Too much happiness

Munro's new book of short stories is filled with human beings. Just when you think you've found a character above reproach, though, Munro says to look again, and you find the ice has melted in your hands. You get the sense that Munro is very, very good at seeing into the hearts of people and finding we all come up short. The title is a cruel twist on the stories inside; an objective observer of these lives doesn't find much happiness at all here. But is that really the case? It's something—a little glimmer of happiness, maybe, perhaps some small happiness that comes from making it through troubles—that keeps these people moving along through their difficult lives.