Once again, Alice Munro achieves what only a few authors can: she gives us characters that are so vivid that we momentarily immerse ourselves in their lives. There is Janet, who must take her elderly father to the hospital and unexpectedly finds solace in a planetarium. A young girl who takes a job on a turkey farm. And a woman who confronts her husband's arrogant chatter by throwing a bowl of lemon meringue pie at him. They all look back and look forward, proud and sometimes doubtful—and the way Munro delicately tells their stories is unique.