What is "unless"

Unless \Un*less"\, conj. [Formerly, onles, onlesse, onlesse that, that is, in less, in a less case. See On, and Less.] Upon any less condition than (the fact or thing stated in the sentence or clause which follows); if not; supposing that not; if it be not; were it not that; except; as, we shall fail unless we are industrious.

Note: By the omission of the verb in the dependent clause, unless was frequently used prepositionally, -- a construction common in Shakespeare and still employed colloquially.

Here nothing breeds unless the nightly owl.
--Shak.

mid-15c., earlier onlesse, from on lesse (than) "on a less condition (than);" see less. The first syllable originally on, but the negative connotation and the lack of stress changed it to un-. "Except could once be used as a synonym for unless, but the words have now drawn entirely apart" [Century Dictionary].

alt. except on a specified condition; if not. conj. except on a specified condition; if not.

Unless, first published by Fourth Estate, an imprint of Harper Collins in 2002, is the final novel by Canadian writer Carol Shields. Semi-autobiographical, it was the capstone to Shields's writing career: she died shortly after its publication in 2003. The work was widely acclaimed and nominated for the Booker Prize, the Giller Prize, the Governor General's Award, the Orange Prize for Fiction, and received the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In 2011, it was a finalist in the Canada Reads competition, where it was defended by actor Lorne Cardinal. Like many of her works (especially The Stone Diaries), Unless explores the extraordinary that lies within the ordinary lives of ordinary women.

The novel is narrated in first person by 44-year-old writer and translator, Reta Winters. The book proceeds as a linear series of reflections by Reta, elliptically coming to the thematic center of the story: the seemingly arbitrary decision of Reta's college-aged daughter Norah to drop out of university and live on the street with a cardboard sign affixed to her chest that reads "Goodness". Although the novel does not in any way proceed like a mystery, the reasons for Norah's departure from the normal world are Reta's primary motivation in writing. In parallel, her relationship with her French mentor (a Holocaust survivor and poet) drives much of her narration and view of herself.

The novel deals extensively with the role of women and in particular, women's literature. Late in the novel, Reta starts to break from herself and write in character as a disenfranchised female writer. The underlying theme is that the lives of women are underwritten, ignored, and dealt with as "trivial" by the literary establishment. The novel also functions largely as an investigation into the role of writing in general (independent of gender). Reta's grief over her daughter's state makes her very inwardly focussed on the process of writing. A reflection of this is shown in the title of the book and the chapter titles. "Unless" and the chapter titles ("therefore", "else", "instead") are all words that are used to couch the fragmented manner in which life fits together. As Shields writes, "A life is full of isolated events, but these events, if they are to form a coherent narrative, require odd pieces of language to link them together, little chips of grammar (mostly adverbs or prepositions) that are hard to define [...] words like therefore, else, other, also, thereof, therefore, instead, otherwise, despite, already, and not yet."

The novel was adapted into the 2016 film Unless, which stars Catherine Keener as Reta and Hannah Gross as Norah.

Unless is a Canadian- Irish drama film, slated to premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Based on the novel Unless by Carol Shields, the film was directed by Alan Gilsenan.

The film stars Catherine Keener as Reta, a successful writer struggling to deal with her daughter Norah's ( Hannah Gross) decision to drop out of college and live on the streets. The cast also includes Brendan Coyle, Matt Craven, Chloe Rose, Hanna Schygulla, Martha Henry, Linda Kash, Yanna McIntosh and Kathryn Greenwood.