RUNAWAY

Author: Alice Munro

Genre: Short Story

Published: 2004

Personal Rating:  3.5/5

Yearly Count:  125  

SOON

(ss) Yearly Count:  11

Another story of Juliet . . . she takes her 13 month old little girl (Penelope) to visit the relatives.  During the visit she is confronted about her parenting skills.

 

SILENCE

(ss) Yearly Count:  12

And one more - Juliet's daughter (Penelope) has grown up and is now making decisions for her own life. Juliet learns to deal with those decisions.

PASSION

(ss) Yearly Count:  13

Grace returns to Ottawa Valley to visit where she worked one summer as a waitress when she was 20-years-old and remembers her relationships. 

TRESPASSES

(ss) Yearly Count:  14

A woman befriends a couples' daughter.

TRICKS

(ss) Yearly Count:  15

Robin meets a man and they decide to meet again one year later.

     

POWERS

(ss) Yearly Count:  16

Nancy narrates her story that involves a small group of friends, one of which can see things that are hidden.

Overall, including Runaway and Chance, I liked Runaway and understand the draw of Munro.  Her style is very unique, but teeters between intriguing and annoying.  The intriguing nature of her stories is derived from her ability to drop tidbits of the story without giving a full picture - which is actually annoying.  Also, more often than not, I found the endings to be okay, but they didn't leave me totally satisfied.  Maybe that's her intent - keep you thinking of the "what ifs" after you close the book.  No matter, she definitely has a gift, one that obviously has touched many.  I could have done without the Juliet stories, but I liked the diversity of the rest.  I will read more.