The awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to the Canadian writer Alice Munro in 2013 confirmed her position as a master of the short story form. This book explores Munros work from a full range of critical perspectives focussing on three of her most popular and important published collections Hateship Friendship Courtship Loveship Marriage 2001 Runaway 2004 and her final collection Dear Life 2012. With chapters written by the worlds leading critics of Munros work the short story form and contemporary Canadian writing this book explores such themes as love and marriage sex fate gender and humor in her writings as well as her approaches to narrative form and autobiography. In these three late collections Munro sharply articulates again and again the mysteries of being itself.