman in a hotel, lied and told some stories about Norbert seducing other women before, as if Norbert had a relapse. But she deliberately ignored what happened between Noble and Shaershan.

Shaershan also thinks that Noble abandoned her again.

Part 17

After Shaershan died, Ente moved into Arthur's house and spent the rest of his life with him.

Part 18

Shaershan died the next day after hearing Ente's lies, but he was thought to have died of a heart attack caused by the flu. No one doubts that only Ente knows that the bottle of poison hidden in the cupboard is missing, and Shaershan committed suicide.

Later, Noble came back to attend the funeral of Shaer Mountain.

In the last days when Ente and Arthur lived together, Ente always wanted to tell Arthur what she really wanted, but in the end, she decided to keep her mouth shut and let time pass. Arthur didn't know the love between Noble and Shaershan in the end, and she didn't know that she committed suicide for love.

Although I don't know the author's time voice when writing, if the first part is the beginning of the story and the time is divided into time sequence-flashback-memory, then these eighteen parts will be:

The first part is the sequence: Ente participates in the noble tour group.

The second to fourth parts are flashbacks: that summer, Arthur and Noble played cards; Ents and Shaershan said that they saw nobles; Ente saw Noble.

The fifth to ninth parts are memories: Ente recalls his childhood and his brother drowned; Background: Noble met Shaer Mountain, and Noble fell in love with Shaer Mountain; Ente met Shaer Mountain and Noble and slept naked; Noble abandoned Shaershan and married another woman, Shaershan attempted suicide.

The tenth to twelfth parts are the preface: discovering the chronic poison in the cupboard; Ente makes eggnog for Arthur and has doubts about poison. Shaershan, Arthur and Noble play cards.

The thirteenth part is divided into memories: Shaershan meets Arthur, gets married, and Shaershan miscarries.

The fourteenth and fifteenth parts are flashbacks: the continued success of Ente's clothing business; The fitness of Shaer Mountain and Arthur's future. These two parts span a long time.

The sixteenth and seventeenth parts are the preface: Ente fabricated a lie that Noble and another woman left Merck Mountain; The old life of Ente and Arthur).

The eighteenth part is flashback and ending: after Ente fabricated a lie, Shaershan committed suicide by taking poison, and Noble attended the funeral. At the end of his life, Ente never told Arthur what she had always wanted to tell him.