Aminatta Forna

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

New York

A Novel

"Throughout Happiness, Forna stops in our tracks . . . Reminiscent at times of Michael Ondaatje's novel Anil's Ghost . . . Happiness is a meditation on grand themes: Love and death, man and nature, cruelty and mercy. But Forna folds this weighty matter into her buoyant creation with a sublimely delicate touch."--Washington Post

London. A fox makes its way across Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to collide--Jean, an American studying the habits of urban foxes, and Attila, a Ghanaian psychiatrist there to deliver a keynote speech. From this chance encounter, Aminatta Forna's unerring powers of observation show how in the midst of the rush of a great city lie numerous moments of connection.

Attila has arrived in London with two tasks: to deliver a keynote speech on trauma, as he has done many times before; and to contact the daughter of friends, his "niece" who hasn't called home in a while. Ama has been swept up in an immigration crackdown, and now her young son Tano is missing.

When, by chance, Attila runs into Jean again, she mobilizes the network of rubbish men she uses as volunteer fox spotters. Security guards, hotel doormen, traffic wardens--mainly West African immigrants who work the myriad streets of London--come together to help. As the search for Tano continues, a deepening friendship between Attila and Jean unfolds.

Meanwhile a consulting case causes Attila to question the impact of his own ideas on trauma, the values of the society he finds himself in, and a grief of his own. In this delicate tale of love and loss, of cruelty and kindness, Forna asks us to consider the interconnectedness of lives, our co-existence with one another and all living creatures, and the true nature of happiness.

Happiness

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'Forna's voice is relentlessly compelling, her ability to summon atmosphere extraordinary ... A thing of lasting beauty' OBSERVERSHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2019SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2019A breathtaking novel from Orange Prize-shortlisted and Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning author Aminatta FornaWaterloo Bridge, London. Two strangers collide. Attila, a Ghanaian psychiatrist, and Jean, an American studying the habits of urban foxes. From this chance encounter in the midst of the rush of a great city, numerous moments of connections span out and interweave, bringing disparate lives together.Attila has arrived in London with two tasks: to deliver a keynote speech on trauma and to check up on the daughter of friends, his 'niece', Ama, who hasn't called home in a while. It soon emerges that she has been swept up in an immigration crackdown - and now her young son Tano is missing.When, by chance, Attila bumps into Jean again, she joins him in his search for Tano, mobilizing into action the network she has built up, mainly from the many West African immigrants working London's myriad streets, of volunteer fox-spotters: security guards, hotel doormen, traffic wardens. All unite to help and as the search continues, a deepening friendship between Attila and Jean unfolds.In this delicate yet powerful novel of loves lost and new, of past griefs and of the hidden side of a teeming metropolis, Aminatta Forna asks us to consider the values of the society we live in, our co-existence with one another and all living creatures - and the true nature of happiness._____________________'Entering Forna's sweeping universe transports you to a place that feels familiar, but also totally feral and full of surprises' FINANCIAL TIMES'Happiness is a great pleasure to read because of how much life is packed in by Forna ... [it features] the most appealing protagonist I have encountered in a long while' THE TIMES'The best writer of fiction in this field' EVENING STANDARD

Category - Fiction / Drama

Format - Paperback

Condition - Excellent

Listed - 2 months ago

Views - 6

Ships From - New York

Est. Publication Date - Feb 2019

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Category - Fiction / Drama

Format - Paperback

Condition - Excellent

Listed - 2 months ago

Views - 6

Ships From - New York

Est. Publication Date - Feb 2019

Seller Description

Additional Information

Publisher Description

Tags

Happiness

By:

$2.50

Condition

Format

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Happiness

By: Aminatta Forna

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