Runaway HorseRunaway Horse is a 1978 novella by the German writer Martin Walser.PlotTwo men facing midlife crisis, Klaus Buch and Helmut Halm, are old school friends and meet by chance during vacation with their wives at Lake Constance. Their socialising during the vacation turns into a power struggle. Klaus boasts about his manliness whereas Helmut has come to terms with his ordinary and uneventful life.ReceptionRunaway Horse was an immediate bestseller in Germany. It was published in an English translation by Leila Vennewitz in 1987.AdaptationThe novella is the basis for the 2007 film Runaway Horse.