Strong women: bleak topics

Obsessively small-scale and hyperconscious, Munro is one of those brilliant but unnerving short-story writers for whom every detail is important.

A nod of the head gets rigorously dissected: "This was not a disagreeable look - it was not bold or sly, it was not appraising. But it was not socially deferential, either." This comes from one of the finest stories in the collection, What is Remembered, about an eventful encounter between a Vancouver housewife and a doctor. Munro's heroines are largely women of quiet fortitude, preoccupied with domestic minutiae, reflecting on past choices. Her gift lies in letting us figure out their conclusions.

That said, it takes work to get past the pervading bleakness - topics include cancer, Alzheimer's, suicide and a plane crash. At times Munro's style feels just too unruffled, her collection too unified. You feel like giving it a good shake, or at least wishing she'd shuffle the pack a bit.