''Too Much Happiness'' is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

collection by Canadian writer

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro (; ; born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Munro's work has been described as revolutionizing the architecture of short stories, especially in its tendency to move f ...

, published on August 25, 2009 by

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was found ...

's Douglas Gibson Books imprint.Books: ''Too Much Happiness'' by Alice Munro
at McClelland and Stewart. The title story is a fictional retelling of the life of the 19th century Russian mathematician and writer

Sofia Kovalevskaya Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya (russian: link=no, Софья Васильевна Ковалевская), born Korvin-Krukovskaya ( – 10 February 1891), was a Russian mathematician who made noteworthy contributions to analysis, partial differen ...

. The book contains ten short stories. Each story outlines the core of its protagonist by narrating selected scenes of that character's life.

Synopsis

There are 10 stories in total: ''Dimensions'', ''Fiction'', ''Wenlock Edge'', ''Deep-Holes'', '' Free Radicals'', ''Face'', ''Some Women'', ''Child's Play'', ''Wood'', and the titular story. ''Dimensions'' focuses on a young girl, Doree, and her relationship with an abusive older man, Lloyd. ''Fiction'' focuses on a woman, Joyce, and her grappling with changing relationships. ''Wenlock Edge'' focuses on an unnamed protagonist, who is coerced into an unwelcome sexual experience. ''Deep-Holes'' focuses on Sally, whose son lives a monastic lifestyle after a traumatic experience. ''Free Radicals'' focuses on Nita, an elderly woman who has to deal with a home intruder. ''Face'' focuses on a boy with a birthmark across his face. ''Some Women'' focuses on the carer of an ill man. ''Child's Play'' focuses on two girls at their summer camp. ''Wood'' focuses on Roy, who obsesses over wood-cutting.

References

2009 short story collections Short story collections by Alice Munro {{2000s-story-collection-stub