This book of interesting short stories has a common theme of a character going astray, sometimes by traveling, and other times by reinventing themselves in a new location. For every story, the author also tells the reader about a historical event or a newspaper clipping, sometimes just a few lines, that inspired her imagination. She would create characters and motives to describe what could have happened in the historical situation. Often these characters are in "no win" situations without much

Normally, I avoid short story collections; however, I had promised myself after reading "Room" that I would read everything that Emma Donoghue publishes. And I'm glad I did. This collection is not to be missed.The book is broken into three parts: part 1 is stories about people that are about to embark on a journey, part 2 is stories about people that are in transit of a journey, and part 3 is stories about people that are concluding a journey. The stories are historical in that they are based in...

I loved this book. I'm a short story fan. In the hands of a capable writer, they are a form that can produce a great impact. Emma Donoghue is a more than competent writer, and the stories in this book are absolutely brilliant. Astray is about drifters, people who are floating through their lives, arriving to or departing from places. Donoghue herself is an immigrant, so it makes sense that she would pick people who don't belong anywhere to headline her stories. The characters are interesting wit...

I have loved Emma Donoghue since before Room. Her novel Slammerkin remains one of my favourite pieces of historical fiction. I very much enjoyed this collection of historical short stories. I read it in one day (admittedly much of this day was spent on a plane). I was lucky enough to hear the author speak about the book and where the stories came from. Emma described the freedom of zooming in on a single moment in history, rather than creating a whole novel around it. She described herself as a

This short story collection by Emma Donoghue examines historic and personal moments that are based on real events. Each story is followed by background information from which the narrative is based. The finished collection jumps eras and locations while Donoghue expertly switches styles of writing (including the exploration of a wide variety of dialects). This results in technically sound and well researched short stories, yet they lack something that taps into a deeper truth or heart. Thus, the...

The latest anthology from the author of "Room" has an intriguing premise — vignettes and very short stories spun out from old news items and historical records — but the stories Donoghue uncovers are often rich enough to support entire novels, and yet she only elaborates enough to add a few details. In many cases it seems like the real story is starting where she ends her writing, which can make this a frustrating read. Yes, it's interesting that a slave murdered his owner and went on the run wi...

-Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/Thebooknatics --I received this book through the Goodreads Giveaways, it was one of those books that captivated me from the start and just couldn’t put down at all. Emma Donoghue has taken real historic stories of people on the run or departed for adventure and love, and turned them into a work of art, almost like behind-the-scenes action. Her imagination takes us for a spin on the untold stories of beloved documented events of everyday people who left an...

While I am not typically a fan of short stories, Astray showed me how rich this literary form can be in the hands of an excellent writer. Donoghue's Room was such a good read that I was compelled to give this book a try. I'm so glad I did. (On top of being thankful for the kind librarian who let me exceed my book limit to check it out.)My main complaint with short stories has been the lack of character development. I often read books to get to know the people between their pages. What I found ou...

Old newspaper articles, snippets of interest, places visited, all become fodder for these amazing stories by Donoghue. Usually when reading a book of short stories there are always some that are my favorites, some I don't like and some I just don't get, but in this book I really enjoyed them all. That she explains were she got the idea for the story was an extra bonus and a welcome one. Some of the subjects of her stories are the characters often found on the fringes of our society, or strange c...

I was surprised and a little sad to see this book in my $1 store. I guess even big name writers can end up in these remainder bins. I quickly saw why when I started reading. Love the cover and the concept (historical short stories based on biographical snippets); each story ends with some information on the character that Donoghue based her story on. However, the early stories did not grip me at all. More like narrative sketches. I almost didn't finish.Having said that, I'm glad I continued on,

I did not realize what a phenomenal historical writer Donoghue is. She hits the timeperiod full-on. It’s very David Mitchell-esque in its ability to really capture the voice of the period and not to feel anachronistic in the least bit. And I loved that all the short stories come from real historical events – either actual people or just an event that really happened. My favorites were: “The Gift” (heartbreaking correspondence about a young mother forced to give up her child due to poverty but al...

4.5. I'm a fan of short stories because 1)the writers work just as hard as with a novel but the reader gets all the reward and 2) I tend to read more faster, because "oh, just one more, they're short!" Unlike Anita Brookner or Maeve Binchy, when you read a book from Donoghue it's different each time--different setting, characters, style, format. Here she takes snippets (truly, just a paragraph or less) of a historical fact and fleshes out a story where the person goes "astray". It could be physi...

short stories based on facts from newspaper cuttings, letters and books that Donoghue has read, centring around immigrants to North America (USA and Canada), stretching from the 17th century to 1969. Broken in to three sections (departure, in transit and arrivals), it includes Jumbo the elephant leaving London Zoo heading for Barnum's circus, a struggling mother-turned-prostitute helped by Charles Dickens to move away and start a new life, a woman who discovers her 'father' was actually a woman....

An interesting set of short stories, each based on some historical events from about a century or two ago. Many were depressing, but quite realistic. I almost gave this 3 stars because the main points are not really to my taste, but her writing is quite good & the historical points are excellent. That made it worth listening too for me.I listened to this because I've heard a lot of good things about a novel of hers, but didn't think her style would suit me. I'm more convinced of that. Plot point...

This book review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2017/02/1...This book was a mix of several of my favorite genres- short stories, historical fiction and non-fiction. Every single story was amazing, even if it dealt with difficult subject matter, for the stories were based on real people or events in history. I will definitely be spending some time researching some of the information/sources that the author based her stories off. *Some Spoliers* Man and Boy: Jumbo the el...