A review by librarianna81
Runaway by Alice Munro

2.0

I am not big into short stories anymore, but this book kept popping up what felt like everywhere, so finally I gave in & decided to give it a shot. I had heard such good things! Unfortunately, I was largely disappointed. Munro is a very good writer, but it just didn't engage me. I especially found the 3 stories that followed the same character to be somewhat bland. She started off with a bang in her first story, but then it kind of went slow. It was a nice book to be able to pick up & put down between stories, though, without worry of losing my place. And she was consistent in the quality of her writing and of her characterization. I just...wasn't feeling it. The most striking story was probably her most tragic one; the second-to-last. I read that one on a train ride home and was stunned by it. I had to close the book and sit and process things for a few minutes before even getting up the energy to dive into the last story (which, incidentally, I didn't find very easy to follow, although the plot was interesting enough). That second-to-last story (sorry, I cannot remember the names, and I don't have a copy of the book nearby) really engaged me, though, for whatever reason, and I would say from that I find Munro to be a good author. I just wish I hadn't spent so much time on the other 8 (?) stories in the book. Well, maybe a handful (3ish) were worth it.