2004
Runaway
Alice Munro · 1931–2024 · Canada
Why it matters
Women across small-town Ontario make and unmake their lives in stories of sudden, quiet reversal. Munro at the height of her powers, each story holding the scope of a novel in twenty compressed pages.
At a glance
short story collection
Difficulty 5/10medium pace335 pagesMunro's characteristic elliptical time shifts within ostensibly simple stories.
Where to go next
Alice Munro · 1971Lives of Girls and WomenLvl 5Medium pace
Alice Munro · 1978Who Do You Think You Are?Lvl 5Medium pace
Alice Munro · 2001Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, MarriageLvl 5Medium pace
Alice Munro · 2009Too Much HappinessLvl 6Medium pace
Alice Munro · 2012Dear LifeLvl 5Medium pace
Elizabeth Strout · 2008Olive KitteridgeLvl 4Medium pace