Silence by Alice Munro (Summary) (2024)

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Summary

Juliet, a local news anchor, is small-time famous. When she arrives at the spiritual commune where she had left her daughter, Penelope, six months earlier, the commune's leader, Joan, softens her up with flattery before she overwhelms her with criticism. Despite a note that promised that she would meet her mother there that day, Penelope is nowhere to be found, Joan says. Juliet leaves crushed and alone.For months and years afterward, Juliet hopes in vain for a call, a letter, anything. Now and then, a blank card comes on a special occasion, but even these stop after a few years. When Penelope was thirteen, she left home on a camping trip with a school friend. In the meantime, Juliet and Eric, her husband, tried to clear the air—apparently, he had cheated on her with Christa, his ex-girlfriend, not once, as he had confessed before, but several times twelve years prior. After one fight, Eric took a boat out to fish. He never came back. His friends gave his mangled body a magnificent cremation on the beach, after which Juliet traveled to British Columbia to tell Penelope. Her daughter's apparent apathy confounded her; Penelope had always spent more time with Eric than her.Months later, Juliet and Penelope moved to Vancouver, and left Eric and their old life behind. But one day, when Juliet saw the seasons changing, the grief finally overwhelmed her. She tried and failed to hide it from her daughter, who took care of her until she recovered.Now, the cards have stopped coming, and Juliet spends her time talking to Christa, who has become a close friend. She blames herself for Penelope's evaporation.But her life goes on, and she finds something like peace. Love interests come and go, as do apartments and jobs, and she finds a passion studying classics. One day, however, Juliet runs into Heather, Penelope's camping trip friend, on the street, who says she has seen Penelope with five kids in Edmonton. Juliet decides not to go looking—all she does is hope against hope and strive for peace.

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