What do you think?
Rate this book
Astray
The fascinating characters that roam across the pages of Emma Donoghue's latest fact-inspired fictions have all gone astray: they are emigrants, runaways, drifters. They cross other borders, too: those of race, law, sex and sanity. They travel for love or money, incognito or under duress. Donoghue describes the brutal plot hatched by a slave in conjunction with his master's wife to set them both free; she draws out the difficulties of gold mining in the Yukon, even in the supposedly plentiful early days, and she takes us to an early Puritan community in Massachusetts unsettled by an invented sex scandal.
274 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2012
252 people are currently reading
7431 people want to read
About the author
Emma Donoghue
77 books13.2k followersGrew up in Ireland, 20s in England doing a PhD in eighteenth-century literature, since then in Canada. Best known for my novel, film and play ROOM, also other contemporary and historical novels and short stories, non-fiction, theatre and middle-grade novels.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,180 reviews
September 23, 2012
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 collector of historical moments or tidbits of information which stick to her "like burrs."
These stories are not interconnected as seems to be the fashion in short fiction nowadays. They are thematically linked around the idea of immigration, travel, and displacement. Emma Donoghue is the kind of chameleon-like writer who can inhabit many voices and styles. Her style is not instantly recognizable or familiar, her skill is that she can write in many styles.This is a great book for lovers of historical fiction that want to try short fiction, or people who would like to dip into historical fiction but are intimidated by the length of the typical novel-length piece of historical fiction.
These stories are not interconnected as seems to be the fashion in short fiction nowadays. They are thematically linked around the idea of immigration, travel, and displacement. Emma Donoghue is the kind of chameleon-like writer who can inhabit many voices and styles. Her style is not instantly recognizable or familiar, her skill is that she can write in many styles.This is a great book for lovers of historical fiction that want to try short fiction, or people who would like to dip into historical fiction but are intimidated by the length of the typical novel-length piece of historical fiction.
June 27, 2014
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 with his owner's wife, but the few bare pages Donoghue spins out of that suggest a complicated lifetime for both of them, then drops the story as the two leave together. This book is a treasure trove of writing prompts for others, in the "What comes next for these people?" vein, and Donoghue does a compelling job of imagining a world based on a single sentence in a historical record or census or newspaper article. But as stories, they all feel incomplete, as though this were a collection of first chapters of books.
December 19, 2012
Within these fourteen stories, Emma Donoghue traces paths overland and oversea, navigating the different ways we can go astray, journeys of the heart and mind as much as the body. Immigrants and the immigrant story feature prominently, but these stories aren't confined to the immigrant experience. Each one is inspired by a real person, a real story - a clipping from an old paper, a museum piece, an incident in someone else's non-fiction work. From England to Canada to the United States, these stories canvass an essential element of the human condition, showing just how familiar and yet dissimilar our experiences are.
In "Man and Boy" (London, 1882), Matthew Scott chats to his charge, Jumbo the elephant, as he tries to get the elephant onto the ship that will take him to America where he will work in a circus. The running dialogue in Scott's voice is yet another showcase of Donoghue's impressive ability to capture the individual and create a distinctive voice.
"Onward" (London, 1854), introduces us to Caroline, a young orphaned woman who was once middle class but has fallen on hard times. To help keep her younger brother Fred and her toddler daughter Pet, she takes in gentlemen callers two or three times a day, trying to protect her child and her brother from the reality of their circumstances. A chance arrives when Fred tells her of an important man who helps people like them emigrate to Canada and Australia, and Caroline must decide whether she will leave the safety of predictability and shelter for the unknown.
The lawyer in "The Widow's Cruse" (New York City, 1735) thinks he's struck gold when a naive, beautiful young widow comes to him for help in claiming her husband's wealth after a report of his death en route to Connecticut. But Huddlestone learns the hard way never to underestimate a woman, or be led astray by his own narrow opinion of their intellect (or his greed).
In "Last Supper at Brown's (Texas, 1864), Donoghue recreates the day when Mrs Brown ran off with the last household black servant, Negro Brown, after Marse Brown, head of the household and a man much disliked, decides to sell him. Mrs Brown sees her own opportunity to leave him when Brown tells her his intention to run away, and is complicit in the plan to make sure Marse can't follow them.
Jane Johnson and her children are on their way to rejoin her husband, Henry, in Montreal in "Counting the Days" (Gulf of Saint Lawrence, 1849). Treasured letters, much read, link them together across the seas, but Jane is unaware that on the day she arrives, Henry fell ill with cholera and she's all alone, again.
Two young, inexperienced gold prospectors in "Snowblind" (The Yukon, 1896), struggle through their first winter in their hut beside a creek, scrounging for gold dust. Stories of people striking big come in often enough to motivate everyone to keep at it, despite the times they nearly die. This story is written without dialogue punctuation, and Donoghue writes so well, I never even noticed till now!
In "The Long Way Home" (Wickenburg, Arizona, 1873), weather-beaten, trouser-wearing Mollie Sanger goes into the bar to drag out Jensen, who left his pregnant wife and children at their dig to spend their meagre gold haul on booze, ties him to his horse and takes him back. Mollie, like all the characters in Astray, was a real woman, and ended up in a mental institute, probably because of her habit of wearing men's clothes.
The plot to abduct Abraham Lincoln's body from his tomb to hold for ransom against the release of a master counterfeiter from jail is the object of "The Body Swap" (Chicago, 1876); little does the small group of men know but not all of them can be trusted. The details of what happened to the characters, in particular Morrissey, after the events of this story are as interesting as the story itself.
If there was one story that made me want to cry more than all the others, it was "The Gift" (Jersey City, 1877). A common practice of the time was to leave young children with the Children's Aid Society when a family fell on hard times; the CAS would adopt the children out to prosperous families in the country, never mind that the parents want the children back. Sarah Bell is a widow struggling to provide for her baby, Lily May Bell. Her attempts to get the child back, especially after she's been farmed out to Mr and Mrs Bassett, a sheriff and his wife, become increasingly desperate as the years go by. Told in letters from Sarah and Mr Basset, the story of Lily May who never knew her real mother really tore at my gut.
In "The Lost Seed" (Cape Cod, 1639), we read the words of Richard Berry, who writes in the margins of his Bible, speaking of the sin and fornication he sees around him in his Puritan settlement, the people he denounces for wickedness, until eventually he recognises that it is he who, sexually repressed, yearns for a man's touch. This is a finely tuned story, another voice cunningly wrought, a place and time skilfully rendered.
"Vanitas" takes us VAcherie, Louisiana in 1839, where fourteen year old Aimée wiles away her days on the family plantation, stealing up to the attic between lessons with her Tante Fanny, where she discovers a trunk of exquisite dresses that once belonged to her cousin Eliza, who died while on holiday in France. The truth of what happened to Eliza and why her aunt never leaves her room is life-changing for Aimée.
In "The Hunt" (Hopewell, New Jersey, 1776), we learn about the practice of the European soldiers of raping - often en masse - the girls and women of the area, through the eyes of a fifteen year old soldier from Germany, who is being forced to prove himself a man by forcing a woman. As one of the soldiers puts it, "I hate the thought of leaving a single maidenhead in the fucking State of New Jersey." (p.219) It's chilling, and as a woman, easily the scariest story here. I had no idea the practice was, well, a practice, and so systematic. The British troops certainly didn't win anyone over.
When Doctor Gallagher dies, leaving his daughter Imelda "Minnie" Hall an orphan in "Daddy's Girl" (New York City, 1901), Minnie discovers that her father is not really her father at all. Perhaps he is actually her mother; they do share some features, after all. What's clear is that "daddy" is not a man, and Minnie is forced to rethink everything she thought she knew.
In "What Remains" (Newmarket, Ontario, 1967), two once-renowned female artists originally from the States are spending their last days in a nursing home in Ontario. Florence Wyle does her best to help her close friend Queenie (France Loring) to remember the past, but the younger woman is senile and muddled as dementia sets in. It's left to Florence to recall their life together, since they met in a modelling class sixty years ago. When she recounted the commission Queenie worked on to mark the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Way (a major highway that goes through Toronto), I immediately perked up my mind. She carved a lifesize lion at the entrance - it has since been moved, and is now in the park between Lake Shore Road and the lake, but you can see it as you leave Lake Shore to get onto the QEW - and it is very impressive. I'm even more taken by it now I know a bit about who made it (when do we ever think about the artist behind a sculpture?).
Lastly, in the Afterword, Donoghue takes us through each of the stories and their connection to her running theme, "astray". But at the end of each story is a passage explaining the inspiration behind the story, and filling in some of the gaps - like what happened to the people later.
In each and every story, Donoghue displays her impressive literary talent, her ability at capturing unique voices, at sharing experiences in such a way that the people in these stories could be living and breathing right next to you as you read. Likewise I am impressed with the amount of research that must go into collections like this one, that covers different time periods - the historical details that enrich each story.
Astray is a beautiful collection of stories that are both uplifting and grim - gritty in that way of realism without being constrained by it; showing the true human experience in so many forms, revealing that essential truism that our lives are vivid patchworks of joys and sorrows, hopes and fears. Whether you've been an immigrant yourself or not, you will be able to relate to these stories and characters, because threading its way through these stories that are at once familiar and strange, is that fine element of going astray, veering off course either through action or outside forces, of trying to find your way again, or a new way altogether. A must read for anyone looking for exceptional historical fiction by a truly gifted writer.
In "Man and Boy" (London, 1882), Matthew Scott chats to his charge, Jumbo the elephant, as he tries to get the elephant onto the ship that will take him to America where he will work in a circus. The running dialogue in Scott's voice is yet another showcase of Donoghue's impressive ability to capture the individual and create a distinctive voice.
"Onward" (London, 1854), introduces us to Caroline, a young orphaned woman who was once middle class but has fallen on hard times. To help keep her younger brother Fred and her toddler daughter Pet, she takes in gentlemen callers two or three times a day, trying to protect her child and her brother from the reality of their circumstances. A chance arrives when Fred tells her of an important man who helps people like them emigrate to Canada and Australia, and Caroline must decide whether she will leave the safety of predictability and shelter for the unknown.
The lawyer in "The Widow's Cruse" (New York City, 1735) thinks he's struck gold when a naive, beautiful young widow comes to him for help in claiming her husband's wealth after a report of his death en route to Connecticut. But Huddlestone learns the hard way never to underestimate a woman, or be led astray by his own narrow opinion of their intellect (or his greed).
In "Last Supper at Brown's (Texas, 1864), Donoghue recreates the day when Mrs Brown ran off with the last household black servant, Negro Brown, after Marse Brown, head of the household and a man much disliked, decides to sell him. Mrs Brown sees her own opportunity to leave him when Brown tells her his intention to run away, and is complicit in the plan to make sure Marse can't follow them.
Jane Johnson and her children are on their way to rejoin her husband, Henry, in Montreal in "Counting the Days" (Gulf of Saint Lawrence, 1849). Treasured letters, much read, link them together across the seas, but Jane is unaware that on the day she arrives, Henry fell ill with cholera and she's all alone, again.
Two young, inexperienced gold prospectors in "Snowblind" (The Yukon, 1896), struggle through their first winter in their hut beside a creek, scrounging for gold dust. Stories of people striking big come in often enough to motivate everyone to keep at it, despite the times they nearly die. This story is written without dialogue punctuation, and Donoghue writes so well, I never even noticed till now!
In "The Long Way Home" (Wickenburg, Arizona, 1873), weather-beaten, trouser-wearing Mollie Sanger goes into the bar to drag out Jensen, who left his pregnant wife and children at their dig to spend their meagre gold haul on booze, ties him to his horse and takes him back. Mollie, like all the characters in Astray, was a real woman, and ended up in a mental institute, probably because of her habit of wearing men's clothes.
The plot to abduct Abraham Lincoln's body from his tomb to hold for ransom against the release of a master counterfeiter from jail is the object of "The Body Swap" (Chicago, 1876); little does the small group of men know but not all of them can be trusted. The details of what happened to the characters, in particular Morrissey, after the events of this story are as interesting as the story itself.
If there was one story that made me want to cry more than all the others, it was "The Gift" (Jersey City, 1877). A common practice of the time was to leave young children with the Children's Aid Society when a family fell on hard times; the CAS would adopt the children out to prosperous families in the country, never mind that the parents want the children back. Sarah Bell is a widow struggling to provide for her baby, Lily May Bell. Her attempts to get the child back, especially after she's been farmed out to Mr and Mrs Bassett, a sheriff and his wife, become increasingly desperate as the years go by. Told in letters from Sarah and Mr Basset, the story of Lily May who never knew her real mother really tore at my gut.
In "The Lost Seed" (Cape Cod, 1639), we read the words of Richard Berry, who writes in the margins of his Bible, speaking of the sin and fornication he sees around him in his Puritan settlement, the people he denounces for wickedness, until eventually he recognises that it is he who, sexually repressed, yearns for a man's touch. This is a finely tuned story, another voice cunningly wrought, a place and time skilfully rendered.
Benjamin Hammon said to Teague Joanes that Sarah Norman told his wife I was an old killjoy.
It matters not.
Sin creeps around like a fog in the night. Too many of us forget to be watchful. Too many have left their doors open to for the Tempter to slip in. I puzzle over it as I lie on my bed in the darkness, but I cannot telly why stinking lusts and things fearful to name should arise so commonly among us. It may be that our strict laws stop up the channel of wickedness, but it searches everywhere and at last breaks out worse than before.
I consider it my pressing business to stand sentry. Where vice crawls out of the shadows, I shine a light on it. Death still seizes so many of our flock each winter, we cannot spare a single soul among the survivors. Better I should anger my neighbor than stand by and watch the Tempter puck up his soul as the eagle fastens on the lamb. Better I should be spurned and despised, and feel myself to be entirely alone on this earth, than that I should relinquish my holy labor. They call me killjoy, but let them tell me this, what business have with joy? What time have we to spare for joy, and what have we done to deserve it? [pp.180-181]
"Vanitas" takes us VAcherie, Louisiana in 1839, where fourteen year old Aimée wiles away her days on the family plantation, stealing up to the attic between lessons with her Tante Fanny, where she discovers a trunk of exquisite dresses that once belonged to her cousin Eliza, who died while on holiday in France. The truth of what happened to Eliza and why her aunt never leaves her room is life-changing for Aimée.
In "The Hunt" (Hopewell, New Jersey, 1776), we learn about the practice of the European soldiers of raping - often en masse - the girls and women of the area, through the eyes of a fifteen year old soldier from Germany, who is being forced to prove himself a man by forcing a woman. As one of the soldiers puts it, "I hate the thought of leaving a single maidenhead in the fucking State of New Jersey." (p.219) It's chilling, and as a woman, easily the scariest story here. I had no idea the practice was, well, a practice, and so systematic. The British troops certainly didn't win anyone over.
When Doctor Gallagher dies, leaving his daughter Imelda "Minnie" Hall an orphan in "Daddy's Girl" (New York City, 1901), Minnie discovers that her father is not really her father at all. Perhaps he is actually her mother; they do share some features, after all. What's clear is that "daddy" is not a man, and Minnie is forced to rethink everything she thought she knew.
In "What Remains" (Newmarket, Ontario, 1967), two once-renowned female artists originally from the States are spending their last days in a nursing home in Ontario. Florence Wyle does her best to help her close friend Queenie (France Loring) to remember the past, but the younger woman is senile and muddled as dementia sets in. It's left to Florence to recall their life together, since they met in a modelling class sixty years ago. When she recounted the commission Queenie worked on to mark the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Way (a major highway that goes through Toronto), I immediately perked up my mind. She carved a lifesize lion at the entrance - it has since been moved, and is now in the park between Lake Shore Road and the lake, but you can see it as you leave Lake Shore to get onto the QEW - and it is very impressive. I'm even more taken by it now I know a bit about who made it (when do we ever think about the artist behind a sculpture?).
Lastly, in the Afterword, Donoghue takes us through each of the stories and their connection to her running theme, "astray". But at the end of each story is a passage explaining the inspiration behind the story, and filling in some of the gaps - like what happened to the people later.
In each and every story, Donoghue displays her impressive literary talent, her ability at capturing unique voices, at sharing experiences in such a way that the people in these stories could be living and breathing right next to you as you read. Likewise I am impressed with the amount of research that must go into collections like this one, that covers different time periods - the historical details that enrich each story.
Astray is a beautiful collection of stories that are both uplifting and grim - gritty in that way of realism without being constrained by it; showing the true human experience in so many forms, revealing that essential truism that our lives are vivid patchworks of joys and sorrows, hopes and fears. Whether you've been an immigrant yourself or not, you will be able to relate to these stories and characters, because threading its way through these stories that are at once familiar and strange, is that fine element of going astray, veering off course either through action or outside forces, of trying to find your way again, or a new way altogether. A must read for anyone looking for exceptional historical fiction by a truly gifted writer.
January 21, 2013
-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 imprint on our history of the last few centuries. She respectively tells their stories in different mannerisms all the while in character, staying true to the era’s use of language, lifestyle and places.
An example being, a documented, real story of love letters between two lovers, Emma has taken what was documented and already known about these people; where they lived, why the letters were being written, and has taken the scribed words and created a back story of how the lovers must have felt being apart for so long, how they were feeling, from their point of view, as they wrote the letter to their S/O, what was happening between each letter when they weren’t writing.
I have fallen in love with this book, maybe even inspired by a few of the stories myself. I recommend this to anyone who has a passion for history and adventure.
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 imprint on our history of the last few centuries. She respectively tells their stories in different mannerisms all the while in character, staying true to the era’s use of language, lifestyle and places.
An example being, a documented, real story of love letters between two lovers, Emma has taken what was documented and already known about these people; where they lived, why the letters were being written, and has taken the scribed words and created a back story of how the lovers must have felt being apart for so long, how they were feeling, from their point of view, as they wrote the letter to their S/O, what was happening between each letter when they weren’t writing.
I have fallen in love with this book, maybe even inspired by a few of the stories myself. I recommend this to anyone who has a passion for history and adventure.
December 21, 2012
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 out in this book is that characters can be fully imagined in a few short pages - and those same characters can stay with you long after the story is read. These characters were mysterious, bold, broken, conniving and many other attributes, but each character felt real.
I also loved the tidbits at the end of each story telling you the historical basis for the imagined events. These factual platforms that the author used as a jumping off point for her stories showed something the reader rarely glimpses: the spark that ignites the story.
I found Astray the perfect companion for this time of year: read a story or two and then get back to baking, shopping or whatever tasks await you. Even if you prefer your fiction in longer form, I think you'll find these stories worth your time.
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 out in this book is that characters can be fully imagined in a few short pages - and those same characters can stay with you long after the story is read. These characters were mysterious, bold, broken, conniving and many other attributes, but each character felt real.
I also loved the tidbits at the end of each story telling you the historical basis for the imagined events. These factual platforms that the author used as a jumping off point for her stories showed something the reader rarely glimpses: the spark that ignites the story.
I found Astray the perfect companion for this time of year: read a story or two and then get back to baking, shopping or whatever tasks await you. Even if you prefer your fiction in longer form, I think you'll find these stories worth your time.
November 11, 2012
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 characters or just those that are lost. Really enjoyed this book and recommend for all short story readers.
July 24, 2025
We live in a world of migrants.
This statement may seem to be hyperbolic at first glance, but I request you to think a little on it. Ever since homo sapiens evolved in Africa, humanity has been on the move. In the initial days, in the days of nomadic living, it was as migrants, or in some cases, encroachers. Later, after the beginning of agriculture and the formation of human settlements, it was as explorers - who later became conquerors, pillagers and ultimately, the new settlers. After the formation of the nation states, people moved to new countries in search of a better life as expatriates, or fleeing persecution as refugees.
In Astray, Emma Donoghue looks at a bunch of such migrants across the centuries. In these short vignettes, she talks about all the categories mentioned above - plus a few who travelled across the borders of identities. All the stories except one are based on "historical" incidents - the quotes highlighting the fact that the veracity of that history may be open to debate. What the author has done here is to take any item she fancied from recorded sources - be it a proper biography, a bunch of letters, or even a news clipping - and create her story around it. The names in the records become thinking, living characters. It's fiction which grows around a kernel of truth, like a pearl inside an oyster.
Many of these shorts can be made into full-length novels. But that is not Ms. Donoghue's intention. By highlighting instances of people who go "astray", she invites us to think about our own migrant lives, shifting across countries, identities and beliefs: also of the author who is a permanent migrant in the world of letters.
A brilliant book.
This statement may seem to be hyperbolic at first glance, but I request you to think a little on it. Ever since homo sapiens evolved in Africa, humanity has been on the move. In the initial days, in the days of nomadic living, it was as migrants, or in some cases, encroachers. Later, after the beginning of agriculture and the formation of human settlements, it was as explorers - who later became conquerors, pillagers and ultimately, the new settlers. After the formation of the nation states, people moved to new countries in search of a better life as expatriates, or fleeing persecution as refugees.
In Astray, Emma Donoghue looks at a bunch of such migrants across the centuries. In these short vignettes, she talks about all the categories mentioned above - plus a few who travelled across the borders of identities. All the stories except one are based on "historical" incidents - the quotes highlighting the fact that the veracity of that history may be open to debate. What the author has done here is to take any item she fancied from recorded sources - be it a proper biography, a bunch of letters, or even a news clipping - and create her story around it. The names in the records become thinking, living characters. It's fiction which grows around a kernel of truth, like a pearl inside an oyster.
Many of these shorts can be made into full-length novels. But that is not Ms. Donoghue's intention. By highlighting instances of people who go "astray", she invites us to think about our own migrant lives, shifting across countries, identities and beliefs: also of the author who is a permanent migrant in the world of letters.
A brilliant book.
February 18, 2016
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, as I did find a few I really enjoyed. They took more chances and the voice was more compelling. Finally, that last story in the book, "What Remains," was worth more than the paltry sum I paid. A first-person narrative told from the pov of sculptor and poet Florence Wyle, and her probable partner, sculptor Frances Loring. We come in at the end of their lives when they are in a nursing home. It's richly told, poignant, and memorable.
Having said that, I'm glad I continued on, as I did find a few I really enjoyed. They took more chances and the voice was more compelling. Finally, that last story in the book, "What Remains," was worth more than the paltry sum I paid. A first-person narrative told from the pov of sculptor and poet Florence Wyle, and her probable partner, sculptor Frances Loring. We come in at the end of their lives when they are in a nursing home. It's richly told, poignant, and memorable.
June 14, 2013
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 always planning to get her back, and the farming couple who adopt the child and raise her as their own after picking her up from an Orphan Train), “Daddy’s Girl” (young woman finds out her father is actually a woman upon his death in 1901 NYC), and “The Lost Seed” (an unreliable narrator – bitter, uptight, judgmental Puritan who accuses his neighbors of sins they did and did not commit; one of my favorites because the narrator is so awful but in a very intriguing way for a narrator– and he gets his come-uppance).
There's a lot of tragedy (although also some happiness!) in these stories, but the most brutal for me was “The Hunt,” which was about British soldiers committing systematic rape of the local women during the Revolution.
It’s incredibly impressive what Donoghue does – she crosses times and locations all over the US and Canada, from the 17th to the 20th century. And so seamlessly!
My favorites were: “The Gift” (heartbreaking correspondence about a young mother forced to give up her child due to poverty but always planning to get her back, and the farming couple who adopt the child and raise her as their own after picking her up from an Orphan Train), “Daddy’s Girl” (young woman finds out her father is actually a woman upon his death in 1901 NYC), and “The Lost Seed” (an unreliable narrator – bitter, uptight, judgmental Puritan who accuses his neighbors of sins they did and did not commit; one of my favorites because the narrator is so awful but in a very intriguing way for a narrator– and he gets his come-uppance).
There's a lot of tragedy (although also some happiness!) in these stories, but the most brutal for me was “The Hunt,” which was about British soldiers committing systematic rape of the local women during the Revolution.
It’s incredibly impressive what Donoghue does – she crosses times and locations all over the US and Canada, from the 17th to the 20th century. And so seamlessly!
October 1, 2017
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 physically, emotionally, through time or through faith. It could also cover a very large elephant. One story--about rape as a war crime and child soldiers during the Revolution War of all things--won an award.
Donoghue has an afterword which adds more clues to symbols' meaning for an added layer of amateur criticism.
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 physically, emotionally, through time or through faith. It could also cover a very large elephant. One story--about rape as a war crime and child soldiers during the Revolution War of all things--won an award.
Donoghue has an afterword which adds more clues to symbols' meaning for an added layer of amateur criticism.
November 3, 2012
When I read an author I admire, I often wonder what inspires their stories. Emma Donoghue provides the answers in this wonderful collection of historical fiction shorts about castaways, immigrants and lost souls. Each story contains an afterward referencing her inspiration -- sometimes a newspaper article, sometimes a moment in history or famous court cases.
I appreciated reading the fiction story first, falling enveloped into the tiny worlds Donoghue created in a few short pages, before I knew the germ of the fact that inspired her writing. Finishing the whole collection in one day, I greedily moved from one story to the next, soaking up the atmosphere that holds the whole book together.
For all the praise and noterierty Room brought Donoghue a couple years ago, Astray is a return to her earlier work. The characters all seem smeared in Dickensian grime, the streets are dirty and unfriendly, and the outcomes are rarely pleasant.
No tidy bows, no pat solutions to life's challenges -- just good, tight stories about interesting characters.
Loved it.
I appreciated reading the fiction story first, falling enveloped into the tiny worlds Donoghue created in a few short pages, before I knew the germ of the fact that inspired her writing. Finishing the whole collection in one day, I greedily moved from one story to the next, soaking up the atmosphere that holds the whole book together.
For all the praise and noterierty Room brought Donoghue a couple years ago, Astray is a return to her earlier work. The characters all seem smeared in Dickensian grime, the streets are dirty and unfriendly, and the outcomes are rarely pleasant.
No tidy bows, no pat solutions to life's challenges -- just good, tight stories about interesting characters.
Loved it.
March 6, 2014
Starting Sunday 18th November on Radio 4
BBC blurb: Four short stories from Emma Donoghue's new collection Astray. These fact-inspired fictions, about travels to, in and from North America, focus on emigrants, runaways or drifters all gone astray for love or money, under duress or incognito. Emma's compassionate imagination crosses borders of race, law, sex, and sanity bringing the reader through a scattered scrap-book of history.
Man and Boy, read by Richard Lumsden, is a love story between two lifelong companions facing involuntary emigration in 1882 London. Two mutually devoted mammals who find their only lasting sense of home in each other.
Dublin born Emma Donoghue is an emigrant twice over; she spent eight years in Cambridge doing a PHD before moving to southwest Ontario where she now lives. Emma is probably best known for her international bestseller Room, winner of the Roger's Writers' Trust Fiction prize and the Hughes & Hughes Irish novel of the year and a finalist for the Man Booker. Emma has also written The Sealed Letter, Landing, Life Mask alongside many short story collections, most recently Three and a Half Deaths. Emma has also written drama for radio, theatre and screen.
Man and Boy was abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Laura Conway
November 3, 2014
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. In fact there is a lot of border crossing of all kinds: homosexuality, cross-dressing, slaves running away with mistresses etc. After each story Donoghue comments on her sources. I found the stories mostly good, with a couple outstanding (the best - for me - being 'The Hunt' about a young press ganged recruit forced to conform to the brutalities of war in New Jersy during the war of independence), but one or two didn't grip..
June 1, 2014
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 points she finds interesting tend to bore me, so I don't think I'll read the novel, but am very glad I listened to this.
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 points she finds interesting tend to bore me, so I don't think I'll read the novel, but am very glad I listened to this.
January 6, 2023
great way to start this year in books.
update: after reading the afterword, it deserves 2 stars for the interesting idea.
update: after reading the afterword, it deserves 2 stars for the interesting idea.
September 5, 2024
Interesting short stories based on historical events. I like that there was information about the inspiration of the story at the end
October 14, 2024
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 Spoilers* Man and Boy: Jumbo the elephant and his loving zoo keeper are about to travel to the US. Onward: A lovely story of second chances and a promise of a clean slate through immigration. The Widow's Cruse: The widow is not what she seems and plays the lawyer beautifully. Although you never find out why she did it- I was rooting for her to escape. Last Supper at Brown's: Another story of an unlikely duo getting away with a crime. Counting The Days: So, so sad. The couple was so close to being reunited and there was no way to get a message to the wife to tell her what happened. The letters between the two showed both a loving but realistic marriage. Snowblind: A Yukon Brokeback Mountain story. The Long Way Home: A melancholy story of the limited options many women had and how they suffered because of their men's choices. At first, I misinterpreted the last scene between Mollie and Jensen, but even after I understood, I didn't know why Mollie would want that. The Body Swap: A crime against President Lincoln's tomb is thwarted. The Gift: Heartbreaking story about adoption through the Orphan Trains. I saw both parent's perspectives and had sympathy for both viewpoints. The Lost Seed: Plymouth era story of a closeted gay man who projected sins onto others and tried to cast blame on them. Vanitas: Selfish, selfish family. I cringed at the breeding comment about the slaves they owned. The Hunt: This was the most difficult story to read for it was about systematic rape that some English soldiers inflicted on women in NJ during the Revolutionary War. The men were a pack of rabid dogs and no one in command stopped them -sickening but historically accurate. Daddy's Girl: How did any one not know? What Remains: A long-term friendship between female artists and the partnership they forged ends when one of them 'leaves' through her dementia.
This book review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2017/02/1...
*Some Spoilers* Man and Boy: Jumbo the elephant and his loving zoo keeper are about to travel to the US. Onward: A lovely story of second chances and a promise of a clean slate through immigration. The Widow's Cruse: The widow is not what she seems and plays the lawyer beautifully. Although you never find out why she did it- I was rooting for her to escape. Last Supper at Brown's: Another story of an unlikely duo getting away with a crime. Counting The Days: So, so sad. The couple was so close to being reunited and there was no way to get a message to the wife to tell her what happened. The letters between the two showed both a loving but realistic marriage. Snowblind: A Yukon Brokeback Mountain story. The Long Way Home: A melancholy story of the limited options many women had and how they suffered because of their men's choices. At first, I misinterpreted the last scene between Mollie and Jensen, but even after I understood, I didn't know why Mollie would want that. The Body Swap: A crime against President Lincoln's tomb is thwarted. The Gift: Heartbreaking story about adoption through the Orphan Trains. I saw both parent's perspectives and had sympathy for both viewpoints. The Lost Seed: Plymouth era story of a closeted gay man who projected sins onto others and tried to cast blame on them. Vanitas: Selfish, selfish family. I cringed at the breeding comment about the slaves they owned. The Hunt: This was the most difficult story to read for it was about systematic rape that some English soldiers inflicted on women in NJ during the Revolutionary War. The men were a pack of rabid dogs and no one in command stopped them -sickening but historically accurate. Daddy's Girl: How did any one not know? What Remains: A long-term friendship between female artists and the partnership they forged ends when one of them 'leaves' through her dementia.
This book review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2017/02/1...
August 19, 2012
I've never read Donoghue's longer fiction, but I love her stories. In this collection, as in The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits: Stories, she includes detailed story notes. Each piece jumps off from a news clipping or other factual source. It's great fun to try to figure out what the grain of truth is inside each work of fiction. Most of the stories are somewhat bittersweet; after all, who makes the news? A few are from the other type of news, surprising deceptions carried out on an individual or group. I did feel a bit of distance from most of the stories, even as I enjoyed them, but a few were very moving, particularly those in the last section of the book. The last story in particular - the only one set in the latter half of the twentieth century - had a very Alice Munro feel to it, a comparison I consider to be a high compliment.
January 12, 2013
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 emotional or financial support, hoping for a better life.
The stories are set as early as the 17th Century and as late as the 20th Century. Most of the stories show people immigrating to Canada or the USA, or traveling to unexplored territory in these countries. The author herself has immigrated from Ireland to England, and eventually to Ontario, Canada.
The stories are set as early as the 17th Century and as late as the 20th Century. Most of the stories show people immigrating to Canada or the USA, or traveling to unexplored territory in these countries. The author herself has immigrated from Ireland to England, and eventually to Ontario, Canada.
October 25, 2012
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 historical fact and are told over a wide range of eras. The earliest story, about a zealous tattler who accuses everyone around him of homosexual acts only to learn that he himself is closeted, is set in 1639. The latest story is set in Toronto (New Market, specifically) in the 1960's.
The subject matter runs the gamut in this book. There is the story of a slave that tricks his master and runs away with his master's wife. There is a story set during the Yukon gold-rush which is actually a love story between two miners... reminded me of a colder "Brokeback Mountain". There is a rather disturbing tale set during the War of independence that reveals how the systematic rape of women was a key "strategy" that the British used to fight their war on the rebels. But I think two stories stood out the most for me. The first story int he collection is told from the perspective of the man that cared for Jumbo the elephant in Britain, before the animal was sold to Barnum. I liked this story because it makes the reader a character in the story, and the character you play is.... the elephant! The second story which really stood out for me was "Daddy's Girl" in which a young lady is mourning over the body of her dead father, the very famous democrat, Murray Hall, whom, posthumously, was revealed to be a woman.
Each story is followed-up with a quick postscript that explains the historical accuracy of the preceding story and provides further context to why the author chose to tell the story.
Ultimately, Emma Donoghue is a brilliant writer. Each story has a nugget of mystery at its core, and most of the stories are told from an unconventional perspective which draws the reader in.... again, I am thinking of the Jumbo the Elephant story. Her unique voice and style puts Emma Donoghue at the top of her writing class. The stories in this volume are so finely crafted, that readers may have difficulty putting the book down once it is opened. Highly recommended.
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 historical fact and are told over a wide range of eras. The earliest story, about a zealous tattler who accuses everyone around him of homosexual acts only to learn that he himself is closeted, is set in 1639. The latest story is set in Toronto (New Market, specifically) in the 1960's.
The subject matter runs the gamut in this book. There is the story of a slave that tricks his master and runs away with his master's wife. There is a story set during the Yukon gold-rush which is actually a love story between two miners... reminded me of a colder "Brokeback Mountain". There is a rather disturbing tale set during the War of independence that reveals how the systematic rape of women was a key "strategy" that the British used to fight their war on the rebels. But I think two stories stood out the most for me. The first story int he collection is told from the perspective of the man that cared for Jumbo the elephant in Britain, before the animal was sold to Barnum. I liked this story because it makes the reader a character in the story, and the character you play is.... the elephant! The second story which really stood out for me was "Daddy's Girl" in which a young lady is mourning over the body of her dead father, the very famous democrat, Murray Hall, whom, posthumously, was revealed to be a woman.
Each story is followed-up with a quick postscript that explains the historical accuracy of the preceding story and provides further context to why the author chose to tell the story.
Ultimately, Emma Donoghue is a brilliant writer. Each story has a nugget of mystery at its core, and most of the stories are told from an unconventional perspective which draws the reader in.... again, I am thinking of the Jumbo the Elephant story. Her unique voice and style puts Emma Donoghue at the top of her writing class. The stories in this volume are so finely crafted, that readers may have difficulty putting the book down once it is opened. Highly recommended.
November 19, 2012
3.5 stars. I was really excited for this book! Donoghue's "Room" was one of my favorite reads last year so when I heard that Donoghue's Astray was coming out, I knew that I had to read this book. Now short stories are not usually my favorite but because of the writing in "Room," I gave this book a shot. I was definitely pleased and I know that in the future, Emma Donoghue will continue to be on my must read. Now to go back and read her backlist...
This book is all about journeys of all different kinds. The stories take place across all different times and different places. What I found really interesting is that after each story, there is a small sort of "afterword" about where Donoghue found the inspiration to write each different story. I often find myself wondering where authors come up with their stories so I loved each of these "afterwords." Perhaps even more interesting is that most of the stories are rooted in non-fiction stories.
The writing that drew me in to "Room" was still present in "Astray" but this is a very different book. I liked some of the stories better than others. All of the stories are very different from each other and there are not really any connections between them other than the theme of journeys. I wish there had been more ties between the different stories. One of the most interesting to me was about a woman who is forced to give up her daughter due to really terrible life circumstances. Her daughter goes to the orphanage and then on one of the orphan trains that were so popular long ago. The mother keeps up a correspondence with the people who ran the orphanage to try to get news about her daughter throughout her life to no avail. It was very sad!
Bottom line: Good writing!
This book is all about journeys of all different kinds. The stories take place across all different times and different places. What I found really interesting is that after each story, there is a small sort of "afterword" about where Donoghue found the inspiration to write each different story. I often find myself wondering where authors come up with their stories so I loved each of these "afterwords." Perhaps even more interesting is that most of the stories are rooted in non-fiction stories.
The writing that drew me in to "Room" was still present in "Astray" but this is a very different book. I liked some of the stories better than others. All of the stories are very different from each other and there are not really any connections between them other than the theme of journeys. I wish there had been more ties between the different stories. One of the most interesting to me was about a woman who is forced to give up her daughter due to really terrible life circumstances. Her daughter goes to the orphanage and then on one of the orphan trains that were so popular long ago. The mother keeps up a correspondence with the people who ran the orphanage to try to get news about her daughter throughout her life to no avail. It was very sad!
Bottom line: Good writing!
January 8, 2013
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 without fail, the language exquisite, and the emotion depicted real. What makes the collection special is that Donoghue bases her stories on factual, documented accounts, and at the end of each story provides a historical note. I got a kick out of the notes as much as I enjoyed the stories themselves.
My absolute favorite is "The Hunt", set in New Jersey circa 1776. A young German soldier is fighting for the redcoats for nothing but the coat and boots. His fellow redcoats rove the country searching for women to rape. He resists, and has noble intentions towards a girl he finds hiding in a farmhouse, but for how long? The final passage is quietly devastating. The stories "Counting the Days", where a young wife travels from a potato blight struck Ireland to Canada to meet her husband, who is impatiently waiting for her before tragedy strikes, and "Vanitas", where a young girl tries to understand the price to pay for vanity, are equally amazing.
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 without fail, the language exquisite, and the emotion depicted real. What makes the collection special is that Donoghue bases her stories on factual, documented accounts, and at the end of each story provides a historical note. I got a kick out of the notes as much as I enjoyed the stories themselves.
My absolute favorite is "The Hunt", set in New Jersey circa 1776. A young German soldier is fighting for the redcoats for nothing but the coat and boots. His fellow redcoats rove the country searching for women to rape. He resists, and has noble intentions towards a girl he finds hiding in a farmhouse, but for how long? The final passage is quietly devastating. The stories "Counting the Days", where a young wife travels from a potato blight struck Ireland to Canada to meet her husband, who is impatiently waiting for her before tragedy strikes, and "Vanitas", where a young girl tries to understand the price to pay for vanity, are equally amazing.
June 8, 2016
In each of these 14 historically dated stories of people in various stages of transition, ED has taken as her inspiration the often slender documentation of their passage in newpapers and magazine references. A few of the stories that have more extensive documentation seem the most far-fetched, like the first story which tells of the bull elephant Jumbo and his mahoot, and Daddy's girl (Oh, Daddy, was any of it true?) A few of the stories are apocryphal, and these are the most disturbing stories of all.
In fact, I hated three of these stories, but they may be the most important. ED does seem to love to disturb. Her penchant for the oft-derided and misunderstood characters allows the reader to see through their eyes and her concise portraits give much food for thought.
The result here is a fascinating stew of experience dished out with fearless candor and a generous empathy.
In fact, I hated three of these stories, but they may be the most important. ED does seem to love to disturb. Her penchant for the oft-derided and misunderstood characters allows the reader to see through their eyes and her concise portraits give much food for thought.
The result here is a fascinating stew of experience dished out with fearless candor and a generous empathy.
February 16, 2025
1.5 stars
First of all I'm not much into short stories. Secondly I have a hard time focusing on audiobooks, so it has to be really gripping for me to keep interested. That was definitely not the case with these short stories. The part I liked best was the background information at the end of each story.
Man and boy *
Onward *
The Widow’s Cruse **
Last supper *
Counting the days *
Snowblind *
The long way home *
The body swap ***
The gift **.5
The last seed *
Vanitas *
The Hunt *
Daddy’s girl **
What remains *
First of all I'm not much into short stories. Secondly I have a hard time focusing on audiobooks, so it has to be really gripping for me to keep interested. That was definitely not the case with these short stories. The part I liked best was the background information at the end of each story.
Man and boy *
Onward *
The Widow’s Cruse **
Last supper *
Counting the days *
Snowblind *
The long way home *
The body swap ***
The gift **.5
The last seed *
Vanitas *
The Hunt *
Daddy’s girl **
What remains *
July 12, 2015
This book of historical documentary fiction - a series of short stories imagining the lives and significant events of real lives - has redeemed Emma Donoghue for me as a writer (wasn't a big fan of Room at all). It's also made me realize she's written a lot more than just the one novel. The brief commentary on each story is quite fascinating and very controlled - nothing self indulgent here.
July 13, 2019
I loved Room. I really did. But since then, every book I read from this author is a deception. Nothing achieve what she has done with Room. I still got The Wonder at home so I will gonna read this one eventually but if she doesn't impress me, that will probably be the last one I read from her!
August 12, 2018
Emma Donoghue has not yet failed to enthrall me. This is the fifth of her books I have read, but the first that is a collection of short stories. The stories are all drawn from little historical tidbits, in some cases only a line or two in an old newspaper. I found them fascinating and I loved how she connected them all together with the idea of straying, moving, emigrating. She’s a brilliant contemporary writer.
July 11, 2019
Een heel mooi boekje met hele mooie historische verhalen, waarvan sommigen me lang bij zullen blijven.
December 2, 2023
A really interesting anthology, with an insightful afterword by the author. Short story lovers will enjoy. My personal favourites were 'The Widow's Cruse', 'Man and Boy' and 'Daddy's Girl'.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,180 reviews