Too Much

For Women Who Do Too Much Page-A-Day 2010 Desk Calendar
$12.99
For Women Who Do Too Much Page-A-Day Desk Calendar: For Women Who Do Too Much is a must-have core title, the perennial favorite that women rely on for a daily dose of wisdom, empathy, focus, and humor. Keep your mind clear with a daily walk. Discover the liberation of ceding control. Read something inspirational before you go to sleep&#151even if it&#146s just one line. Plus the importance of friendship, approaching work as if you love it, striving for balance, So We Are Getting Older, The Issue of Ordinary, and great quotes from Erma Bombeck, Pearl S. Buck, Carol Burnett, and others.

It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff
$15.00
This book goes beyond the usual "decluttering" books... it gets to the root of the hoarding/cluttering habit and leads you in a direction toward a much healthier and happier life! Thanks for sharing your experience and expertise!

Too Much Happiness: Stories
$25.95
It is an honor to review Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro, who I consider the greatest living writer of short stories in the English language. Ms. Munro is Canadian and lives in Clinton, Ontario. During her writing career she has garnered many awards including the Lannan Literary Award, the United States National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Man Booker International Prize. Her stories have been published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, the Atlantic Monthly, as well as many other literary publications. I consider her an icon.

With each book of hers that I have read (and I have read them all!) I think that she has reached her zenith. Yet, with each new publication, I find her newest work better than her previous publications. Her work is glorious. At the rate she's going now, her zenith may be light years away.

I find the metaphor of looking into a tide pool an apt one for describing the stories of Ms. Munro. A tide pool is a microcosm of the ocean, yet it has a certain stasis and life of its own. It is a living organism, relating to the macrocosm of life in many ways. The tide pool contains living species of fish, reptiles and crustaceans, all delineated by their own life cycle which can change with the tides or with the events of weather. Ms. Munro's stories are like this. She will take a small microcosm of life and show how it has enduring and lifelong effects - effects which may be immediately observable or which may not be obvious for decades.

Too Much Happiness is a collection of ten short stories, each wonderful in their own right and each one as rich and nuanced as a novel. Many of them deal with similar themes - paradox, movement through time, repercussions of impulse, regret, acts of horror and relationships.

Dimensions, the first story in the collection is about a damaged woman whose three children are murdered. She goes through life feeling empty through she talks to a social worker regularly. She is driven to visit and re-visit her ex-husband in jail. At one point he writes her a diatribe about his revelations that their children are now in another dimension. On her way to visit him one evening on the bus, she witnesses a car accident and attempts CPR on the victim. Through the CPR, she can feel life return to the young man who is near death's door.

By the third story in this collection, Wenlock Edge, specific themes begin to emerge - Who are we? Do we change in relationships? Of what are we capable under certain situations? Do these situations have particular reasons or are they random events related to our current environments.

The story begins with a a young woman who has regular visits from her aunt and bachelor uncle when she is a child. Her aunt dies. The young woman continues school in the city and has a weekly ritual dinner with her uncle. She also has a small circle of acquaintances. Solely by chance, she ends up with a part-time roommate with a `history'. This roommate is always getting herself into situations that don't work out and that compromise her virtue. She is also a prolific liar and likes to be in one-up situations with others. Both young women find themselves "on their way to deeds they didn't know they had in them".

Deep-Holes begins with a family outing to celebrate the father's publication of a paper on geology. During the course of the picnic, one of the sons, Kent, falls into a crater and breaks both of his legs. He has to remain out of school for six months. During that time, Kent and his mother share stories about distant isles and lands that are remote or unknown to mankind. One of the children becomes an attorney, the other a physician. Kent drops out of college and is heard from rarely and erratically. He lives on the fringes of society and the question arises, `What is society? The story reminded me of a novel by Carol Shields, a Canadian author, now deceased. I wondered if this story might be an homage to Ms. Shield's novel.

The Face is a wonderful story about a boy born with a port wine stain on half of his face. His father abhors him for his looks and calls him `liver face'. The father is rude, crude, awful. The mother is sanctimonious, martyr-like and loving her son in a standoffish way. The father avoids the son in every manner possible - he doesn't eat with him, talk to him or spend time with him. Ms. Munro brings up a lot of questions about this boy's life and the metaphor of paradox is paramount. "You think that would have changed things? The answer is of course, and for a while, and never".

Child's Play is a story that is idyllic on the surface and horrific in the interior. Two young girls attend a summer camp and during the course of this camp they do something that is never spoken about again until decades later. Even then the extent of what happened when they were children is not fully absorbed.

Each of these stories is masterful and wonderful in the telling. I've read the book twice and appreciate it more with each reading. There is no one living to compare Ms. Munro with. The only writer I can think of whose short stories I love as much as hers is Eudora Welty. What a group of two!!

The Man Who Knew Too Much [VHS]
$14.98
The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956 film

The film begins with a symphony orchestra. Recognize the music? The Cymbals clash at the climax. An American family Dr. Benjamin McKenna, wife Jo, son Hank are traveling in North Africa, riding in the back of the bus. Hank makes a cultural blunder but passenger Louis Bernard smooths things out. He recommends a good hotel. They visit Marrakesh by bus. Wife Jo notices things like being pumped for information. A song provides entertainment. "She's marvelous." Bernard makes a living by buying and selling things. Who was at the door? They meet the Draytons. Dr. McKenna breaks bread. They see Bernard with his friend. [Does McKenna act like he is less intelligent?] The market is like a county fair. "Its best to keep out of trouble." The police chase a man, someone stabs him in the back! Bernard has a message for Dr. McKenna. The crowd watches. The police question Dr. McKenna and Jo. Was it just a coincidence? A telephone message warns McKenna about talking! What happened to Hank?

There is something strange going on. Dr. McKenna diagnosed the problem. We learn more from McKenna's speech. The Special Branch meets them in London and asks for the message. Does McKenna show good judgment? Can an amateur match a professional? Is there a connotation to a "Taxidermist" (as in `Psycho')? This comic scene provides relief. Jo figures out the correct name and leaves. [Is there something subversive in using a chapel for intrigue and spying? A charity organization would be better.] "It doesn't hurt to be kind." A clever plot uses the music to mask the shot! [Would a real professional wait to collect his pay?] Finally McKenna seeks professional help at the chapel. Does adversity work to make us better? [More comedy?] A blessing in disguise? It depends.

McKenna talks to Drayton, but is stopped. The police arrive. People arrive at the Royal Albert Hall. Jo gets a warning. Then the symphony begins. The suspense builds up as we know what will happen. Can Jo risk the life of her son? [What would you do?] Does that scene echo the action of John Wilkes Booth? We learn who is behind the assassination. How can they rescue Hank? [This was done better in the first film.] Jo sings again. Hank hears the song and whistles in reply. [Believable?] Drayton makes a misstep. There is a happy ending.

This is a revised version of Hitchcock's 1934 film. The original was simpler, grittier, and had a better story. This lush, colorful version seems flawed in comparison but still entertaining. The 1978 version "Foul Play" was more of a comedy but still viewable. Note how Hitchcock gives a Luger pistol for the villain.