Short stories are due a revival. In recent years, there have been critically【C1】______collections by American writers such as Lydia Davis and Junot Diaz. But few others manage to【C2】______the bestseller lists, and they are all too often【C3】______by novels.【C4】______their heyday in the early 20th century, short stories are mostly viewed as trials or experiments before an author【C5】______with the real thing. John Burnside, a Scottish poet and novelist,【C6】______, this fixed idea in his latest collection, 'Something Like Happy'. Over 13 stories, Mr Burnside shows the versatility of the condensed【C7】______. His stories take place mostly in Scotland, in flats 'high up on the third floor of an apartment block in the middle of Dundee' or in the back room of a hardware shop,【C8】______men drink 'sweet, milky coffee'【C9】______waiting for the results of the races. His men carry knives or conduct extramarital【C10】______; his women are often【C11】______housewives who drink, take up bell-ringing in their local church or fantasise about younger men【C12】______a way of filling in time. Happiness is the subject that【C13】______the collection together. In other hands, this could become sentimental.【C14】______Mr Burnside, with only a few【C15】______, never allows that to happen. Instead, happiness【C16】______stays away from these figures; so much【C17】______they have almost ceased to【C18】______it Rooted in the bleaker aspects of Scotlands landscapes, it is something that his【C19】______continually search for, in these concise and poetic tales—yet【C20】______to find. 【C1】