astray

Astray is a series of short stories, which I didn't know until I got into it. I don't usually spend a lot of time on a book jacket, just enough to determine if it might be interesting. This habit is a sword that cuts both ways; I'm not a fan of spoilers, so avoiding the blurbs can often lead to surprises. Some are pleasant, some less so. This surprise fell somewhere in the middle. These short stories are all based on folks that strayed away from their normal track or orbit in life. Some by choice, some not. Additionally, these stories come either directly from, or are inspired by, old records, news items, and letters by and about actual people. Emma Donoghue researches these old stories, mostly from North America's earlier history, and then imagines the story behind what she's read. An interesting concept.

Donoghue has separated the stories into three groups: Departures, In Transit, and Arrivals and Aftermaths. Many of her characters are struggling; with change, with life, loss, poverty, death, and for a large percentage, homosexuality, which I'm sure was extremely difficult a hundred or two-hundred years ago, but does seem over represented, so I assume that is also one of the themes Donoghue is exploring.

The stories are varied, and the characters are well written and engaging. I won't go into the stories themselves, as there are a bunch of them here, only 10 or 12 pages each, mostly. Emma Donoghue is probably best known as the author of Room, didn't read it as well as the subsequent screenplay for the movie of the same title. didn't see it

She's authored a variety of things, listed at her website, and has been honored multiple times for her writing. I'll have to keep my eye out for Room, and some of her other stuff.