This author, Kjell Askildsen, is truly a master of the minimalist style, and succinctly conveying a feeling. He doesn't need to tell you his characters are melancholic, the mood saturates the scene, and he needs very few words to accomplish that. That said, it was a long collection of melancholic people, and all the stories started to run together after a while, brilliant as they were individually. 

"I know some people think of me as an old grump but that's certainly not the whole truth. Whenever a bright spot appears in my life I latch right onto it and can find myself crying out within: at last, at long last! Not that this happens very often, of course, that's not how the world is. But, for instance, a little over a month ago. . .no, it was longer than that. . .never mind, it's not a good example."