Somebody around here nominated Munro for a Nobel prize and for the title of strongest writer in the English language. Tempted by so much praise from a trustworthy source, I tested/tasted the Runaway and I second the motion. The title story itself is one of the best long short stories that I can remember. (But I would still like to know what happened to Flora...) The story called 'Silence' is a very troubling horror story out of real life. Munro writes about daily life and 'human' relations and neighborhood problems and life stories, including several versions of plausible horror, with a simplicity and precision that can only be achieved through hard work (or through lucky genius). She is entirely free of mannerisms and of cheap tricks (unlike other contemporary American writers that I am just having a big disagreement about.) Outstanding.