Runaway Audiobook By Alice Munro cover art

Runaway

Stories

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Runaway

By: Alice Munro
Narrated by: Kymberly Dakin
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The stories in this collection are about women of all ages and circumstances. The runaway of the title story is a young woman who is incapable of leaving her husband. In another, a country girl emerging into the larger world via a job in a resort hotel discovers in a single moment of insight the limits and lies of passion.

Three stories concern the same woman - in the first, she escapes from teaching at a girls' school into a wild love affair; in the second, she returns with her child to the home of her parents, whose marriage she finally begins to examine; and in the last, her vanished child turns up caught in the grip of a religious cult.

In these and other stories, Alice Munro's understanding of the people about whom she writes makes their lives as real as our own.

©2004 Alice Munro (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America Anthologies Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Short Stories Women's Fiction Marriage
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I know that I am part of a very small minority, but I am not an Alice Munro fan. Her stories aren't bad, but to me, they are just incredibly boring. I will give her credit for writing realistic contemporary dialogue, and I guess it's a talent to be able to write a long story about ordinary people in fairly ordinary situations. And there are brief moments of insight into human nature. But that's about all I have to say. I've now read several of her collections, and I've felt the same way about each. It's never a good sign when you are about halfway through a story and just want it to end . . . For the last 100 pages, I kept thinking about what I will read next. (Hint: It won't be by Alice Munro.) The reader is OK; she has that quiet monotone that is typical of readers of "important" literature that supposedly speaks for itself--the Poetry Reading Voice.

Just Not an Alice Munro Fan

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Unusual Stories, Good Writing, Bad Depressing
Narration was very good but theme was consistently bleak

Unusual Stories, Good Writing, Bad Depressing

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This is a beautiful book. Munro is an incredible observer of people. Kind, honest and with a subtle sense of humor. The reader was excellent and allowed the stories themselves to take first place.

Perfect. Munro is a genius.

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These are wonderful stories, and I did enjoy listening to them.

The only problem for me was that the narrator used the same 'voice' in all the stories, so that there were few vocal characterization differences among characters in each story. This made the protagonists seem like carbon copies of each other. Also there is no pause, not even a bit of one, from story to story, and because the 'voice' is the same you're not sure that the past story has ended and the next one has begun.


A really annoying problem with the audiobook is technical. The 'chapters' are not set up by story, but randomly, so when returning to your listening, it is very hard to find your place.

If you like Alice Munro, you'll love these stories

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This collection of short stories, more like short novels, is fascinating and gripping. I really could not stop listening. The stories are simply told, elegantly plotted, and have surprising twists that hold your attention.

Absorbing, Compelling, Must Read

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Every story in this collection draws the listener into the intimate relationships and thoughts of its characters. Within a few sentences we feel connection with the characters and we share hope and despair with them. Beautiful reading and pace. I was surprised with the way the chapters are cut in this book - they do not correspond to the actual stories.

Marvelous insight into human nature

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I’m sure these stories were good in their moment but now they read ‘old.’ The language is old (words like “school fellows” come to mind), the concerns of the characters are sometimes old (2nd story focuses a lot on manners of the time period) but it is made much worse by the sing song narration. The reader is clearly not an actor. She reads like she’s reading to Very young children. Adult dialogue comes off as whiny and just plain weird - with intonation completely contrary to the message being said. After two stories I couldn’t continue the collection. Maybe I’ll try again in print; it might be easier to relate to the era described without the baby voice.

The narrator ruined these stories

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I am in awe of Alice Munro's exquisite way with words. The reader can be difficult to understand at times, but the stories are so poignant and thought-provoking that I will absolutely need to buy this book in hardcover to go on the shelf, and be enjoyed again.

Beautifully Written

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I liked the author's novel, The View from Castle Rock, and I was very pleasantly surprised by this new collection of stories. Several of the stories are really short novels, like Ian McEwan's Atonement, and are well developed without filler. Ms. Munro shows a great talent for characterization in these stories and a great understanding of those characters, both female and male. A great treat!

Several short novels and a few short stories

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"Runaway" is a collection of short stories written by Alice Monroe- sharing a common theme.
Some of the stories in this collection are better than others, some are more matriculant and ripe than others, but i found it difficult to stay indifferent to Monroe's ability to authentically portray human weakness.
She displayes (with talent) feminine circumstances which were typical to in the mid 20th century but are still relevant today.

Moving

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