Michael's Book Babble

“When I phoned last night? When I phoned, it had already happened. You brought it all on yourself.”

This little exchange is one of the most haunting, and chilling scenes I’ve read in a story in a long time. I will not reveal which story it is from, nor will I give the scene context. Trust me, you’ll know it when you get to it.

Alice Munro’s collection, Too Much Happiness is the second short story collection of hers that I’ve read. I can say with confidence that she is now my favorite short story writer of all time, as I’ve yet to read a stinker by her. From her two collections, I’ve enjoyed every single story. Sure, I have my favorites. But I haven’t found one that I didn’t like.

What surprised me most about this collection is how dark it is compared to Dear Life. There are some terrible things that happen to her characters in this one, but that makes it even more intriguing. There were scenes that made me uncomfortable and left a lasting impression on me. “Free Radicals” really reminded me of Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

The thing I love most about Munro’s writing is how straight forward it is. Nothing ever comes off as being cryptic. It’s always a nice feeling to enjoy a story and not having to worry about looking it up later to see what in the holy hell you’ve just read. (not that I don’t like a challenge every now and then). There was only one story where I had to look it up because I thought I’d missed something crucial, and it turns out I did. (that story would be “Wenlock Edge,” so be sure to pay full attention especially closer to the end).

I enjoyed every single story in this collection, just as I did with Dear Life. But I do have my favorites. I cannot stress that just because a story isn’t listed on here doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. My favorites/stand-outs are:

Dimensions

Fiction

Wenlock Edge

Free Radicals

Face

Child’s Play

Wood

A little note about the Kindle edition of this book: There are a couple of times where “shed” appears as “she’d.” It’s not enough to ruin the reading experience, but it is definitely a distraction. Especially when you get to the story, “Wood.” It’s a bummer, but I can’t take away points just because the ebook version isn’t perfect. I have the paperback as well and it doesn’t have those mistakes.

This is another superb winner from Munro. I’m really looking forward to reading more of her stories. If you like slice-of-life with a bit of darkness at times, Too Much Happiness is definitely worth checking out.

5 stars