3.25 out of 4 stars.

Very deceiving title! This book includes ZERO happiness but the writing is absolutely exquisite. This is my first Munro book that I have read and if any of her other writing examples are this good I know why she is so popular. I do not recommend this book during the holidays though because it is very grim. I do NOT recommend this for the people light of heart because since the writing is so exceptional it does not leave anything to the imagination. The layout is that of 10 short stories all having an underlying concept of “rough terrain”. The first few pages spoke of a husband murdering his three children out of punishment to his wife! Urgh – Happy Thanksgiving!

Do not get me wrong I am not shy toward tough subjects but I do believe there is a right and a wrong time to pick it up. I may have chosen bad timing. However, I cannot speak highly enough of Munro’s decision to write in a short story compilation for this book. My undiagnosed ADD behavior loved being able to be introduced to such magnificently described characters over and over each chapter. In other short stories I have read in the past the author had trouble being able to straddle the line of getting to the climax but also marinating the description of characters so I left not feeling as satisfied as I do after finishing this book. Bravo Munro!

Also with the short story set up it makes it fun to do it as a book group discussion because I am sure everyone will have different opinions on each ending and what clever tricks they caught up on that others may of missed.

You guys are my book club since none of my friends have read this book so just as an FYI my favorite story was “Some Women” because it was the least graphic in the cryptic storyline. Maybe I am being a baby! If any of you have read this drop me a line and let me know which stories were your favorite. I would love to hear about them.