Runaway

What is this book about?

Women of different ages and backgrounds try to get away — from a stifling situation, from a marriage, from a set of ties that were arranged for them long ago. Munro refuses dramatic breaks and stays close to the moments when leaving is almost possible and then is not: some do go, some turn back halfway, some find that escape has become its own trap. Her prose is exact and unusually honest, and what it records is weakness and difficulty rather than a satisfying victory.

Why read it?

Munro is a Nobel laureate, and what sets her apart is honesty: she neither turns her women into long-suffering victims nor packages them as invincible heroines. She simply lays out a person's situation, hesitations, and costs, and lets the reader look. The reward is a kind of patience — resist the verdict, and see first how many choices someone actually had.

Core Ideas

• Running away does not automatically bring ultimate freedom; without knowing what you actually want, a new place is only a repetition.
• Munro writes no wish-fulfilment heroine: her women can be timid, can retreat, can give up at the decisive moment.
• Pressure comes both from the surrounding environment and from inner dependence, and the two usually exist at once and cannot be handled separately.
• Real honesty means not only exposing what is done to women but also prompting them toward a searching self-criticism.
• Marriage and everyday ties can be a cage or a home, depending on how a person examines her own choices.

What questions does this book try to answer?

• Facing both outward pressure and inner dependence, how is a woman supposed to examine her own choices?
• If running away does not bring freedom, what is the person actually trying to escape?
• Without being written as either victim or hero, how can a person take responsibility for what she chooses?

Who should read it?

For readers drawn to women's inner lives, to serious literary experience, and to examining themselves. Also for anyone thinking about marriage, family, and personal choice. Readers used to stories with clear endings may need some patience.

How to Read It

Written in English and published in 2004; Chinese editions appear as《逃离》. Munro is scrupulously honest, and it is worth noticing that she exposes the pressure placed on women and pushes them toward self-criticism at the same time — in her hands these are one act, not two. Do not rush to pity or judge the characters; see their situation clearly first.