Too Much Happiness Book Review

Major Spoilers are included in this book review. Please read with caution.

On August 15, 2020, I started reading Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro and finished on August 16, 2020. Similar to the Broken Earth Trilogy—The Fifth Season, Obelisk Gate, and The Stone Sky—The Bonesetter’s Daughter, and Atonement, this novel was another Writers’ Group selection. Doing book report submissions have been a great addition to our curriculum, making us better writers and readers at the same time. This novel is a collection of short stories centered around different women looking into their past.

For me, the nine short stories were hit-or-miss, but the plot structures were beautifully put together for all the stories regardless of my personal opinion. Munro’s short stories had this odd sameness to them that made each short story appear the same on the surface—which may sound tiresome or dull—but she always made the structure feel refreshed to a certain extent.

The first story—Dimensions—was a brilliant opener, a short story about a woman named Doree and her abusive husband Lloyd. I thought this short story peeled back the layers on Doree’s mind and her connection to a man that had done nothing but preyed upon her insecurities. Through Doree’s POV and Munro’s brilliant writing, the reader was forced to see how “normalized” this horrible situation is, and why it’s so hard for domestic survivors to truly separate from their abusers.

The last story in the collection—Too Much Happiness—was a poor closer. I thought there wasn’t enough character interactions or context to help me invest in Sophia, and the other characters she encountered weren’t fully fleshed out compared to her other stories’ characters like Doree and Lloyd. However, the middle section’s short stories—like Deep-Holes, Free Radicals, and Child’s Play—were brilliant tales and my personal favorites.

I would highly recommend Too Much Happiness for those into short stories, or if you want something quick—but also thought-provoking—to read. My Writers’ Group made a good choice on picking this book, and I’m looking forward to see what we read next. Thanks for reading my book review, everyone! I’ll see you next time!