Regular marked price: $13.95Discount Price: $11.16
Cost Savings: $2.79 (20%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780060525101
ISBN number: 006052510X
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: June 01, 2003
Publishing house: Harper Perennial
Release Date: June 03, 2003
Sale Popularity Level: 310861
Studio: Harper Perennial
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Why would there be a contract out on Edwin de Valu's life? Edwin -- the wiry low-level editor at Panderic Press. Why has rage disappeared from the roads and McDonald's gone alfalfa? How come everyone seems so damn happy? And most importantly, who, or what, is Tupak Soiree?
When an enormous self-help manuscript lands on Edwin's desk, it's headed for the trash. Edwin's cynicism of self-help books, coupled with his filthy mood that morning, results in him dismissing Tupak Soiree's What I Learned on the Mountain and using it as a doorstop. However, Tupak's manuscript is unique -- a self-help book that actually works. Before Edwin knows it, a chain of events begins that affects not only his own life but the world at large.
For those who choke on Chicken Soup for the Soul or have choice words for Dr. Phil, Will Ferguson offers up a killer dose of Happiness™ -- a masterpiece of comic fiction.
Amazon.com:
'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
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
What if self-help books really worked? More specifically, what if one self-help book came along that fixed everything? That's the premise of Will Ferguson's comedic novel, Happiness TM, and it works. To a point.
Writers, editors and others involved in the publishing world will experience particular delight in Ferguson's barbed assault on the industry, and the very first half of the book is generally wonderful fun. Unfortunately, like too many other examples of humorous fiction, the hilarity peters out well before the end of the story and one exits the final chapter vaguely disappointed. (c.f. my review of Zanesville: A Novel, by Kris Saknussemm).
Rated by buyers 
-
I started this book with enthusiasm. The opening scenes are well written, inventive, promising. The premise, too, is interesting: what would be the result of publishing the ultimate self-help book? However, the writing, although never bad, wobbles unevenly over the course of the book, mixing nice images and metaphors with clunkers that make the reader scratch his head. How can a writer produce clever prose in one paragraph and then tedious cliches the next? It seems as though the book were written in two stages: one to get the story and characterizatin down, and then one to go back and fill in some paragraphs for length. The result is a very uneven read that goes . . . on . . . for . . . far . . . too . . . long. Ferguson could have snipped a good 75 pages easily. Also, he seems to have thought that, if writing a satire, he didn't need to worry about creating well-rounded characters about whom the reader might care. Ultimately, you don't really care about anyone in this book. If a reader wants satire, he or she might do well to try What the Shadow Told Me by Kurtis Davidson, a novel with real characters who actually have histories, have real conversations instead of trading cliches and pronouncements, and about whom, ultimately, readers care. And it's funny, too.
Rated by buyers -
This book was almost satisfying. Almost! I loved the pace and the little bits of wisdom sprinkled throughout (my copy is quite dogeared for those little bits) are right up my alley. The area that was lacking for me was depth for the characters. But it was a fun ride overall, and as I am sending it along to a friend I must admit that I recommend it! Because in books, almost counts.
Rated by buyers -
A humorous and cleverly written book, whose simple message is that Happiness is not Happiness at all. We need imperfections and valleys to contrast those divine moments on the mountains! Comforting stuff, and a reminded that all experiences are good for us and enhance our lives in some way. Constant happiness would be insipid and boring in this life and therefore by definition unachievable.
Rated by buyers -
Ok, this was a captivating, high energy narative that keeps you interested. A self-help book sweeps the nation off its feet, crumbling the self-serving/materialistic economy. People are left only a shell of themselves, without a drive towards anything.
I love an apocalyptic journey just as much as the subsequent guy, but the story has a stagnant "Oh Come On" feel to it. A guy gathers up a bunch of used self-help books and combines them all (and a dash spite for the authors son) to create a 900 page novel that convinces 97.3 % of the nation to quite their jobs, drop out of school, and become opiously happy ?????
The entire time I was waiting for a more devious (or clever) explanation for the infectious spread of this "happy" message. Alas, this was an easy read.
If this sort of book is truly your speed, check out "Just A Couple Of Days" by Tony Vigorrito. Similar themes, but it comes with a much improved writing style, story, and message.
Find other books like this one:
