Happiness™ Audio Cassette – Audiobook, July 30, 2003

First written in 2001, then re-titled and re-issued in 2003, this is a satirical look at pre-9/11 America through the eyes of a Canadian writer. It was recently recommended by one of my favorite authors (also Canadian) so I was surprised to find it so dated and disappointing. The premise is intriguing: A mysterious fellow named Tupak Soiree writes a comprehensive self-help book that actually works. The havoc unleashed by its publication sends the United States into an apocalyptic crisis as Americans shed their bad habits in droves: Tobacco companies and drug-dealers go out of business, the demise of materialism shifts the fashion industry to Upper Rubber Boot, North Dakota as Calvin Klein models carry “Will pout for food” signs, and everyone begins smiling inanely. Everyone, that is, except Edwin de Valu, the hitherto directionless Gen X junior editor who originally discovered the manuscript and brought it to the attention of his superiority-oozing Baby Boomer boss. Insisting that it’s “one damn thing after another…the promise of happiness, not the attainment of it” that’s still “the only game in town,” Edwin colludes with his boss and a de-throned ethics writer to track down the reclusive Tupak Soiree and take him out. There’s humor in spades here but the implied rallying cry behind the trio’s crusade (bring back the drug dealers!) is morally troubling as is the fact that religious Americans (also snickered at by our northern neighbors, though not in this book) might take issue with the definition of happiness on which the entire plot rests. Ferguson casts his satiric eye so widely - on Gen-X-ers, Baby Boomers, America’s dithering efforts at gun-control, every aspect of the publishing industry to name a few - that the pace suffers and the main focus promised in the John Updike epigram, “America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy,” is all but buried. Perhaps I would have responded to this book more positively had I read it during America’s “unipolar moment,” when it was originally written, but I found very little on offer here for the contemporary world.

This book has an incredibly interesting story idea that I think could have made a great book, however that didn't happen in this book. Ultimately there's just too much filler in this book. At the very beginning I was thinking to myself get to the point already and at the end I was thinking when is this thing going to be over. So I found my interest waning at times in this book. At other times it's incredibly fascinating. It also has a point, while making fun of self-help I believe the author is giving his own prescription for what makes a good life in these pages.I want my review to be too negative this was actually a good book that had potential. The writing was just too choppy and not compelling enough to keep me interested in between major events in the storyline. However I I do definitely recommend this book. It's an easy read and thus worth the time.

Item arrived in great condition don't get me wrong....BUT.....I was recommended this book, I was told :"I laughed so hard", well I didn't for a sec.....I felt like I needed a dictionary for every other paragraph so that was a NEY for me.

Edwin is such a tool... and God, do I love it. It's like if Bukowski wrote satire. It's really a truly wonderful book. Solved all my problems too... not really, but it was a joy to read.

Well, it had to happen sooner or later (didn't it?). With the onslaught of self-help books on the market, I've always wondered what would happen if one actually worked! Will Ferguson's novel HAPPINESS has showed the world the shattering consequences of just such a feat. Written with a scathing wit, totally merciless in portrayal of both the characters and the industry in which they inhabit, and a sort of "Oh my GOD" sense of unavoidable peril, the book is a delight to read and an utter horror to contemplate. The added bonus being, of course, that it's always wonderful to discover a new author, especially one with other works to delve into. I am looking forward to Mr. Fergusons other offerings.

Best satire I have ever read...truly funny.....

A great book very funny and it really makes you laugh at todays world.when everybodies happy wheres the fun.ive already lent the book and its put a smile on my face Happiness made me happy every time I complain about something

... I've been rereading this book. It's one of my favouritest things ever written, it's hilarious. I just take it and randomly open it somewhere and read a chapter or two several times per month. I absolutely love it; but I rate it 4 instead of 5 because I first read it in a Slovenian traslation, which is phenomenal, and was dissapointed when I read the original later. The original humor is much more boring and it runs with lower pace, while the translation is upgraded and spotless.Btw, if HappinessTM will ever become a movie, I recommend Dylan Moran (or his character in Black Books) as Edwin!

Happiness™ is a caustic look at the vacuous world of the self-help book. Set in the very near future, say 10 minutes from now. Happiness tells the story of Edwin De Valu and how he publishes the first self-help book that actually works. The book ‘What I learned on the mountain’ becomes a run away success, changing the lives virtually everyone who reads it.As people become self-actualised, centred and aware the economy and the whole United States begin to unravel around them. Both a hilarious romp, and an examination of what really defines happiness, this book is worth its’ weight in chicken soup for anyone who ever had a cynical thought.

Read this book for my bookclub. Found it quite easy to get into, although the others apparently didn't. The characters aren't particularly likeable, but quite 'real' which made the book more enjoyable. Somewhere in the middle where the whole world is getting 'happy' I started getting a little irritated thinking that it was getting a bit silly and unbelievable, but the strength of the writing style kept me reading. Also it's one of those books where I found myself admiring the writer's knowledge and ideas. On the whole I enjoyed Happiness and it ends really well. So many times I've read amazing books - to be let down by the last few pages. Will Ferguson planned the ending to his book well. :)

I just love this book, I laughed so much with it, also makes a great point

This is the best book that I've read in a long time

Just so funny. Be prepared to have a dictionary at hand. This will make you laugh out loud and expand your vocabulary.