Runaway - Alice Munro

A collection of beautifully written short stories which were utterly absorbing but easier to admire than to love. The overwhelming majority were rather bleak, and while I don't have a problem with a bit of grit in fiction, I did find it disturbing that the darkness in these tended to come from the inadequacies of the main characters themselves, or even more depressingly, from the implied impossibility of meaningful connections or true understanding between people. The story Tresspasses really got under my skin and left me quite shaken - a sign of powerful writing, but not a particularly enjoyable read!