Genre: Classic Short Stories
Page Count: 108
Rating: 3/5
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The Women Who Got Away is a collection of short stories by John Updike complied into this Penguin Great Loves edition. I picked up quite a few of these on Book depository a year-or-so ago because I loved the concept and the beautiful pocket size designs and I thought it was about time I actually read them.
This collection included five short stories by Updike that fit the theme of the title, women who got away. All five stories are told by a (usually) nameless male narrator lamenting on his mistress that has gotten away. I picked this up because A&P by Updike( you can read it here; it's very short) is one of my favorite short stories of all time, and one that I have studied and written papers on many times before, so I was looking to read more of his works. This was a quick read that I really enjoyed! I'm now interested in picking up some of Updike's longer fiction, but I'm not sure where to start.
Despite these stories having very similar narrators and themes, the stories were not monotonous or boring. Updike is able to create such real and complex characters in such a short amount of words that even the shortest of his stories feel complete and complex. Updike writes about the mundane and the everyday, but he is able to capture humanity and emotion so well, that it feels like you are witness to intimate details and private moments in someone else's life. I would say that the title story was my favorite, but I enjoyed the other four stories as well. While I don't think these stories are Updike's best work, I do think this would serve as a good introduction to Updike's writing style if you are interested in jumping into his works. I would recommend starting with A&P before these stories though.
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