From the author of the critically acclaimed Hokkaido Highway Blues comes this hysterically funny debut novel, a searing and compulsive satire on the concept of self-help and contemporary America. When an enormous self-help manuscript arrives on the desk of Edwin de Valu, a stressed-out, overworked, and underpaid editor at New York’s Panderic Press, its fate seems destined for the bin. Edwin’s cynicism about self-help books, coupled with his filthy mood that morning, results in his dismissing Tupak Soiree’s What I Learned on the Mountain in the most ignominious fashion: he doesn’t even bother to reply. However, during an editorial meeting Edwin is confronted by a questioning publisher, one desperate for the next big thing. Without thinking, and in need of something to report, Edwin begins to extol the virtues of What I Learned on the Mountain, and the excitement around the table is palpable. With every reason. Tupak Soiree’s doorstopper becomes a very unique thing: a self-help book that actually works, and it launches a chain of events that will have enormous consequences not just on Edwin’s life but for the world at large. Ferguson’s first novel is a masterpiece of comic fiction, a must for anyone who has choked on Chicken Soup for the Soul or ever wanted to kill Dr. Phil. “Mean, wonderful, hilarious, both a poisonously funny satire and dead-on indictment. The nature of True Evil exposed.” — Anthony Bourdain “A must-read, in short, for people … who still remember how to laugh without turning off their brains.” — Jonathan Coe, author of The Winshaw Legacy or What a Carve Up! “Hilarious … Ferguson serves up his true thematic feast.” — The Globe and Mail “Mr. Ferguson is a very gifted writer.” — Bill Bryson “If Douglas Adams and P.J. O’Rourke ever had an extraterrestrial Satanic love child, it would probably write like Will Ferguson.” — L.A. Times “The Age of Nice is at hand, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” But the protagonist of Will Ferguson’s Happiness, terminally luckless book editor Edwin de Valu, does want to do something. In fact, he feels obliged to put a stop to the Age of Nice, because it’s all his fault. Desperate to save a flagging career in the world of self-help publishing, Edwin has staked everything on a dubious, thousand-page manuscript bearing the motto “Live! Love! Learn!” Promising its readers endless wealth, effortless weight loss, and everlasting happiness, the book has become a runaway success. And that’s where Edwin’s problems really begin. There’s the murderous cartel of drug and tobacco barons who want Edwin’s head on a plate, as well as the fact that misery, cynicism, irrational hatred, draught beer–all the things that once made Edwin’s life as an underdog bearable–have become outlawed. It’s down to one man to save the globe from the tyranny of the group hug! But can Edwin do it before the world economy melts down and a bestselling serial killer called Dr. Ethics enacts his own deadly revenge?
It has been said–possibly by the sort of homily-peddling guru that Ferguson attacks so masterfully in his debut novel–that there are many routes to happiness. The general effect of reading this razor-sharp satire on the self-help industry is to understand that these routes lead us nowhere, except perhaps to a cul-de-sac called Hell. This would be depressing to realize, except that Happiness clubs its readers into submission with the sort of zany, almost otherworldly wit that makes us profoundly glad to be alive. –Matthew Baylis, Amazon.co.uk
Intelligent rather than clever A good first novel from Ferguson, who offers intelligent comments on life and people. We follow Edwin de Valu, mediocre editor, through the ordeal of finding and publishing the ultimate self-help book: the one that works!
What I learned on a Ant Hill. Happiness (Generica as I know it) by Canadian Author Will Ferguson was the book responsible for ending a long drought of unsatisfacory reading for myself. A definite GEM!One of the only books to bring me to a loud laugh in public.His characters are both very human and very funny. A sad but what I believe to be true scenario about how our industries pray and profit from human vices and weaknesses.A must read!A much better self help book than a self help book!
Humorous, Satirical, Thoughtful, Happiness ™ The simple premise of this deeper-the-expected book is summed up in the prolog, “If anyone wrote a self-help book that actually worked, we’d all be in trouble.” The way this plays out is the main draw of the book. I could not anticipate what would happen next, and at the end, was not all that sure if I had got what I expected.