Welcome to Slightly Lively’s Book Club, 2010 edition! For the month of January, I’d like for us to read Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro.

“She hated to hear the word ‘escape’ used about fiction. She might have argued, not just playfully, that it was real life that was the escape. But this was too important to argue about.” Taken from a story called “Free Radicals,” this line may be the best way to think about the lives unfolding in Alice Munro’s Too Much Happiness. Real life assaults her central characters rather brutally–in the forms of murder and madness, death, divorce, and all manner of deceptions–but they respond with a poise and clarity of thought that’s disarming–sometimes, even nonchalant–when you consider their circumstances. Her women move through life, wearing their scars but not so much wearied by them, profoundly intelligent, but also inordinately tender and thoughtful. There’s more fact than fiction to these stories, rich in quiet, precise details that make for a beautiful, bewildering read. -Anne Bartholomew (Amazon)

10 short stories, 31 days to read them.

I’ll post some questions for discussion in the next few days/weeks but don’t restrain your comments to those topics!
Also there will be a giveaway every month, related to the book we’re reading. To participate in the giveaway, just leave at least one comment per book.
I look forward to your suggestions on what to read in the upcoming months! Feel free to leave a comment and introduce yourself so we can all get to know each other.

If you have any questions or suggestions to make the book club awesome, let me know!

Aqui hay un articulo en castellano sobre el libro. Si quieres participar en el club pero no lees en ingles, lee “Secretos a Voces” de Alice Munro y cuentanos lo que te parece.