'Runaway' by Alice Munro is a collection of short stories that delve into the lives of seemingly ordinary women facing a variety of challenges and crises. The stories are interconnected, exploring themes of love, betrayal, isolation, and change. Munro's writing style is described as haunting, lyrical, and evocative, with characters that engage, surprise, and linger in the reader's mind long after finishing the book. The narratives are often set in Canada, depicting domestic dramas and everyday life experiences with a touch of surrealism and sincerity.

Characters:

The characters are primarily female and reflect ordinary yet complex lives, often dealing with emotional challenges and personal growth at various life stages.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is concise and emotionally impactful, often layered with deeper meanings and prompting readers to reflect on the characters' complexities.

Plot/Storyline:

The collection features interconnected stories centered around pivotal moments in the lives of female characters, exploring themes of escape and personal transformation.

Setting:

The setting primarily features rural and small-town Canada, with historical contexts that influence the characters' lives.

Pacing:

The pacing varies, with some stories being slow and contemplative while others provide a more immediate emotional impact, allowing for deep reflection.

I’ll die,” said Robin, on an evening years ago. “I’ll die if they don’t have that dress ready.” They were in the screen porch of the dark-green clap-board house on Isaac Street. Willard Greig, who liv...

Notes:

Runaway is a collection of eight short stories by Alice Munro.

All stories are set in Canada and feature female protagonists.

The first story, titled 'Runaway', has a non-traditional narrative structure without a clear beginning or end.

Three of the stories ('Chance', 'Soon', 'Silence') are interconnected and follow a character named Juliet throughout her life.

Many readers find Munro's writing style intriguing and puzzling, often leading to reflection after reading.

'Trespasses' features a ten-year-old girl named Lauren, which is a significant detail that Munro does not initially reveal.

The story 'Tricks' ends predictably, which some readers found less engaging compared to others in the collection.

Munro's characters often deal with emotional complexities and ordinary life's nuances, leading to relatable yet flawed portrayals.

Alice Munro has received numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The themes in Runaway often explore escape and the intricacies of human relationships.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include themes of emotional trauma, abandonment, complex family dynamics, and instances of betrayal.

Has Romance?

Romance is present in a moderate capacity, as several stories explore romantic relationships and their complexities.

From The Publisher:

**Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature**

The matchless Munro makes art out of everyday lives in this exquisite short story collection.

Here are men and women of wildly different times and circumstances, their lives made vividly palpable by the nuance and empathy of Munro's writing. Runaway is about the power and betrayals of love, about lost children, lost chances. There is pain and desolation beneath the surface, like a needle in the heart, which makes these stories more powerful and compelling than anything she has written before.

Winner of the Man Booker International Prize 2009.

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About the Author:

**Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature** Alice Munro was born in 1931 and is the author of thirteen collections of stories, most recently Dear Life, and a novel, Lives of Girls and Women. She has received many awards and prizes, including three of Canada's Governor General's Literary Awards and two Giller Prizes, the Rea Award for the Short Story, the Lannan Literary Award, the WHSmith Book Award in the UK, the National Book Critics Circle Award in the US, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for The Beggar Maid, and has been awarded the Man Booker International Prize 2009 for her overall contribution to fiction on the world stage, and in 2013 she won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Paris Review and other publications, and her collections have been translated into thirteen languages. She lives in Port Hope, Ontario, near lake Ontario in Canada.

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Runaway

Alice Munro