I read Alice Munro's Too Much Happiness - the first book this year. I didn't realise that she is a Nobel laureate when I had picked up the book. I had not read anything in months, and just wanted to ease myself into reading by picking up something short, something thin. With a previous recommendation for the author's work, I borrowed this collection of short stories.
The title makes you think that the book must be sad and tragic but the stories are not! Her stories have got a bitterness to them - second marriages, break ups, murders, infidelity. But strangely one does not feel the need to sympathise with the characters or get angry at them. They have all been created perfectly to match their actions.
Bit like dark chocolate - the taste of it lies in it's bitterness. I can only take it in small bites though. May be the author realises this, and hence the stories are all just the right length. She doesn't waste time setting the scene - it is always happening, always in action.
I am not a fan of dark chocolate, but I do like to try everything :)
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